Master Marcello Small – a Martial Artist on a mission to teach women self-defence

Jul 02, 2017 News

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– hopes to help reduce incidence of death by domestic violence

Domestic Violence has over the years become very rampant in our society. In some instances the extent of violence has been so severe that it has ended in death. A number of women have been at the receiving end of this form of violence.

However, Master Marcello Small is convinced that more women could take control if they are exposed to such situations. According to Small, he is even prepared to lend a helping hand in this regard.
The 40-year-old New Amsterdam resident is the Senior Instructor and President of White Tiger Martial Arts Academy. His credentials include Taekwondo 2nd Dan, Wushu, Nature fist kung fu [White Sash], Linjitsu [system] Karate 4th Dan and Shin Kai Do 2nd Dan. In fact, he is able to boast of being trained under the late Grandmaster Dr. Stephen Monasingh. The legendary Professor Monasingh passed away earlier this year.
Master Small was only too eager to share recently how he proposes to help women be in a better position to defend themselves rather than continue to be statistics associated with domestic violence.
He is convinced that his vision of a major self-defence movement, starting in the New Amsterdam area, is the answer. He hopes to utilise the New Amsterdam Town Hall as a training Centre, a location he already utilised for his Academy classes.
The Academy was opened on May 2, 2017, and classes are conducted on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of each week.
Small, who had previously resided in Barbados, became aware of the daunting domestic violence situation here, through reports disseminated by the local media.
But this has not been his only focus. You see, Small, although he has been involved in martial arts for the past 25 years, is a full-time fashion designer and garment manufacturer. However, he said that he decided to make it a priority to share his martial arts knowledge with the intent of helping to reverse the existing violent trend.
“When I came back home I took a count of the situation and to me, it was like, on average, one woman was dying per week [because of violence], and that was frustrating to me. Some of these things even happened because of minor issues,” Small reflected.
He was even more disturbed by the fact that several women, who suffered violence at the hands of their partners, often opted to not press charges, for whatever reason, when the matter reached the realm of law enforcement and the judiciary.
“Recently I read about a woman who was nearly killed by her partner and she didn’t want to press charges…I think the law should ensure that these people [perpetrators of violence] should face the law, whether these women want to press charges or not, because sometimes these same women continue to be abused and sometimes they are even killed,” Small lamented.
Since some women may be afraid or even embarrassed to take their issues outside the home, Small said that he is willing to offer them training that will equip them to stand up against their attackers.
The initial self-defence skills that Small is prepared to offer will be done during a one-month training-workshop.
“During the one month, persons will be offered aerobics, so that they will be able to boost up the muscles and get the body in tune. They are going to learn to defend themselves against an attacker with a knife, a choke…They will also learn what are the weak points, so that they will know where to hit to get the maximum effect,” Small explained
The training that will be offered, he noted, will certainly not make the participants eligible for the big leagues, since it is the simplest form of training they will be initially exposed to. But the training will be significant enough to realise its intended purpose of self-defence.
“They will learn to have an open mind to the fact that it is not what you know, but what you think…You have to train the body and train the mind,” Small related.
The workshop is slated to start on Wednesday [July 5, 2017] at the New Amsterdam Town Hall, according to Small, who is also a part of the Guyana Masters Martial Arts Association International.
According to the Martial Arts Instructor, the Association also has plans to soon launch a similar self-defence venture in Georgetown. But according to Small, once there is a demand for training, he is willing to travel to various parts of the country to host free one-day training seminars on a national scale.
Small is also appealing to all martial artists throughout the country to get on board the movement and also offer self-defence training for those women who may be victims or vulnerable to domestic violence in the society.
Those who are interested in taking advantage of Small’s offer can contact him on [592] 673-9221 for more information about the planned one-month self-defence workshop and other plans that are in the pipeline in this regard.

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