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Jonathan Michael Rivera

@sifujonathan

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The warrior spirit never gets old. 🥋🔥

This past weekend, I had the honor of competing in my first New York International Wushu Championships, representing Hung Ga.

It’s been years since I’ve competed, and man, did it feel good to get those competitive juices flowing again! Training hard, preparing for something, and stepping out there to put it all on the line. What an amazing feeling!

What made it even more special was being surrounded by martial artists of all ages, from 3-year-old kids to masters in their 70s, all sharing their passion for the arts. 🙏🏽

After only three years of training, my Sifu challenged me to compete in the advanced division, alongside practitioners with 10+ years of experience, including Sifus themselves. And I’m grateful he did!

The result: 🥈 2nd place in Empty Hand Forms and 🥉 3rd place in Weapons.

But for me, competition has never been just about the medals. It’s about challenging yourself, giving your absolute best, and honoring the art, the teachings, and the lineage passed down to you. And hopefully, inspiring someone else along the way.

Thank you, Sifu Jonathan Rivera, for never taking it easy on me, for pushing me beyond my limits, and for seeing something in me that I’m only beginning to see in myself.

The medals are a blessing, but the experience and lessons are the real reward.

Still a student. Still learning. Still hungry. 🐺

#HungGar #KungFu #MartialArts #WarriorSpirit

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There are mornings when I know exactly what’s coming. 🌅

The same stance.
The same cuts. ⚔️
The same footwork.
The same corrections Sifu has been giving me for years.

From the outside, it probably looks repetitive.

From the inside, it’s a conversation.⚔️

This isn’t even the complete Mother and Son Sword form. It’s only a piece of what has been passed down to me. 🙏🏽 And every time I step into it, I realize something…

The movements aren’t changing.

I am.

🫁 One day I notice my breathing.
⚖️ Another day it’s my balance.
⛰️ Another day it’s patience.
🐅 Another day it’s courage.
💭 Then one day I understand that the sword was never the lesson.

I was.

⚫

We live in a world that constantly tells us to chase the next thing.

📱 The next trend.
💼 The next business.
🏋🏽 The next workout.
⚡ The next shortcut.

But every teacher I’ve ever respected has taught me the opposite.

Return.

🌿 Return to the fundamentals.
🫁 Return to your breath.
🥋 Return to your stance.
🔁 Return to the things you’ve done a thousand times… because the thousand-and-first time, you’ll meet a version of yourself the first thousand couldn’t reveal.

That’s how lineages survive.

Not through talent.

Through repetition worthy of being passed on.
⚔️🐅

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Save the date!

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🎥 One thing training with Sifu always reminds me of is watching game film when I played football.

The film never lied.

It showed you what you did well, what broke down under pressure, and what separated the good from the great.

So after Sifu recorded us training “Arrow Hand”, I watched it back the same way I’d study film. 👀 I wasn’t looking at the sequence—I was looking for the difference.

It wasn’t technique.

It was intent. 🎯

Every stance. Every breath. Every strike from Sifu had purpose behind it. His body moved with conviction because his mind got there first.

It took me back to something he told me years ago while teaching me Gung Ji Fuk Fu:

“Imagine you walked into your home and someone had just murdered your family.”

Not for shock value—for understanding.

🐅 Hung Gar wasn’t created to perform. It was forged for survival. Every movement has a purpose. Every technique has consequences.

So today, I went back to the fundamentals.

🌬️ Not to memorize the form.
To sharpen my intent.

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2 weeks away. @bferucci and I will host a seminar at @ko_martial_arts_academy. This seminar is a must attend if you are serious about Jiu Jitsu. You will learn the necessary fundamentals and concepts to make your successful in your BJJ journey. People have been training for years and still don’t know certain concepts and it hinders their progress. Don’t let this be you! Can’t wait to see you all!

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The master plants the seed in silence.
The disciple carries it into a new age.

This Nameless Form. A gift from my Sifu for me to learn. For me to understand. To embody and make my own.

Born from Shaolin spirit, now moving through rhythm, concrete, and soul. 🐉🎻

#BuiltNotBought #Shaolin #MovementIsMedicine #TrainDifferent #SelfMastery

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Come #OUTSIDE this Saturday, May 16th to celebrate 2026 NEW YORK DRAGON LION DANCE DAY at Sara D. Roosevelt Park, in Chinatown!

It will be a Who's Who of LION DANCE and KUNG FU performances! Come out and celebrate Lion Dance and traditional martial arts with us!

CHENG! 🤜🫷

#LionDanceday #chinatownNYC #7starprayingmantis

POLL: Do you do any type of martial arta? Answer, then share what you do in the comments!

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Whatever is going on in your life - don't forget to FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS! Keep doing that thing that you were born to do, that makes you happy, that refreshes your spirit.

I do. So does my bro @thegodofsound who's Birthday is tonight @drinklounge 7pm and so does Plague Fam @iammcjin who is now doing COMEDY!! Catch him LIVE at the Pallasaides Mall June 11th. Ticket Link in his bio. #FollowYourDreams #AlongTheWayWithGMS 🫡🫡🫡

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A proud disciple, son, martial artist moment. 🐉🔥

My Sifu, @sifujonathan was featured in The Deadly Art of Survival Magazine, where they laid out his lifelong journey in the martial arts. 📰🥋

Sifu is not just a plethora of knowledge across many different art forms, he is a true student of the game. He would rather learn the move that may have bested him in a fight than debate which art is better. 🧠⚔️

As the old saying goes, when the student is ready, the master will appear. Sifu Jonathan was exactly the teacher I was looking for to further my knowledge, passion, and pursuit of the martial arts. 🥋🙏🏽

Congrats, Sifu. It’s about time you begin to receive your flowers, and it’s an honor to be called one of your closed-door disciples. 🥷 👊🏽

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#daoscon6 #deadlyartofsurvival #kungfu #deadlyartofsurvivalmagazine #karate

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As a 2nd degree BJJ black belt I’ve been developing a Kung Fu ground fighting program for close to 20 years now. With the help from my BJJ Professor Luigi Mondelli and my Sensei John Hackleman and his Pit Jitsu program which includes striking aka mma / ground & pound, I have developed a program called Ditang Quan Jiu Jitsu. This program includes the above mentioned as well as chin-na, chi sau, trapping hands, kicks & sweeps taken out of our forms - from my Mantis & Hung Gar teachings. I hope to offer more training to other Kung Fu practitioners wanting to learn the ground game. Besides being effective it’s a lot of fun! Feel free to contact me for more information. KUNG FU - ONE FAMILY.

⛩️ Private training, semi-privates, seminars and camps ☯️
sifuhughes@gmail.com

Tuesdays
5-6pm taijiquan
6-8pm trapping hands & chi sau

Wednesday 6-8pm
Ditang Jiu Jitsu

Thursday 6-8pm
Weapons & Qigong

Sunday 9:30-11am
IM WORKOUT

Private lessons by appointment.

On-line Training
Iron Mantis Martial Arts – A complete martial arts system

🔗 [Watch Now] 🔗 https://youtube.com/@ironmantismartialarts?si=Ia8JNsgt1BWhzhP0

Iron Mantis Books ⛩️
BOOK 1
https://www.amazon.com/Iron-Mantis-Martial-Arts-Manual/dp/B0CJ43XZ3B

Iron Mantis Books ⛩️
BOOK 2
https://a.co/d/0GYuYfh

Iron Mantis Books ⛩️
BOOK 3
Diamond Temple Internal Martial Arts: A guide for practitioners cultivating the internal: Hughes, Sifu Jeffrey T, McLaughlin, Yogi Lauren: Amazon.com: Books

TEXAS / NEW YORK / CALIFORNIA / NORTH CAROLINA / FLORIDA / ARKANSAS / NEW MEXICO / CANADA

Pricing:
On-going small group classes are 200 a month for one class a week. Each additional class is only 100.

Privates are 200 an hour.
2 people 150 each for 90 minutes.
3 people 100 each for 90 minutes.
4 people 75 each for 90 minutes.
* these prices for those coming to me to train at IMHQ. otherwise driving fees are included.

10 privates 1,800 (saving $200).
20 privates 3,400 (saving $600).

#KungFu #austin #mma #bjj #ironmantis

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