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Joe Zuccola |
The focus and concentration he learned in becoming a black belt transferred directly
into his career, says third-degree black belt Joe Zuccola.
The sales executive with Boston's Gillette Company says staying focused in
training and focused at work are much the same. He is responsible for
some $20- to $30- million in sales of razors and blades in the New York
region.
"I always wanted to be a black belt. I always wanted to learn martial arts, said the 1987 Winchester High School grad.
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The all-important close
The most important thing a student can do is understand the close, says black belt Joe Zuccola.
"Anything else is secondary. Like when you start talking about kicks and take-downs and finger locks. None of that will work unless you’re closing on the person, unless you’re coming in once you read or understand that that person is coming at you.
"If you’re not coming in, everything else will fall apart."
When do you learn the close?
"Immediately. That’s basic; one of the first things you do when you start working with Ed.
"There are different elements to closing. It’s not just throwing your hands out. You have to have the right technique to manipulate somebody. It takes quite a while before you can really master it."
What is the most important element of the close?
"Your hands and feet working together. And understanding the pre-assault cue. The most important element is understanding when someone is going to attack you -- your pre-assault cue -- and then moving your hands and feet together at that person. Those are the two most important things."
Closing and coming in, being close?
"Yeah. And understanding when they’re going to attack you. Whether it’s because their eyes are moving, shifting a certain way, or because they’re tightening their fist or you can just feel they’re going to come at you. If you don’t go at them and you decide to keep off them, you’re probably going to get hurt because you don’t know what they’re going to be throwing at you."
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“I was determined to stay with it. I took some bumps and bruises, but I'm where I want to be and I'm going to stay with it. It's the same with work."
"I'd like to think I was goal-oriented and liked to accomplish things. But this helped me to stay on that course," he said.
Baby girl
Zuccola lives in Wilmington with his wife, Melissa, and their daughter,
Felicia.
He has a marketing degree from Boston University and an MBA from Boston
College. He played Eagles football at BC during the late '80s and early
'90s. He’s been at Gillette for more than 10 years.
The 5-foot 7-inch Zuccola earned his black belt rank in 1999, and a second-degree black belt in 2001. In April, 2006, testing, he became a third-degree black belt. He began training with Sensei Ed Melaugh in 1994.
"I put the time in and I enjoy it.
“I do it for the competitiveness and I enjoy keeping in shape. I enjoy the contact and the fact that every time I think I know what I'm doing, something comes up. So I'm constantly learning.
Learning
"And I think a lot of the reason I stay with it is Ed. I've been with other martial arts and in terms of personalities and in how Ed cares about his people, how he wants them to continue learning, for him it's more than just a business.
“It's about his people growing and understanding and learning."
