{"podcast":{"title":"A Black Belt Way of Life","slug":"a-black-belt-way-of-life-7024093","podcast_index_feed_id":7024093,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/black-belt-way-of-life/","website_url":"https://black-belt-way-of-life.captivate.fm","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/6f5259d9-fecb-4686-b450-3a56829ba904/2ofo6tsemQuoaaH3nhWhqWgc.jpg","author":"New York Black Belt Center","episode_count":36,"summary":"The most important lesson Master Joseph Lupo Jr. received from his father was, \"A black belt is worn around your heart, never your waist.\" This quote became the foundation that Master Joe lives by, and the basis for his show. Master Joe is a sixth-degree Taekwondo black belt and owner of the New York Black Belt Center in Queens, NY since 2010. With over four decades of knowledge and insight, Master Joe interviews guests in and around the martial arts world, sharing their life experiences and philosophies to motivate listeners to become a black belt in whatever path they walk.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-24T14:18:42.376846+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/a-black-belt-way-of-life-7024093"},"episode":{"title":"Molding Martial Artists with Muay Thai - Eric Ruiz","slug":"molding-martial-artists-with-muay-thai-eric-ruiz","published_at":"2025-04-23T04:01:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/a-black-belt-way-of-life-7024093/molding-martial-artists-with-muay-thai-eric-ruiz","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/a-black-belt-way-of-life-7024093","url":"https://black-belt-way-of-life.captivate.fm","audio_url":"https://podcasts.captivate.fm/media/dcf0d200-3c06-4084-b1db-6ae35f5bd7b9/BBWOL-Episode-16.mp3","summary":"When most young kids in the 1980s wanted to be Ralph Macchio (Daniel LaRusso) from the Karate Kid movies, Eric Ruiz wanted to be Mr. Miyagi, a teacher of martial arts. As a teenager, he started learning Taekwondo. Once he gained his footing and built a strong foundation, he began learning other forms of martial arts. Black belts in Taekwondo & Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (under Professor Rob Gutierrez), Eric has also achieved rank in Jeet Kune Do, Jun Fan Gung Fu, Muay Thai Kickboxing, and Combat Submission Wrestling under Sensei Erik Paulson. Eric understood that to be a good and real teacher of the arts, he needed to immerse himself into the competition world. To teach fighting, one must have fight experience is his mindset. How can you know if a technique works, if you've never used it or been hit by it, was the question he asked himself. This approach set the groundwork for the opening of his school, Ringsport Muay Thai, located in Whitestone, Queens, New York. A trainer to champions in MMA and Muay Thai is his greatest accomplishment, in his opinion. He is humble in his talk of being a champion professional Muay Thai fighter, having spent time in Thailand. Molding martial artists is his passion. Molding them through real life and in-ring experience. A model that many instructors should follow in their pursuit of teaching excellence.  Follow us on social media and wherever you consume your podcasts.  YouTube -  https://youtube.com/@blackbeltwayoflife  Spotify -  https://open.spotify.com/show/276fCOHsnHb8YcakObQqWP?si=151905d467424ed2   Amazon Music -  https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9d314fb1-51bb-4232-b3ab-60247520f343/a-black-belt-way-of-life   Apple Podcasts -  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-black-belt-way-of-li…","meta_description":"When most young kids in the 1980s wanted to be Ralph Macchio (Daniel LaRusso) from the Karate Kid movies, Eric Ruiz wanted to be Mr. Miyagi, a teacher of…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3372,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/a-black-belt-way-of-life-7024093/episodes/molding-martial-artists-with-muay-thai-eric-ruiz/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/a-black-belt-way-of-life-7024093/molding-martial-artists-with-muay-thai-eric-ruiz.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}