• Daniel

    Daniel Ramírez, MMA Glory Kickboxing champion, and Black Belt holder, shared his experiences with our Yonkers My Brother's Keeper students at Robert C. Dodson School during their March 9th empowerment assembly. Romulo Ramirez, Principal, Dr. Joseph Veltri, Joseph Fitzgerald, MBK liaisons, and Mr. Gregory Joyner, MBK Coordinator, hosted this event. Mr. Danny Ramirez is an instructor at the Tiger Schulmann Martial Arts School, holding the title of 'SENSEI,' the equivalent of "master" or "teacher" of Martial Arts.

    Mr. D. Ramirez spoke about his role as a kickboxing fighter and his use of discipline to achieve success in his life. "You need to work hard every day; you cannot miss one training day. What got me to become successful was my non-quitting spirit. We all have a non-quitting spirit; I want you to know that you all have that."

    Mr. Ramirez strongly believes in the immeasurable reward of consistent self-discipline. He used the analogy that an immediate reward for discipline is a fun day at the beach; a future reward of discipline is owning the beach. He emphasized the importance of enjoying consistent self-discipline rather than that one day of pleasure. He realized that pursuing the pleasure would not take him anywhere. That fun only lasts for a short time, and then it's gone. "Fooling around will not take you anywhere. You must be focused. I know it's not easy to understand those things, but you will never go back once you have it down."

    Our MBK students asked Mr. D. Ramirez about how he got his motivation to keep up the hard work. Ramirez believes that the circle of influence with which you surround yourself will determine most of your motivation. "I surrounded myself with role models like 'The Ultimate Fighting Championship' fighters from the UFC organization, who made all the difference."