Player Intro
Darwin Ignacio is the owner and coach at Chain Breakers Warrior Academy, training kids and adults to challenge their physical and mental limits with taxing obstacles, a la American Ninja Warrior.
Hailing from New York, Darwin was a two-time 3-point champion in a local basketball league, and has always been active, playing multiple sports, including: baseball, basketball, flag football, and ping pong. He's always been active, but realized that he was no longer walking as much when he moved to Virginia. In order to get back into shape, he began constructing his own Ninja Warrior setup in his backyard, and eventually began frequenting local gyms to compete.
Finding his passion in coaching and driving others to greater heights, Darwin opened Chain Breakers Warrior Academy. He loves to see growth over time in those that he coaches; he is "in love with encouraging others."
Gameplan
Darwin's exact words are used as much as possible to reflect his story. The quotes have been edited for length and clarity, and have, in some cases, been reorganized to provide greater structure to the narrative.
pD: What traits or habits have you had to develop as a coach and Ninja Warrior athlete?
Darwin: People have always said I'm super patient because I coach these kids who are all over the place, and I keep my calm. I feel like I've already had that through different avenues prior to owning a gym.
I worked at the Apple Store on 5th Avenue in New York, which was open 24 hours. I worked overnight, and this Apple Store averaged 125,000 through those doors every 24 hours. It's just insane, and you're bombarded. When I was working there, I was the guy that had most of the answers, so instead of my coworkers answering questions themselves, they would direct people to me to ask questions.
My patience was developed from there, and when it came to teaching kids, I just get to know them. I have to be a kid at heart and understand where they're coming from. I'm not a kid whisperer, but I definitely have more patience than the average person.
pD: Tell me a story about how that patience has come into play as a coach.
Darwin: During our camps. We usually have kids here for 65 minute classes, 90 minute open gyms, and during these camps, we have a 9 hour day, 5 days in a row. So there are times where things from one day build into the next. It could be "Why am I always last when I go here?" or "I had a quarrel with one of the other kids," and that's when it comes to patience in the day to day: "how do I go about this and still encourage them without discouraging them?" That's one of the hardest things, to build a deeper bond with these kids over the week rather than just once a week.
pD: There's a lot more time for frustrations to build up during these camps.
Darwin: Yeah, during the camp, sometimes you just have to *exhales*. That's one of the things in Ninja Warrior, getting over the fear of heights. A lot of kids eventually overcome that, and some kids take more time. I know we are born with a fear of falling, so I get it, it's not just something you get over.
pD: How as a coach do you condition your kids to overcome the fear of falling?
Darwin: Eventually, you find ways to slowly progress and give them confidence. One of the things I tried to do before was stay under them so that you can catch them, and then slowly, little by little, the way you catch them becomes a little different. You're slowly giving them control instead of you absorbing the impact.
Give them confidence
That way they can fall, be cushioned, they can drop and they'll realize it's not that bad. The ones that do let go and drop say "Oh, that's not that bad." For the most part, I'd say 80% that works.
pD: So this patience that has been built up before you got into this work, how has that continued to serve you outside of athletics?
Darwin: The patience came in prior to me opening the gym, because it took me about 7 different locations before we actually got this location. So for me to keep going, and see the vision that God gave me, that "Hey this is what I want you to do," I truly believe that God gets you to the door, you just have to open it.
God gets you to the door, you just have to open it
When you open it, you just have to step forward. I remember Jesus told his disciples to go into homes of Israel, and if someone doesn't welcome you, don't force yourself in, and also don't curse that home (Matthew 10:1-15). It's just "fine, I'll move on to someone that welcomes me." That's how I approached finding this facility.
Eventually, this landlord heard the things I was doing outside of the gym, and she said "I wanted to help this guy out."
pD: So your patience and faith fuel each other. It seems like going through this process has made you more confident in God's plan. What's the biggest challenge that you have faced, and how did you overcome it?
Darwin: Honestly, I feel that the biggest obstacle is being alone in the vision that God gives you. Because nobody ever sees what God shows you the same way that you do. So it's always a different perspective, and the angle that I view this opportunity is different from anyone else's view.
When it comes down to this vision right here, people say "Oh my gosh, if that pops off, you can make a lot of money." And I say, you know, "the vision he gave me was not about money." It was about inspiration and encouraging kids and families to overcome their fears and their obstacles and their physical limits, not just trying to live big off of it.
This vision was not about money
If you approach it that way (about making money), it feels more like 9-5 work, as opposed to a vision and a movement that you want to create. I think that's where it becomes a challenge, and it’s really hard for most people to understand that. Unfortunately a lot of the world is really all about the self, but when you start to talk about taking it away from yourself, they just don't get it yet. I pray about that everyday. In John 3:30, it says "He must increase, but I must decrease." And I'm leaning towards: It's not about me and my fame or anything like that.
pD: I imagine it's hard being alone in that vision, having to self-propel, and it has to be tempting to fall into that trap to have it be about yourself when you have bills due, equipment to be purchased, etc.
Darwin: As much as people don't have the same vision as you, doesn't mean you don't have a support system throughout the process. So you'll have family and friends who enjoy what you're doing, customers, who keep pushing and sharing your space. So I believe that that fuels you, their belief in what you're doing, even though they don't see exactly what that vision is. I really think that's what makes it happen.
I was reading a story about God's love language, and the author says that God's love language is faith. The same way I encourage kids to do the obstacles because I have faith in them to do it, God sees that in us. Because of his faith in us, we can reciprocate that faith in him. It's just like a 2-way street, where He's saying "I believe in you, I believe you can do this."
For him to put this vision in your hands, to say "this is what I put you on this Earth to do," that's what keeps you going. I'm also going through a Daniel fast where you just consume everything of the Earth, nothing processed. So it's been fruits, vegetables, nuts, no milk, no eggs, little dairy, so it's been 5 days, and it's been tough, but a lot of people in the Bible fasted, and there was a reason for that. So my head's definitely clearer, and I can hear God clearer, and I love it.
pD: You talk about faith a lot as part of your vision for this place. How else does faith impact your life?
Darwin: A lot of it is believing you can overcome your abilities, no matter your height, your age. Especially with age, you learn to overcome abilities that are out of the norm for your age. Also with injuries, I've gone through so many just setting up, not even training. I'm the way I am right now because I've gotten hurt, and I've had a lot of close calls. I've learned to wait until I have people around me to move things.
I was presented a painting from the parents of one our kids. It was a painting of Moses with his hands supported by Ben and Aaron holding his arms up where it was releasing the cane so that the miracles could happen (Exodus 17:8-13). Wow, that reminds me that nobody does it themselves.
Nobody does it themselves
Execution
Darwin kindly allowed us to join him during one of his more advanced classes and record how he instructs these aspiring ninja warriors to complete the hanging rings obstacle. Permission was obtained from all parents of children recorded in this video.
Thank you to Darwin and Chain Breakers Warrior Academy for recording this video. Check them out if you're a Williamsburg local looking for activities for your kids or for a way to push your own limits. Please subscribe to our blog, like our Facebook page for our latest updates. We welcome any feedback, and please let us know who we should interview next!
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