Maestra

Practicing self-care through Naginata

Prior to visiting Japan in 1966, Helen Nakano did not expect her naginata spirit to bloom so quickly; she now owns four dojos and is the sensei of El Camino College's naginata course, which continues to remain as the only college-accredited course in the USA.

Story by Safia Ahmed Photos by Jose Tobar and Safia Ahmed

Helen Nakkano is an 82 year old businesswoman who has been a resident of Torrance for nearly 55 years. She is a sensei to the Naginata class at El Camino College but due to restrictions, the class has not been able to start back up.

Helen has been practicing naginata since 1966. She was the firstever teacher to start a naginata class in America.

“When I first started naginata there were no teachers so we had to learn from a kendo teacher,” Helen says.

It was unheard of at the time and there were no naginata teachers. She went to Japan with her husband George in 1966. Her husband does kendo and he was part of the US kendo team representing the US in a worldwide tournament that was held in Okinawa.

George is a former California State Assemblyman and was one of the first minority elected for Torrance City Council. He is an El Camino college alumni and served as president on the El Camino College Foundation Board of Directors in 2010.

“I met some naginata teachers that happened to be in Tokyo at another dojo where the kendo people were practicing and they saw me sitting on the sideline taking pictures of the kendo practice and they came over and asked me if I’d like to try naginata. At the time I really didn’t have an interest and I just told them I was going to be taking pictures but they were really persistent,” Helen says.

She was then taken to a dressing room where she dressed up in a white hakama and a white gi. Normally the hakama, the bottom, is usually in a navy blue or black color. Kendo practicers and martial artists use the same hakama.

She developed an interest along with another woman, Nadine Ishitani Hata. They both learned naginata together and started a class with Mori sensei in Los Angeles. Nadine Hata was the vice president of Academic

Affairs at El Camino College. Unfortunately, Nadine died in 2005 as a result of cancer. The LA Times reported that Nadine” influenced change not only through her teaching and writing, but also through her work on a state advisory committee to the US Commission on Civil Rights,as chairwoman of the State Historical Resources Commission, and as the only Asian American on the American Historical Association’s 12-member governing council.”Helen remembers Nadine fondly and the work they had gone through to establish a class at El Camino which remarkably turned out to be the only college accredited naginata course in America.

“Without her, there would not have been naginata at El Camino. I taught in the summer of 1997. It’s as a result of Dr. Nadine Hata. She is the reason I’m able to teach there. She worked really hard to get this class an accredited class ther,” Helen says.

Following their journey to Japan, where they learned more about naginata, they returned to practice with Mori sensei, a famaous naginata sensei in Los Angeles. Helen stated that she has been practicing naginata since 1966. “[Nadine and I] gradually evolved into becoming the instructor. We’ve had teachers visiting from Japan, annually. And we would teach what we were taught by the teachers from Japan. Probably in late 1966. So by 1970 or 1971, we were teaching, whether we were qualified teachers or not we were teaching what we learned. We were fortunate, we had some excellent teachers that came from Japan that taught us and we also went to Japan to learn so we felt very fortunate,” says Helen. Naginata is a budo, which is not a combative art; yet, there is a deeper significance to forming a person’s character with naginata. It has a competitive component to it. Kendo, Judo, Sumo, Aikido, Kyudo, Karatedo, etiquette (reigi in Japanese), humility, honor,compassion, and self-discipline are extremely important, Helen says. Helen tried to focus less on the sporting aspect of naginata and emphasize more on the characterbuilding aspect of naginata. “I really love the art form, it made me a better person,” Helen says.

She’s had a number of dojo through the years. She currently owns 4 dojos in Southern California. She also runs dojos in Phoenix, Arizona, and Lincoln, Nebraska. Counting her El Camino class as a bonus.

“I was teaching at ECC up until the Spring of 2020. Because of the pandemic we were shut down and we haven’t been able to start

Members of the Torrance Naginata Club perform ji-geiko, a free sparring practice at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center on Thursday, Oct. 21. (Jose Tobar | Warrior Life) Two Naginataka, or naginata practitioners, Grace Wu, left and Tony Smith, right, practice their katas, a series of exercises performed in sequence used to perfect their martial arts techniques at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center on Thursday, Oct. 21. (Jose Tobar | Warrior Life)

again,” Helen says.

There was no naginata being taught in 1966. In 1974 she was one of the founding members of the US Naginata Federation. “At that time. I didn’t have a choice really, I would have preferred being a student all these years, it’s wonderful to continue to, to learn, and taking on the responsibility of being a teacher just happened because there were so very few of us doing it,” Helen says.

In order to keep naginata alive, there needed to be teachers. Helen enjoyed taking the role of a teacher and keeping the spirit of naginata alive.

Kevin Saxton, a former member of the Torrance Naginata Club and E student was practicing kendo in Southern California and went to Canada where he first encountered a demonstration of naginata. Kevin (51) currently resides in Lakewood, California, and works as an IT administrator for LA country, he is also an instructor for the Irvine dojo.

“The demonstration really interested me,” Kevin says.

Kevin had started naginata in 1990. The thing that piqued his interest was the way naginata can be so grateful. “The effective use of both sides of your body that with the way that the weapon is used. I felt like by practicing [naginata] it would make my kendo better,” Kevin says.

He had taken a class with a room full of women which he had seen as an equal opportunity. “Being bigger and stronger is often more of a detriment than a benefit. The most challenging thing would be learning to try to learn to accept that as a man, I can’t move like a woman "There's an old Japanese warrior but I tried to execute the form gracefully,” Kevin says saying that enlightenment is found Kevin says the greatest at the tip of the sword. When I find challenge for him was balancing his martial training with the rest somebody, I get to find out who they of his life. are in their heart." By learning to use this weapon Kevin has learned how to be graceful, to accept things in life - Kevin Saxton that can’t change, and to deal with former student and naginata club member challenges in life. “There’s an old Japanese warrior saying that enlightenment is found at the tip of the sword. And basically what that means is when you find somebody all of the things that we often think are so important in life, being cool, being rich, good looking, all that goes right out the window. When I find somebody, I get to find out who they are in their heart,” Kevin says. “Practicing with this weapon, helped me become a better man. a better father, a better employee a better citizen,” Kevin says. Kevin describes Helen as a patient and insightful person who is demanding of character. “She looks for the best in you. I know that the good qualities of good qualities of a leader are by your own actions and your own demeanor that you inspire those below you and around you to be better. And she definitely has that quality,” Kevin says.

Kevin has tried to emulate Helen’s qualities as a teacher such as being patient, understanding, and demanding of his students. Through emulating her qualities he has noticed how that has improved his career as a teacher and when he was the US coach for the world team. “Nakano sensei exudes wisdom and confidence and an air of respect. So I think that by taking her class, a student who maybe has never picked up a weapon, would never have to face really faced something and confront something, it can be quite fearful to face another person with a weapon,” Kevin says. Having such a tool and being provided with an environment in which to practice it securely and with direction are things that Kevin believes will benefit someone with competence for the rest of their life. “It’s kind of a wonderful experience to see people being able to improve in this beautiful art, some very elegant and powerful art form,” Helen says.

The greatest challenge Helen faced was the lack of teachers. Helen mentioned that there are so many different levels of students. “You have a total beginner and then somebody that is more an intermediate student. Then you have your more advanced students and it’s trying to keep all of them engaged on the floor at the same time, “ Helen says. Helen faced an obstacle being the only instructor for a naginata course. However, she took that as an opportunity to teach all levels and keep them interested and spirited with the art.

Helen says that practicing naginata at the dojo was tough for new students because they were trying to learn all of the basic movements, including footwork, not only how to use their naginata, but also how to read, move their feet, and move their bodies with a weapon. “I would continue and encourage them, I didn’t want to see them get discouraged. I try to keep the beginner students focused,” Helen says. Juan Hernandez (49) is a software engineer who works for Raytheon, an aerospace company, and lives in Long Beach where he has been studying naginata since 2006. He heard about naginata through a newspaper article in the Long Beach paper, PressTelegram. “There was a big article in the sports section and they were doing a training session at Long beach state so I read about it and thought the martial arts was really interesting,” Juan says. He serves as the assistant instructor in the class and carries the role of a sensei to the class. However, respect is given to the higher rank regardless of the term they are addressed with. “It’s incumbent upon us to know what the hierarchy is. Helen is the head instructor so we got to give her respect in her rank,” Juan says. When lining up, the sequence is ordered from the highest to the lowest rank. “It’s a Japanese thing where it’s expected for individuals to know the pecking order. When we’re lining up it’s expected to know the highest rank goes on the left then it files down to the lowest rank down,” Juan says.

“The thing this martial arts really emphasizes is respect. Selfrespect for yourself and respect for others,” Juan says.

Helen says naginata has high regard for fellow practitioners. Particularly when performing on stage Helen had done her best

Members of the Torrance Naginata Club lined up in the dojo with Helen in the center on Thursday, Oct 21 at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center. (Jose Tobar | Warrior Life)

to practice naginata amid the pandemic. She learned how to hold classes virtually through zoom. She would practice alone in her backyard and the students would practice in their yards or homes.

“Because the weapon is such a long weapon it would be difficult to move the weapon inside of the house unless you have very tall ceilings. But I have a student or two that was able to actually do it inside, which was wonderful. I held class once a week on Thursdays, just as we would here normally at the Torrance dojo and it went quite well,” Helen says. Helen describes the two elements of naginata. The atarashi (new) naginata is one example. The naginata is fashioned of oak coal and has a bamboo tip. The blade is constructed of two bamboo strips bound together by a leather pano. It stands roughly 7 feet 4 inches tall. It is a weapon that can be wielded with both hands.

The students started practicing in Torrance in midApril of this year as the pandemic began to fade. Helen had three students when they opened. After a few weeks followed the numbers increased. Helen is unable to teach her class at ECC at the time. She taught her last class in the Spring of 2020.

The dean informed her that she would most likely not be able to teach next term.

“I really miss teaching at El Camino College because I love the excitement and the enthusiasm with the new students that beginner students when they start taking my class there. And I’m hoping I can continue teaching despite my age. I’m still physically able to do most moves,” Helen says. Helen says that her greatest concern about the pandemic is personal safety. When she was with family they would sit in the backyard and would keep their distance as a means to prevent exposing anyone.

“We didn’t want to get it and we didn’t want to spread it.,” Helen says. All of her family members were vaccinated as soon as the vaccine was released. Even in the dojo, the vast majority of them have been vaccinated. “We’ve come to the point where everyone in the dojo is going to have to be vaccinated in order to practice,” Helen says. Helen adds that another challenge practicing the ancient combat in the pandemic was the disadvantage of using voices. When practicing naginata a key element is Kiai or Chi which is the act of using their voices to yell the name of the cut they are practicing.

The only person allowed to shout was the instructor, other than that no one else was permitted to yell. “We all want to go back to normalcy again but I don’t know when that’s going to be possible. But I feel the feelings of my students of wanting to get together wanting to be able to practice this beautiful art together and continue to learn,” Helen says. The students inspire Helen to continue practicing the art of naginata. Although it is difficult for beginner students to learn from

"It's very difficult to sometimes explain the feelings that go into doing this art form. But it's very powerful."

- Helen Nakano

As the class session ends just past 9:30 p.m. at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center where Helen Nakano teaches a Japanese art of self-defense known as Naginata, Nakano and her students bow towards each other as a sign of respect. (Jose Tobar | Warrior Life)

scratch, the more competitive they become the more enthusiasm and joy grows within them. “It’s very difficult to sometimes explain the feelings that go into doing this art form. But it’s very powerful,” Helen says.

Helen is a member of an international organization. They used to gather every year, but due to the pandemic, they haven’t been able to do so. The most recent encounter took place in Germany in 2019, at the world championship. “I’ve seen how Naginata has grown in all these years,” Helen says. The International Naginata Federation started back in 1990. Helen has been involved since the beginning of the International Naginata Federation. “The next championship for the world is supposed to be in the United States in 2023. But because of the pandemic, we’re not sure if that is going to happen,” Helen says. Helen and her husband George were awarded the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette medal from the Emperor of Japan himself. Helen had gone to Japan to accept her award. “We’re so honored to have been recognized to receive the award. George had received his award when he turned 70 and then I received mine when I turned 70, as well,” Helen says. Helen says if she was unable to teach she would miss it. It has become part of her life now, something she has been doing for more than a number of decades. “I feel blessed that I’m able to physically go out on the floor and continue teaching I have not come to the point yet for I felt like I could not teach,” Helen says. Helen has taught students internationally. She mentioned that she’s had students outside of ECC contact her.

“I have started naginata schools in Lincoln, Nebraska and then in Phoenix, Arizona, and actually in Tallahassee, Florida. So I’ve flown to different states personally, to teach by invitation,” Helen says. Helen has taught naginata in South America. She has been to Italy to teach by invitation. Despite her teaching experience in other countries, Helen preferred to stay in California. “Torrance is my home. I’ve lived in Torrance, California since 1965 part of that was in Manhattan Beach. But when I teach in other countries or in other states, it’s by invitation usually, and I will go in and teach a seminar,” Helen says. Helen discussed how there is a common assumption among people that instructors who teach naginata or kendo are paid, but they are not. When she travels to a different country she travels at her own expense. “I am not paid to teach. I do not take any payment for teaching. The only place I am paid to teach is at El Camino but when I teach in other counties or other states or here in California, I do not charge a fee for teaching. I teach because I love the art, I love it and I want to spread it,” Helen says. Helen enjoys going out for lunches and attending family gatherings in her free time. She does not consider naginata a hobby rather she considers it an art form. She is very fortunate that a majority of her students are now teaching in their own dojos. She feels very gratified that they’ll carry on after her. “I would like to continue doing what I’m doing and hopefully we’re able to get through this pandemic and I can continue teaching. I really miss getting together and being together in a dojo together and practicing without masks. I hope sometime in the near future we're able to do that again,” Helen says.

Helen holding the naginata, a 7’4 ft weapon in her dojo where she practices located in the Torrance Cultural Arts Center on Thursday, Oct 21. (Jose Tobar | Warrior Life)

5 places to get chicken wings within 5 minutes of ECC

Story and photos by Gary Kohatsu

Chicken wings might be America’s favorite finger food. Wings go well with beer or root beer, is a crowd magnet at birthday parties and tailgate parties, will also appeal to all political parties, can come in a variety of flavors and dipping sauces, and is politically correct served bone-in or boneless. Here are five independent eateries near El Camino College that will satisfy your wings cravings and have you flying back for more.

Gigi’s might be known for its Italian food, but don’t discount its variety of chicken wings offerings, such as the teriyaki seasoning as shown. The wings provide a tasty alternative to Gigi’s Italian dishes.

1. Gigi’s Pizza

This single-owner pizzeria is known for its New York-style pizza pies. But for the adventurous, Gigi’s also dishes out meatball sliders, torpedoes, antipasto salad, cheese garlic bread, giant chocolate chip cookies and — chicken wings.

Eight flavorful wings are prepared with your choice of Frank’s buffalo sauce, hot buffalo, barbecue, garlic parmesan, teriyaki, Korean sauce or mango habanero, and served with ranch or bleu cheese dressing. Eight pieces for $8.99.

Address:16006 Crenshaw Blvd., Gardena Phone: 310-327-0355 Hours: Monday-Saturday: 10 a.m. to 8:45 p.m. Sunday: Closed

Website:https://www.gigispizzagardena.com/

Wing Ferno has it all: 15 flavors of chicken wings (including garlic parmesan flavor), side orders, soda and beer and the sports bar ambiance that favors in-person dining of large groups. Parking is convenient and food can be ordered through Postmates, Grub Hub, Door Dash and Uber Eats.

2. Wing Ferno

No messing around, this is a serious chicken wings restaurant. At the top of its heat list are flavors Wing Ferno and Walking Dead. Home of the Nashville chicken wings, with wings prepared in 15 different flavors. This restaurant also serves chicken sandwiches, tenders, an assortment of fries, onion rings, salad and tater tots.

You want beer? They serve beer — draft, domestic and imported. Inferno has good indoor ambiance and two TVs that place it in the sports bar category. Only two locations for now: Gardena and Orange. Everything is on the steeper side in price (six wings, fries and a soda cost $13, with tax), but it doesn’t seem to discourage the stream of customers.

Address:2221 Redondo Beach Blvd., Gardena Phone: 310-817-4456 Hours: Sunday-Thursday: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday-Saturday: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Lemon pepper wings is one of 12 flavors Fyrebird offers on its take-out menu. A wings lunch with fries will cost around $6. El Camino students can get a 20% discount with college ID.

Furaibo is known for its teba-saki wings, which are chicken wings generally marinated in a mix of soy sauce, ginger, garlic and sake (Japanese rice wine). Wings can be ordered a la carte or with a meal. The restaurant has limited indoor dining and is closed between 2 and 5 p.m.

Mom’s Touch is the new kid on the block, opening in mid-2021. The restaurant specializes in chicken meals and boasts that it uses only the freshest ingredients - hence the name. Indoor dining area is limited and parking is shared with other eateries and stores in the same complex.

Hot, made-to-order wings can be eaten on the run or in the outdoor patio. Do you like hot? Fyrebird’s wings are measured on a heat scale. Cali heat is at the top of the list and earns a rating of six chili peppers. Seven flavors of heat are balanced by heatless offerings, such as lemon pepper and barbecue wings.

Fyrebird also serves tenders, chicken sandwiches, sliders and fries.

Three wings and fries will set you back $5.50 and tax. EC students get a 20% discount with college ID.

Address:5717 Crenshaw Blvd., Gardena Phone: 424-269-1943. Hours: Tuesday-Sunday: 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday: Closed

Website:https://www.fyrebirdchicken.com/

4. Furaibo Gardena

A longstanding and popular Japanese restaurant in Gardena’s Tozai Plaza. Furaibo has drawn people from around Los Angeles, as indicated on several customer-review websites. This place is known for its teba-saki chicken wings, which can be ordered a la carte or with a meal. An order of seven wings will cost a bit more than $8, plus tax.

The wings are not necessarily a visual delight, but the customers rave about the next-level flavor. There are four ranges of spiciness from sweet to extra spicy. Indoor seating is limited and takeout orders are an option. The restaurant closes from 2-5 p.m. daily.

Address:1741 Redondo Beach Blvd., Gardena Phone: 310-329-9441 Hours: Monday-Friday: 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., 5-11 p.m. Saturday: 5-11 p.m. Sunday: 5-10 p.m.

Website:http://www.furaibous.com/

5. Mom’s Touch

Newly-opened in 2021, Mom’s Touch specializes in everything chicken, from tenders and sandwiches, to wings. Customers can top off their meals with four side offerings, including fries and coleslaw.

There are six levels of heat for the wings: Mom’s original, fuego, cheesy onion, soy garlic, apple zing and sweet chili. Mom’s claim is that the restaurant only uses the freshest ingredients and prepares the food “just like mom.”

Four original wings cost a bit more than $7, including tax. The Gardena restaurant was the first to open, with Long Beach now open and City of Industry coming in the near future.

Address:1400 W. Redondo Beach Blvd., Suite 120 Gardena Phone: 310-400-7305 Hours: Open daily: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Finding photography

I finally got the job I wanted, and it was all because of COVID

Written by Ivan Zermeno Illustrated by Emily Bourassa

The first months of COVID-19 were really hard for me. I had no idea how long it was gonna be for, if it was even as deadly as people said, and if that meant I’d be out of a job forever.

I had been previously working for Spectrum doing door-to-door sales in South Central, California. In short, I was basically the guy that no one wants to talk to. As hard and thankless as my job was, it was somewhat rewarding because at least I could make some decent money that people my age wouldn’t really be making. COVID changed all that.

I was fearing for my life. Things got worse at work as my job forced us to continue knocking and didn’t provide us with any personal protective equipment. I had people who would spit on me and even had guns pointed at me because they, understandably, didn’t want me to be there.

Since I had no way to tell if people were sick or not and I couldn’t tell the people to put a mask on at their own house, my job was pointless and frankly not worth it. The services eventually became free to residents of California during the first couple of months of the pandemic, so not only did I not get any sales, but I was basically forced to work for free.

This may sound like a rant, but because of the experiences I had endured working as a door-to-door sales representative at Spectrum, I realized that enough was enough. I began applying for jobs I knew I could do, jobs I had studied for. I desperately wanted to work in film again and since some of my family works in visual effects, I figured that would be my best bet.

I saw some openings for MoCap Vaults, Rouge MoCap and other studios that focus on motion capture. I may not have had all the experience, nonetheless, I showed them that I was willing to work and learn, so I applied myself and sent in my resume. But nothing came back.

I had contemplated going back to school and finishing my associate degree in film for a couple of months prior. I had seen photos of friends and former classmates graduating on Instagram and realized that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. No more would Ivan Zermeno feel unaccomplished or wonder “what if I had continued my schooling?”

But it wasn’t immediate. The situation with Spectrum had really messed me up and I needed some time to gather myself mentally and physically, since I wasn’t eating nor sleeping. I went from a job that would set irrational goals, like selling a phone service that mostly no one had heard of on the spot, to not having to worry at all. So in reality I had felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

I decided to hide away in my grandmother’s garage and just began to work out again, similarly to how a prisoner serves his sentence or how a caterpillar cocoons himself away, until I was ready to take on the world. But after a while of being locked away, I felt that I needed to go out. I didn’t want to alienate myself and become unfamiliar to everyday life, as many others did throughout the quarantine.

Additionally I got into film photography. I found it soothing and it helped ease my mind. It captures a moment, as if beauty had become forever frozen to the time around it, even though some of my pictures weren’t all that great. I wasn’t really good at it, technically.

I started to search for photography classes and found myself enrolling at El Camino College in spring 2020, since I had heard great things about the photography courses provided here at ECC. Seeing that it was part of the journalism requirements and that it went hand-inhand with film I decided I’d take it up.

Eventually I found myself taking more and more classes and really felt like I was somebody again. I quickly put together a resume and a portfolio with all my pictures and years of working in film for jobs and schools to look at, but suddenly I got a phone call.

It was a miracle. A buddy of mine told me that a studio he knew of had an opening and that because of unemployment, people would have rather collected checks than go back to work. People weren’t even applying. Needless to say, I was very hesitant to apply because I had just started school again, but it’s been over a year I'm in the company now and I can’t tell you how much my life has changed.

This job has opened so many doors for me, as I get to go on shoots for video games and movies alike, and I’ve gotten to meet so many new people.

I finally got a job I wanted, where I can feel like myself and be good at it, and it’s all because of COVID.

Yes, these past two years have been some of the most difficult times I’ve ever faced, as I lost loved ones, had no money at times and was almost driven mad, but I wouldn’t be where I am today if not for this once-in-alifetime opportunity to come back to school and get the career I wanted.

Top 5 fabric stores

A treasure of textiles is available within 15 miles of El Camino College

Story and photos by Elsa Rosales

Growing up in the South Bay, there was no shortage of fabric stores you could count on to take care of all your communion, quinceañera, prom and other dress-making needs. Lennox Boulevard, Market Street in Inglewood and Gardena Boulevard were some of the places you would go to for the perfect fabric and accessories for your special occasion.

Those places are mostly gone now, but with a little effort you will find them. For anyone wanting to support family-owned businesses and willing to drive a bit further out, here are Warrior Life’s top five picks for fabric stores within 15 miles of El Camino College.

A wide variety of denim is available for $5.99 per yard at SAS Fabrics in Hawthorne. SAS Fabrics is the largest family-owned fabric store in the South Bay.

1. SAS Fabrics

Opened in 1989, SAS Fabrics is a large family business with a huge selection of fabrics and also trims, yarn and accessories. The inside has a warehouse-like feel that invites you to rummage freely aisle after aisle.

Address:13500 Hawthorne Blvd., Hawthorne Phone: 310-978-8985 Hours: Tuesday-Saturday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday-Monday: Closed

Website: https://www.sasfabricscalifornia.com/

Traditional, festive and brightly-colored Polynesian fabrics are the specialty of Islands Fabric in Carson. Most prints are available for $5 to $10 per yard.

2. Islands Fabric

Islands Fabric is a small store packed with aisles and walls of vibrant Hawaiian, Samoan, Tongan and other island fabrics. Small sections of clothing, sarongs, flags, accessories and pro sports fabrics are also available.

Address:638 E. 219th St., Carson Phone: 310-518-0600 Hours: Monday-Friday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday: Closed

Website:https://alensfabric.com/

A wide selection of cotton fabrics is available for $9.99 per yard at Fabric Barn in Long Beach. Fabric Barn is the largest family-owned crafting store in Long Beach.

More than just a fabric store, Africa by the Yard in Inglewood is a little cultural treasure. A nice selection of rich African fabrics is available for your traditional dress needs.

Fabrics used for quinceañeras, party dresses and evening gowns are available in a variety of colors at Chic Fabric Remnants in Long Beach. Cotton print fabric and accessories are also available. Opened in 1980, Fabric Barn is a large arts and crafts store with a small, but well-stocked, section of fabric in the very back of the store. Pre-packaged cuts of fabric and a variety of party favors and decorations are available up front.

Address:3111 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach Phone: 562-719-2881 Hours: Sunday: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Saturday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Website:https://fabricbarninc.com/fabric.aspx

4. Africa by the Yard

Originally opened in Leimert Park in 1987, Africa by the Yard is a small home furnishings shop run by owner Faadil Asadullah. The shop features a wall of authentic fabrics imported from Niger, Nigeria, Ghana and other West African nations.

Address:416 E. Manchester Blvd., Inglewood Phone: 323-291-1517 Hours: Tuesday: Noon-8 p.m. Wednesday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday: Noon-8 p.m. Friday-Saturday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday-Monday: Closed

5. Chic Fabric Remnants

Chic Fabric Remnants is a small neighborhood shop packed with rolls of silk, lace, tulle and all your fancy dress needs. The shop is run by owner Sylvia Garcia, whose customers greet her by name as they arrive to pick up their alterations.

Address:1704 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach Phone: 562-591-3572 Hours: Monday-Friday: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday: Closed

Coach Marco Trejo (left) debriefs with Joey Abudy about the sparring match he just finished at Sweet Science Boxing & MMA Gym in Hawthorne, Calif. on Thursday, April 7, 2022. Trejo grew up in Hawthorne, graduated from Hawthorne High School and attended El Camino Community College. (Kim McGill | Warrior Life)

A sweet science dream

From troubled teen to gym owner

Written by Evanson Franck Love Photos by Kim McGill

As people walk into Sweet Science gym they hear the pounding of gloves being hit onto heavy bags and boxing mitts which creates a loud “boom!” It’s like a mini-explosion that’s accompanied by the yelling and grunting noises each fighter makes when they throw punches.

Once inside the gym the smell of sweat hangs in the air. Everyone is working at an intense pace. There’s always a handful of fighters hitting the heavy bags to the right followed by others doing strength and conditioning. Next to the ring is Marco Trejo, the owner of the gym, with one of his best fighters, getting ready to spar.

Marco, now in his early 40s, founded Sweet Science Boxing gym in Hawthorne in 2009 at the age of 29. In a room full of chiseled physiques, honed through training, Marco stands all but 5 feet, 8 inches, compactly built with broad shoulders and little potbelly that seems to protrude a little more each time he's seen.

In 1999, Marco was a fresh-faced El Camino College student. What makes the connection all the more interesting is, he’s still an El Camino college student. Just one class shy (math 80) of getting his Associate Degree.

Life has taken him in and out of school, while struggling to find his place in the world, he’s managed to carve out a niche for himself through boxing. All while keeping an optimistic outlook and still hoping to one day graduate from El Camino and finish what he started. This is his journey.

Marco has been a boxing fan as far back as he can remember. He has fond memories of watching Mike Tyson and Julio Cesar Chavez fights on pay-per-view in the early '80s. His father loved boxing. That love was passed down to a son who had no idea how much he would impact the sport in his future.

Boxing is in Marco’s blood. His father never boxed himself and Marco was more of a baseball player, but Marco’s grandfather, Francisco Trejo, was a professional boxer in the late '20s and early '30s. The legend says, Francisco Trejo would find his way to San Francisco a few times a year to fight under the name “Frankie Night.”

He had over a dozen professional matches, but there’s no known history on his success or failures. What is known, is that his grandfather never acknowledged Marco’s father as his son and abandoned the family to raise another family, but this was during Mexico in the early '50s and that is a story for another time. At twelve years old, Marco saw his first professional boxing match at Cesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. It was Oscar De La Hoya fighting for his first title against Rafael Ruelas. That same night Jimmy Garcia was killed in an earlier boxing match. It was traumatic and historic.

“That moment, I’ll never forget. I learned that boxing is not a game to be played, it is serious business,” Marco says.

While attending Hawthorne, Marco played football and baseball. Marco was not the best athlete in the country, but he was good enough to grab the attention of a few colleges that were scouting him at the time. He even yearned to get into boxing, but his parents were reluctant to get him into a boxing gym for obvious reasons

“I could have gone a lot further with sports, maybe even pro, but I was too busy partying, smoking weed, drinking and just being an idiot,” Marco says.

During a time of grunge music, gangster rap, baggy pants, and youthful rebellion and Marco was in full participation After graduating from Hawthorne, Marco attended El Camino College. He decided not to play baseball or football because, quite frankly, he was “high all the time.”

“I had no focus, no direction, not a care in the world to better myself, to learn anything, I was lost. But, I did like illegal street racing, way before Fast and Furious was even a thing,” Marco says.

Marco started to find some direction, while still smoking marijuana. Marco and his friend who’s an El Camino student came up with a wild idea to create a car magazine, documenting the illegal street racing scene in Southern California.

Thus “Street Racing Magazine” was born. Since both Marco and his fellow friend were both street racers and students at El Camino, what better way to learn the ins and outs of magazine writing then to major in journalism.

“The magazine only lasted 3 issues and I spent a lot of money totally chasing a pipe dream,” Marco says.

Back then credit card companies had promotional tents in the quad at El Camino and offered students their first credit cards. Somehow Marco was approved for an amount large enough to fund his wild magazine idea.

“I was getting high, street racing and someone gave me money. The idea to start a magazine when I had no idea what I was doing was the perfect storm of stupidity and fun. Let’s just say I spent a lot of money and never paid it back,” Marco says laughing. “But I learned more in creating this idea from thin air, than I ever did sitting in any journalism class. Now it might be just me, but I tend to leap before I look. Also, I was just never the classroom type of guy,” Marco says.

At this point Marco had failed his journalism class and was flunking in everything else. The magazine was dead and higher education was not in the cards. Two years later, at age 23, Marco was able to take his experience from starting his magazine as he was hired by another magazine start-up based in Atlanta, Georgia.

“I may have failed at being a publishing mogul, but I learned enough about starting a business and creating content that I

Marco Trejo, (center), founder of Sweet Science Boxing and MMA, trains Joey Abudy in one of the gym’s two rings in Hawthorne, Calif. on April 7, 2022. “He is one of best amateur boxers in the country,” Trejo says of Abudy. “In two weeks, he will be in Cleveland to try out for the U.S. national team,” Trejo adds. (Kim McGill | Warrior Life)

impressed the owners of this publishing company. So they hired me. The job included a lot of travel,” says Marco.

It was an opportunity for Marco to continue following his passions in the automotive world and to see other parts of the country. While working in Atlanta, and living in a small city, Covington, just outside of the ATL, Marco would drive by a gym with the sign USA Boxing. Being the former athlete that he was, and loving boxing, it made sense to take a look.

With few acitvities outside of work, it was the perfect opprotunity to do something different. Walking into the gym he was greeted by Reggie Tousaint, the owner of the gym. Reggie claimed he was on the USA Karate team a few years back.

“I had no reason to question him, he was a great guy. I think he was in a few karate movies back in the day too. Either way, he wa teaching boxing and his gym was down the street from work, so I signed up,” Marco says.

Immediately Marco took to boxing like a fish to water. In less then 3 months of being in the boxing gym, Marco had his first official amateur competition.

“I didn’t win but it was a close fight. We boxed at 170lbs, which when I think about it now, is huge. The guys at my gym that are 170 are absolute monsters. I was young enough and dumb enough at the time to survive and surprisingly did well in my fight.

“I remember being so excited about my match, I emailed my family back to tell them I was on my way to being the next Oscar De La Hoya,” Marco says.

Obviously, Marco never became the next Oscar but this experience awoke his passion for boxing and sport like nothing ever before.

“I caught the boxing bug, a lot of people do, but it’s in my blood so it makes sense to me now. I never knew my grandfather was a pro boxer until I was in my early 30’s after we had started meeting his side of the family. The movements, the competition, the challenge and routine were all natural and enjoyable to me. I’ve been in a boxing gym ever since,” Marco says.

Soon after his work experience in Atlanta had ended, Marco was back in Southern California and immedietely got himself into a boxing gym. He went to a gym called Broadway Boxing gym known to carry an old school boxing environment and culture. Ken Norton, who fought Muhammad Ali trained there. His trainer Bill Slayton founded the gym.

His next trainer at Broadway was a man by the name of Jesse Barnnet. Jesse was janitor at UCLA for most of his adult life, but prior to that Jesse was a light heavyweight contender. He had fought for the world title 3 times, but lost each time. He had one of the best jabs in his division.

Jesse had fought on ABC Worldwide of Sports in the late '70s and early '80s, with Howard Cosell commentating. Marco says he learned a lot from Jesse. They trained together almost everyday for 2 years.

Although Broadway Boxing was a great gym, the neighrborhood was just too dangerous to be at every day and night, so Marco ventured to Torrance where a new gym had opened up called L.A. Boxing.

It was more of a commercial and franchise location. It didn’t have the grit and serious boxing environment of a Broadway boxing gym, but the atmosphere was friendly, the trainers were fun.

He made friends with three other fighters, and they would always ask Marco to train them along with countless others. Marco and the three other fighters all thought the gym (LA Boxing) wasn’t that good and came up with the idea of owning their own gym. One was a UFC fighter, the other was a trainer, another a firefighter. “I don’t even think I was ever a real boxer, but people started asking me tips, to show them how to punch. I had never thought about training people, but here I was, doing just that. I guess that’s when the seed to become a trainer and maybe one day open a gym was planted,” Marco says.

While working a full-time job, Marco had been saving his money. When he came back to LA from Atlanta, he got in touch with his former magazine partner. They ended up started a online retail business selling car parts. A business still in operation to this day says Marco.

“We made a good bit of money and I did that for 5 years. While I was still boxing every day after work, I realized, I love boxing. So I sold my share of the company to my partner, and along with those funds and my savings I decided to start my own boxing gym,” Marco says.

Marco along with some of his friends he met at LA Boxing, invested their money into getting a gym together. They would all be partners.

“The biggest mistake I made in doing so, was having partners. We all put in some cash, but it was really me leading the charge, to find a location, come up with a logo and build the gym,” Marco says. “That’s the thing about partners, someone always does more. It’s not fair and that’s when tension builds, but I saw this as an opportunity. I knew that each partner was busy with other projects, or full time jobs, or family responsility, that eventually that could not commit to being a full-time gym owner.”

It became apparent to Marco that he was doing more than anyone else to fund, operate and maintain the gym. Each partner had an excuse for spending less time in the newly founded Sweet Science Boxing & MMA. As Marco predicted and patiently awaited, each partner left.

“It wasn’t much money each person put in, so it wasn’t a huge loss to them, especially if they were chasing bigger money. I knew the potential of the gym, I knew it could grow, so I stuck it out. I kept putting money into it, when it needed it and I put in the hours to teach classes and train people when we needed it,” Marco says.

Sweet Science Boxing & MMA was formed in 2009, with Marco taking over as sole owner around 2012. In hindsight Marco believes the hardest part about owning the gym were his partners. He says they held him back from accomplishing everything he wanted for Sweet Science.

“When the time was right, all the partners were gone and it was just me and I was ready. I think if I had gone at it alone, I wouldn’t have learned so many lessons that prepared me to be in charge. The universe tends to know when you are ready,” Marco says.

Being the sole owner of a business may have been easier for Marco, but he was still dealing with some drug problems, alchohalism and overall immaturity. Marco had challenges he had to evercome and fight through in order preserve his gym.

Marco also had to pay rent when there were some months when there wasn’t enough money to cover the rent. So, again, he reached into his pockets, worked during the day and did whatever was needed to keep his gym afloat.

Noticing their son's passion, hard work and commitment towards fighting for his boxing gym, Marco’s parents, who were retired at the time, offered their help. Marco’s mom ran a kitchen at a private high school for 20 years and his father was an aerospace machinist with his own manufacturing shop that he ran for 30 years.

“My parents are some of the smartest people I knew, even though I was a total dick growing up, they always had my back and when they saw me struggling, they offered help. It was one of the best moments of my life. My mom was helping run the books, collecting payments from all the members and my dad was working with the trainers, making sure they taught the student well. I would come in and teach, which is what I did best,” Marco says.

This period lasted for a few years, from around 2013-2015. In 2015 Marco’s father, Marco Sr. was diagnosed with colon cancer and died only 3 months after.

“Having my mom and dad in the gym with me, working together was the best. I’ll never forget how much fun we had. We worked well together. I even got to take my dad to many professional fights and we got to corner and train professional boxers together. He became my best friend. It was difficult losing him,” Marco says

Since Marco’s parents were helping him to manage the gym while he was still working full time, after his father’s passing, he decided to get into the gym full time and devote all his efforts to running a successful gym.

“You have a tendency to take on more responsibility as you get older and losing my dad really cemented that for me. My mom loved being at the gym too, it became a family thing and I had to be there with her. After all, I started it, they just lifted me up when I needed it. I had to be there,” Marco says.

After Marco Sr. passed, Marco and his mother built the gym into a well oiled machine. Students were learning, gym memberships were being paid.

“We made some more changes as time went on, but it really grew. My dad would secretly tell my mom the gym was a gold mine, and he was right. We still had issues with finding the right help, creating the right energy and postive atmosphere for training boxers, but that all came with time,” Marco says.

Everything was going great for a few years and then COVID-19 hit. The gym had to be shut down for 3 months, and when it did open it was a limited capacity. The fruits of labor had stopped coming in. But like many great business owners, Marco had to find a way to make money.