MIKE POLITO HAS BEEN ACTIVE IN THE MARTIAL ARTS AND FITNESS WORLD SINCE 1979. PRIOR TO THAT HE HAS ALWAYS PARTICIPATED IN A VARIETY OF SPORTS AT A COMPETITIVE LEVEL. AS A CHILD, HE USED TO MIMIC FITNESS GURU JACK LALANNE DURING HIS EXERCISE SHOW ON TELEVISION. MIKE STARTED HIS MARTIAL ARTS TRAINING IN A TRADITIONAL FORM OF CHINESE KUNG FU CALLED "FU JOW PAI" (TIGER CLAW SYSTEM). FROM THERE HE BEGAN HIS STUDY OF OKINAWAN KENPO KARATE. AFTER RECEIVING HIS BLACK BELT GRADE, HE OPERATED HIS OWN SCHOOL (DOJO) FOR MANY YEARS. MIKE THEN DECIDED TO EXPAND HIS MARITAL ARTS KNOWLEDGE IN STUDYING KYOKUSHINKAI (MAS OYAMA) / WORLD OYAMA KARATE. A HEAVY DUTY FULL CONTACT JAPANESE KARATE STYLE.  MICHAEL ALSO STUDIED JAPANESE SWORDSMANSHIP (IAIDO) UNDER SENSEI NOBORU KATAOKA IN NYC. DURING THIS TIME, MICHAEL ALSO BEGAN THE STUDY OF ZEN MEDITATION AT THE ZEN MOUNTAIN MONASTERY IN MOUNT TREMPER, NY. HERE IS WHERE HE LEARNED ABOUT BREATHING AND MENTAL STILLNESS. THIS ESPECIALLY ENHANCED HIS MARTIAL ARTS AND CALISTHENIC TRAINING.  MICHAEL HAS ALWAYS BEEN A  SERIOUS WEIGHT LIFTER, AND COMPETED IN BENCH PRESS COMPETITIONS. HE WAS ALSO A PERSONAL TRAINER FOR GOLDS GYM IN THE LATE 80'S AND EARLY 90'S. RECENTLY SUFFERING AN ARM INJURY WHICH WAS CAUSED BY HIS MANY YEARS OF LIFTING HEAVY WEIGHTS, THE INJURY BEGAN TO WORSEN WHICH LED TO A RECENT SURGERY TO REPAIR THE DISTAL BICEP.  IT WAS DURING THIS LAYOFF OF TRAINING THAT MIKE HAD DECIDED TO TAKE ON A SAFER APPROACH TO STRENGTH AND FITNESS.  CALISTHENICS HAS ALWAYS SOMETHING HE TRAINED WITH, BUT HE ONLY USED IT IN CONJUNCTION WITH HIS WEIGHT TRAINING AND MARTIAL ARTS.  WHILE RECUPERATING FROM HIS SURGERY HE CAME ACROSS TWO GENTLEMAN ON YOUTUBE THAT CONVINCED HIM THAT BODYWEIGHT CALISTHENICS WERE ONE OF THE TRUE WAYS TO STAY FIT AND STRONG. THESE TWO GENTLEMAN ARE AL AND DANNY KAVADLO OF NYC. MICHAEL CONSIDERS THESE MEN HIS TEACHERS, MENTORS AND DEAR FRIENDS. IT ALL STARTED TO MAKE SENSE TO MICHAEL AFTER TAKING  BODYWEIGHT TRAINING MORE SERIOUSLY. ALTHOUGH IT MAY HAVE SEEMED NEW TO HIM AT THE TIME,  HE WAS ACTUALLY TRAINING CALISTHENICS OVER THE PAST 33 YEARS.  THE MARTIAL ARTS ARE ALL CALISTHENICS. THE MARTIAL ARTS INCLUDE PROPER BREATHING, DYNAMIC TENSION, AND NOTHING BUT PURE BODYWEIGHT EXCERCIES THAT STRENGTHEN THE LIGAMENTS AND TENDONS. THESE EXERCISES STOOD THE TEST OF TIME OVER THOUSANDS OF YEARS BECAUSE THEY WORKED.  CALISTHENICS ARE A HUGE PART OF THE MARTIAL ARTS. CALISTHENIC TRAINING HAS BEEN AROUND FOR CENTURIES. FROM THE ANCIENT GREEK WARRIORS TO THE KUNG FU SHAOLIN MONKS OF CHINA. MICHAEL'S YEARS  OF TRAINING MEMBERS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL, FBI AND VARIOUS ATHLETES, PROVED TO HIM THAT THESE EXERCISES MAKE A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE.  MICHAEL NOW OFFERS CALISTHENICS PERSONAL TRAINING AS A SEPARATE FROM MARTIAL ARTS. SO THOSE PEOPLE NOT INTERESTED IN LEARNING MARTIAL ARTS CAN STILL BENEFIT FROM THE PRACTICE AND TRAINING IN CALISTHENICS.  BODYWEIGHT TRAINING CAPTIVATES AND STRENGTHENS  EVERYONE WHO BECOMES INVOLVED WITH IT. FROM YOUNG CHILDREN TO PEOPLE INTO THIER 80'S & 90'S ARE ABLE TO TRAIN USING CALISTHENICS. IT IS A TOTALLY NATURAL, AND HOLISTIC WAY OF MAINTAINING THE HUMAN BODY.