Episode 706 - Danielle Orsino
Danielle Orsino is a Martial Arts practitioner and a fantasy novelist who wrote “The Birth of the Fae” series.
It’s nice to have somebody to just tell me “Hey, focus on the pad and don’t listen to the noise.” Because I’m getting critiqued and judged as an author for a while. You have those voices. So, it’s nice to have somebody to just be like “Just hit the pad, that’s all you have to worry about right now…”
Danielle Orsino - Episode 706
Usually, the journey for us Martial Artists starts with either wanting to learn self-defense or being inspired by our heroes. Danielle Orsino, the author of The Birth of the Fae, started training on her father’s dare that she could get out of town if she got a yellow belt in Taekwondo. Later on, after a handful of tournaments, Danielle Orsino became a martial arts champion. Presently, she is a novelist and has written a book series.
In this episode, Danielle Orsino talks about her transition from a champion martial artist to a nurse and her journey to becoming an author. Listen to learn more!
Show Notes
Check out Danielle Orsino’s books including The Birth of the Fae Series on Amazon
Show Transcript
You can read the transcript below.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Hey there, thanks for coming by. This is whistlekick Martial Arts radio episode 706. And my guest today is Danielle Orsino. Who am I? Jeremy Lesniak, I'm your host for the show I founded whistlekick, where everything we do is in support of the traditional martial arts. If you want to see everything we're doing, go to whistlekick.com. That's our digital hub. And one of the things you're going to find one of the spokes on the wheel, if you will, is our store, because we got bills to pay. But we've got some cool stuff in there that you're probably going to like stuff that you might buy anyway. Well, here's a way you can help us out. And on top of that, because you're a listener, you can use the code PODCAST15, save 15%. Martial arts radio gets its own website, and it is whistlekickmartialartsradio.com. We keep it easy, we bring you the show twice a week, the goal of the show is really of whistlekick overall, it's under the heading of connecting educating and entertaining traditional martial artists worldwide.
If you want to help guarantee future episodes of this show, and all the other stuff that we put out. Well, there are lots of ways you can help. You could make a purchase, maybe follow us on social media, we're @whistlekick everywhere you can think of, or join the Patreon, patreon.com/whistlekick. Patreon is a place where we post exclusive content stuff you're not gonna find elsewhere. In fact, this episode is available in video, only on Patreon. And if you contribute $5 a month you're gonna get access to some of it actually, you can get in for as little as $2 a month. But depending on the tier, you get access to different amounts, all the way up to our top tiers give you access to a school owner's mastermind that I'm jumping on a call within 35 minutes. You want the whole list of everything that we're doing, all the things that you can do to help us out in our mission. Go to whistlekick.com/family, whistlekick.com/family. It's not linked anywhere, you got to type it in. Why? Because we know only the people who really love what we're doing are going to take that step. And in exchange, we put some other stuff in there for you that you're not going to find elsewhere. Check it out.
Today's episode is with one of the best storytellers we have ever had on the show. Compelling emotion I'm struggling for words to come up with how to describe the power of Daniel's storytelling. There are times when I record and you know, I'm keeping an eye on the clock. And then there are rare occasions like with this episode, where I completely lost track of time, looked up and went, holy cow. We've been recording for how long, I've got a good feeling that you're gonna feel the same way. So, enjoy this awesome story of her journey. And let's get to know Daniel Orsino. Danielle, welcome to whistlekick Martial Arts Radio.
Danielle Orsino:
Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Thanks for being here. Thanks for being here. Audience. We just had a great chat. And this feels like one that we could probably do for hours we will but we probably could and still not cover everything. I mean, you throw out some things that we don't have a lot of firsts on the show. After this much time. But you got some first brewing. I'm looking forward to where we will go today.
Danielle Orsino:
Always helpful to be the first.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah, for sure. Well, let's start with what I think we can all agree is the most boring, expected question. But I think it needs to happen because it's a martial art show. We're martial artists. And it gives us context for everything else we're going to talk about how'd you get started martial arts.
Danielle Orsino:
It's really funny. I'd like to tell you that. You know, I've always wanted to be a martial artist and all those great stories, but actually, it was done a little bit on a dare. My father… I wanted to go to New Orleans with my girlfriend, Jen. And so I had never been on a trip. I didn't go to spring break, nothing like that. I was just turning 18 and my dad said, okay, you want to go to New Orleans? Yeah, that's great. And she knew the gym that I went to had a taekwondo program. So he's like, get your first belt. I'll let you go. Because he was like, in a week, she'll be out of there. Why? He just wanted to see if I could finish something like he was like if she really wanted to go. And he thought, oh, she'll get some self defense out of it. You know, he was kind of setting it up. He also happened to know the instructor because my brother had started in it. My brother didn't finish it, but he was like, let's say, and I was like, alright, deal and he shook hands on and he was like, do you get your yellow belt?
I will let you go to New Orleans with Jeff. And he was thinking that there is no way this is ever going to happen. And I walked into that gym and we rented it out a little. It's like the aerobics studio and I walked in and I'll never forget it. I had sweat pants on and a sports bra. Like everything you should not do. Walked right in front of the black belts, stood with them. Chewing gum, full makeup, hair on top. Like just I walked in and stood right at the end with the black belts hand on my hip. And I just stood there. What's up guys? Like, just you know, my instructor was Mr. McLaughlin. And he walked in. And he was staring at me. And he was like, and you are like, I'm here to learn some karate. I mean, valley girl was, I mean, I think about it now and I cringe. And he was like, and what are you here and I told him, I was like, look, I just need the yellow belt. So I can go to New Orleans, okay?
Like, I'm not here for the rest of it. And my friend Jen was next to me. And because she was just like, I gotta see this. He was like, you want to learn karate. And I was like, taekwondo, whatever, whatever we're doing here. Sensei didn't even call them sub in him. I didn't know the sub and the title like, and he stared at me hand on my hip, I am not standing at attention. And I'm with the black belts. Now, I see that there are kids on the other side, who are blue belts, not even white belts. And he was like, Okay, you need to stand at the other end. And I'm like, the kids are at the other end. I'm an adult, once again, attitude for days. He's really, and he's laughing at me. And he's like, let me ask you a question. And I looked right at him. And I was like, alright, John, because I knew his name was John, I jumped the sensei thing.
Jeremy Lesniak:
I'm cringing for you in like, I'm feeling myself withdraw into my seat from this story.
Danielle Orsino:
And the black belts are laughing because they're all adult men. There's not one woman in the class. And they're looking at me like this girl that's got her butt kicked. And he's like, can you do a push up? And I remember looking at him going, Yeah, and not one of those girly ones, either. And it was on a hardwood floor. And he's like, come here, and he pulls me into the corner. He's like, show me a push up. And I do a full push up. And he's like, can you do one on your knuckles? And I'm like, yeah, not? Yeah and I just got down. I do a push up on my knuckles. He goes, can you hold it for me? And I get on with my knuckles and I hold it just in the upright position. He goes, good, stay there. And he walks away. And I'm holding it for like, maybe 10 seconds. And I dropped to my knees. And I'm like, excuse me, John. And he comes back and he goes, keep holding it.
And I'm like, okay, and Jen just walks out because she's like, I'm done with this walk out. And I'm holding it. And now it's been a little while. I'm shaking. And I'm watching him warm up. And I'm like, why is he? What's going on? And now a little more time is going by for some reason. I'm still holding this push up. Something's obviously starting to click with me. Yeah and he walks up. And now I'm really starting to shake and the sweat is pouring. And I dropped to my knees and he came over to me. He goes, you want to learn karate, kid? I'm like, yeah, he goes, okay, first of all, it's yes, he goes, go in the bathroom, wipe all that makeup off your face. He goes, go put a T-shirt on, because I don't really need to look at your belly anymore. He's like, get back here. He said, because one of us is going to leave here either in a body bed. He's like, where you're going to be my greatest accomplishment. And I don't really know which one it is. He's like, stand up at attention. And I stood up and snapped to attention.
And he's like, You got me? And I was like, yes, what I'm like, I don't know what to call you. He's like, tried Mr. McLaughlin. And I was like, Mr. McLaughlin, I shrunk back. And he's like, let's see if you come back. I ran out, bought a t- shirt, took the makeup off my face and ran it. And then I just stood in the back because I didn't know where to go. Now, I was too scared to walk anywhere. And that was the start of my martial art career. And I never, I paid for the first month and I never paid in 10 years for another lesson from that man.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Okay, there's so much we can unpack there. And you told that so well, you know, you probably saw me like I'm shrinking in my seat as you're talking about.
Danielle Orsino:
I made every mistake you could possibly make.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Other than physically assaulting him? I think you did. So my question is, you know, obviously, you came in as a not a typical teenager, right chip on your shoulder. Think you knew what was going on, you know, just finishing or just at a high school. So, you thought you knew the lay of the world. And you're there for one reason, kind of one and a half to prove your father wrong. So you can go on this trip, and you give zero about what anybody thinks. Yep. But in a very quick fashion. He broke that down out of you and you came back.
Danielle Orsino:
Yeah, I have no idea why.
Jeremy Lesniak:
In what? A minute, two minutes, three minutes?
Danielle Orsino:
Yeah, in the time it took me to run upstairs, buy a t- shirt, wipe the makeup off my face in the locker room and get back out. I mean, I was quick, because I was terrified that if I didn't, he wouldn't let me back in.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Why did you want to get back in? So because it sounds like, I would imagine no kid steps into that class in the way that you did. Without being some kind of test of the other person. I'm challenging you to prove to me whatever, right? Like you had a complete one ad.
Danielle Orsino:
I think part of it was that my hero was Wonder Woman. And this was a Wonder Woman moment. This was like, to me, you know, the race that she does to become Wonder Woman, it was like, that was my little bit of I could do this. I didn't see there was another woman in the school. There were 50 people. At the time, Ellen was not there. So I didn't see any other women. And I was like, why aren't there other women there? So it became kind of this thing, like, I'm going to be the other. Like, I'm going to be the one woman in this place. So there was a little bit of that, like, let me see. And then there was that challenge of I'm not gonna let this guy push me around. So there was some fear. And there was that little streak in me. So let me you know, let me see what this is all about.
And like I said, Jen was like, I'm out of here. She was like you're going back. I was like, again, going back like, a mistake. And I went back there. There was, like I said, fear was prevalent. That was the first emotion. The second was that no wonder women would go back and girls would go but like those were all my childhood heroes, Yvonne Craig, Lynda Carter. That was it. Charlie's Angels. Like, that's who I grew up watching. I'm going back there. I'm gonna see what the sky is all about. And I did. And I was like, can I really do this because I was not a natural athlete. It wasn't like in high school. I was running on the track. I was playing and doing that. I didn't know if I could do it.
There was just a piece of me that was wondering, did I find something? I guess somewhere deep down, there was something saying this might be for you. This might be something. So I went back there. And I think deep down I knew he saw something. And so you know, it was like, Alright, let's see what this guy's got. And I was totally lost. I mean, I walked in and it was I think the first move he taught me. I learned stretch kick, crescent kick, front kick, you know your basic warm ups. And then a down block. That was my dad and I went home and practiced down the block in front of a mirror until I was blue in the face to get it right.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Was this your general approach to other things you know, school academics were you really dedicated?
Danielle Orsino:
No, there was a lot of family stuff going on. You know, I was one of those kids that I could get by without, you know, doing too much. Got it? This was the first thing that I was like from you know, I had taken dance when I was very little so I always had some body control. This was just like being a superhero. This was Kato. You know, this was everything that I had seen on TV. This was Batman and Robin. This wonder woman said this was that girl, the front stretch kick was back girls go go kick on Batman and Robin. Like this was the closest thing I was getting to my comic books and superheroes. This was it. And I'm like, wait a minute, this changes like this was like that.
That moment of everything crystallizing going. Okay, this isn't just cosplay. This is being a superhero. And I was like, yeah, I want more of this. And let's see what I can do with it. Now this changes, this puts the power in my hands. This is Wonder Woman. Let's go hold on. And then doing an inner outer block. And like, hold on. These are bullets and bracelets. Like it was just wow. Okay, I want more of this. And I started going in. I was like, I was hooked. I was hooked probably at first. Didn't take long, maybe the first month. And I'm like, yeah, I like this. I'm gonna get this yellow belt one way or another. I'm getting this. And I'm going to figure this stuff out. I started reading books and I mean, I started watching all the old movies stuff that I wasn't you know, I'd seen Bruce Lee movies and stuff.
I mean, I only knew Bruce Lee is Keita. I didn't know his movies. I had never experienced any of that. It was all just like I said Kato, that's how I knew Bruce Lee. I had never watched it like when I watched Batman and Robin I had no interest in being Batman I you know Yvonne Craig is what did it that girl I was like whoa wait a minute now we got something here I didn't want to be Robin because I was like Robin never drives the car when I saw Green Hornet Kato I was like that's who I like. I like Kato driving the car. He doesn't need a utility belt. This man fights and who is he that intrigued me? Like I don't know what this is. But whatever this dude likes there was one scene where he jumps up and kicks a light. That was like the scene.
Jeremy Lesniak:
I talked about it a couple of times. Yeah, he jumps up and kicks that light bulb, we've tracked that video down before it's on YouTube, if anybody listening wants to find it.
Danielle Orsino:
And I remember seeing that as a kid and being like, how is he on it? Is he on strings? Like, you know, just watching that being like, Who is this? And this and my dad explaining like, this is Bruce Lee and I'm like, who is asleep? And I want to be Kaito. I don't care about Batman and Robin right now, I don't even care about the Green Hornet. This does drive the car. And that to me was different. Like, I was like, huh, I need to know more about this Kato guy. And people were like, oh, well, his maid. And I'm like, no, I don't care about that. I'm like, he throws darts. Doesn't need a utility belt to drive the car. And kicks light bulbs. Yeah, I kind of like him. And I like that girl. That girl has a motorcycle.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Let me ask about driving. Because you've poked at that a couple times. And I'm curious, what does driving represent to you that that was something you would do?
Danielle Orsino:
You would be an auto body guy? Okay, so I spent all the weekends with him at his auto body shop. Fixing cars like in the junkyard. So I was like, and my uncle, you know, would drive it demolition derbies. And my dad was a racer. So I was like, whoever drives cars, the cool one. Like, that's why I was like, Yeah, okay. And my dad would make it like, everybody wanted a car like the Green Hornet they would literally come in asking for paint jobs like that. Things like that. So I was like, Yeah, that's cool. And when I watched, like, back girls got a bad cycle. My dad drives, you know, a motorcycle. These are what the cool people do that like those are the cool superheroes. And whenever I watched the fight, Kato was the better fighter and that I've watched back girl back girls doing these like high kicks.
And I'm like, I never see Batman doing that. I just see that man throwing hooks. Not that Adam West wasn't great. But you know, when I'm looking at the fighting, I'm like these two. And then Lynda Carter came on the scene. And I'm like, oh my god, who is that? This is my mother. Yeah, like it was like that. I'm like this is everything I want to be in life. Lynda Carter, this was it. Done? Yeah, I was sold. I was like, give me the tattoo, which I wound up getting. I was yeah, I went and got the one I told my dad, five years old. I'm getting a Wonder Woman tattoo. And he was just like, just wait till you're 18. He's like, please just don't sit there with his, you know, his tattoos. He's like, just wait. And I was sold. So getting into martial arts. It was just as much as I would say I never wanted to be a martial artist. I wanted to be a superhero, which translated into all martial artists and modern day.
Jeremy Lesniak:
I get the sense that you had a pretty close relationship with your father or at least one where you looked up to him. And he sets up this thing for New Orleans and gets you to train. Did you have any conversations with him? At any point in these early days about what martial arts, what that taekwondo class was for you? And your really pretty rapid embrace of what was being offered.
Danielle Orsino:
We talked about it, it was, you know, he would just be like, Hey, how's class? Like, it was just very kind of, how's it going? It wasn't like we were delving into it too deep. He was waiting to see if this whole thing was a fluke. He was sitting back like, well, it's wait till the first belt comes. Let's just, you know, he was just kind of more like, Okay, have fun with it. Let's see what happens when the uniform comes home. He was like, oh, you bought the uniform because for a while I was just in the white sweatpants and a T-shirt. And I probably asked for a uniform. My instructor was like, hold off. It was right before the test that my instructor bought me my uniform as a gift. And then my dad saw it come home and he was like, oh, you bought it? I'm like, nah, Mr. McLaughlin gave it to me, you know? And he was like, oh, okay, that's all right. Interesting. Nice. Cool. Let's see how this goes, you know, then it was a little bit like, alright, she's taking this seriously interesting. But he wasn't pushing. He wasn't too interested but he wasn't disinterested. He was kind of keeping it copacetic because he was a little scared of the typical teenager thing like I show interest, it's gonna push her right out that door.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Sure. Do you think he was getting back channel information from the instructor?
Danielle Orsino:
Like that man, my dad is like that man. He knows everything I do. So I'm sure I'm sure one way or another. He knew something. He was getting information. But he never led on. He was quiet about it. It was more like he was, you know, my grandmother would see me my grandmother would be like, Why do you need to get hit in the face? That was always her thing. Like, you're fighting? Why do you need to get what you need to hurt your pretty face? You know, there was always like, you know, come on, do we need to do this? You know, that was the hard thing. So I think she was maybe asking for him sometimes. But other than that, he was copacetic.
Jeremy Lesniak:
So it sounds like a yellow belt test happened at some point.
Danielle Orsino:
The Yellow Belt test happened when I had to go to the headquarters of my organization to test the first time you weren't allowed to test with your instructor. With your main instructor, you had to go to the organization's headquarters. So I went to Norwalk and tested for my yellow belt. So I got that. And in my organization, you can only move one max two stripes or two gups cuz I was under the ITF flag. So I had to take a test there, got my yellow belt, was able to go to New Orleans, and use self defense for the first time. In New Orleans, nothing major I broke somebody's pinky, which was the first that's all I learned.
That's off. And I stood there after I did it. But what do I do? You know, typical, like Bugs Bunny Looney Tunes kind of moment, you know, all that training for like, you know, a couple months. And all I did was pull somebody's pinkie back. And then stood there like a girl and went, Oh, my God, what do I do next? And then I looked at my friend, went running, ran down Bourbon Street, like, you know, was it. It was no, like, great spinning, round kick, move.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Just something that is in the movies.
Danielle Orsino:
It's never anything great. Some drunk guy came up, put his arms around us and was like, come on, girls, we're going back to my place to party. And I dipped my head out and said, no, thank you. And then he put his arm around my friend and kind of put her in a headlock and started walking away. And at first I thought she was going with them. And then I noticed the tops of her feet were dragging. And I was like, oh, he's walking with her. And then like he said, for two or 30 seconds, I sat there going, Oh my God, what do I do? What do I do? And then I'm like, she's getting further away. And so I ran in front of them, and I went stuck. And I just stood there like, like, barrel chested Superman, like, don't move. And then he's just literally like, swaying on his feet. She's got her head down, because he's in sight, like, she's in a sight headlock. And I'm looking going, and he's like, What are you gonna do? And I'm like, I'm sitting and thinking, I have no clue because I haven't made it this far in one steps. And I was like, and then I just looked at his hand, I just remember McLaughlin saying, you've got to go for the weakest part of the grip, and I just pulled his pinkie back, and just yanked it.
And I heard the crunch. And she dipped her head out as I loosen the grip. And he scratched his head. He's calling me every name in the book. And I just shoved them. And she went now what I looked at her when, I don't know, I haven't learned the next part. But she just looked at me. She went, that's your answer. I'm like, Ron, she went run sounds good. We just ran down the street. And she's like, that was awesome. And my heart was beating a mile a minute. I'm like, what if the cops come for us? And she's like, we run it to a bar. I'm like, okay, and we just ran into the bar. And I'm sitting there. And she was like, That was that was quick thinking. And I'm like, do you understand how long I stood there going? I don't know what to do when you were getting dragged down the street. And that's when I was like, I really don't know what I'm doing on this day.
There is no all that superhero feeling. But right out like, door, I just realized, I have no idea. What if that didn't work? Or what if he fell back? And I went back to my instructor after New Orleans and I told him what happened and he yelled at me. Because he was like, he should have asked for help. He's like, I'm glad you helped your friend. But what if the guy tripped when he gave me like every scenario that could have gone wrong? And was like, I thought you'd be proud of me. He's, like, proud that you almost got yourself killed. And he's like, this is what could have happened. This is what could have met that. And I was like, okay, I get it. Like he's like, you're not Wonderwoman he's like, you're like four months into this And he's like, the pinky thing was like it's some guy who like grabs you like on the arm when you're at the bar. And he's like, not a scenario like that.
He's like, that's when you yell for help. And I'm like, it was Bourbon Street. Nobody was going to look at me. He's like, yes, they would have looked at you if you yelled for help. He's like, you're not in a crowded theory theater. You could appeal fire. He's like, there's so many things you could have done. And I was like, Oh, okay. He's like, he's like, it's the equivalent to having beer muscles. He's like, that's where you're at right now. He's like, this is a dangerous time. He's like, kick down a notch. And I was like, okay, he's like, yeah, it's, he's exploring for you is gonna be problematic. And I'm like, oh, okay, so far. You didn't start sparring. Technically, you weren't allowed to start sparring to Greenbelt level. Or braking. He bought me my gear, I think a month later.
So, I'm still yelling about him like, Alright, let's go get your gear. But that was really just to start teaching me a lesson. So he was like, I'm gonna now have to buy you gear just like to beat you up. And that's what he did. He bought gear and started beating the crap out of me to teach me lessons. And to get me ready for my first tournament, which he didn't tell me I was doing. Okay, so what about that? Yeah, he wanted to start. Just just start channeling this, this energy. Because he was like, Okay, you want to be a superhero, we got to find, we got to find a place for this energy. So we rented, like I said, we would rent in between these two rooms at the bottom of the basement of the gym. So we were either in the aerobics room, which was hardwood, or this little smaller stretching room, flex room, which was carpet, and every now and then we vacuum it or we clean it up.
At this point, we were a couple months in, I was not no longer paying for lessons. This was, like I said, I guess he saw something in me, whatever. So on Saturdays, he would start classes to get 10. So a couple days before he had said, he's like, I want you to come in early on a Saturday and help me clean up and just straighten up. I'm like, alright, what are we gonna straighten up? Great, whatever. And so he's like, make sure you have all your equipment. All right, great. So he had me there at like, eight o'clock. I got out of my car. He met me in the parking lot. And he's like, Oh, just put your equipment in my car. We're gonna go get cleaners and stuff. All right. I listened to them. Whatever.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Didn't make sense. But you weren't rocking the boat.
Danielle Orsino:
Just like, okay, he's like, get swayed. You know, it'll be easier. You don't have to go in and put your stuff in the locker room? Whatever. I listen, I stopped questioning this man a long time ago, got in the car, drove and we're driving and we're passing stores. And I'm like, where are we going? He's like, we got to go get stuff got to do.
Alright, they got errands. Sure, whatever. And all of a sudden, we pull up to a middle school. And, I see all these karate people. At least martial artists. They've got a pose. They've got it. And I'm like, and he literally looks at me. So I signed you up for a tournament. And, I mean, it was like a tuck and roll door opens and he goes out. And then like, what? When we, yeah, he was gonna get out. You're already signed up and registered, go to the table. What? He's like, I'll meet you there. And I walk out and I'm like, and I just follow the throngs of people. And I got my little bag, like, okay, and there's everybody in the names and preregistration. I go up to him, I give him my name. They're like, oh, forms inspiring. What? I'm sure.
Jeremy Lesniak:
And you weren't doing forms at that point? Did you know…
Danielle Orsino:
Yeah, I was because I had already been on my four. I was a fourth chip yellow because I had already tested once at the school. So, I would have been going for my green belt because I was doing some… Hang on.
Jeremy Lesniak:
[00:29:37-00:29:38]
Danielle Orsino:
Yeah, it wasn't doing what I want to because one year was green. So, it goes on. And I was like I didn't know what was going on at this point. So I'm like, okay, yeah, they're like. Okay, 18 to 30. You know, 18 to 25. And I'm like, I'm sure yeah, that sounds okay. A great beginner. Yeah, under belts. Sounds alright. Yeah. And I just walk in with the cards and you and they're like, Okay, go, you know, and I'm standing there and I can just feel the shaking happening. And my instructor walks in. And I'm like, it was the carver classic people were running it. And my instructor just takes me into this gymnasium. And there's all these rings, and people are yelling and crying. And I'm like, what fresh heck is this? And who and then to he waves and these two black belts come over Mark Marzullo, who wound up being my taekwondo brother. And then he's like, this is Danielle. She's, you know, going to be mentoring and this is the next team member. And they look at me laughing because they're like, who are like, first of all, Danbury has not produced a form person or sparring person for years.
So they're kind of looking at Mr. McLaughlin, like, and they're like this bishop who's ahead of our position. No, she's here. And McLaughlin's like now. I haven't told him. And I'm like, you haven't told me? Like, hold on. You haven't said anything to me. And Mark looks at me. And he's like, first tournament? I'm looking up going, yeah. What am I? And he sees that, like, and McLaughlin was yeah, I didn't tell her to just now. And they're hysterical. They're on their knees laughing. So he goes, go watch a tournament, figure this out, go watch your ring. Does it go watch what they do? And, and all sudden, they're introducing themselves to the judges. And I'm like, what have I got myself into? I have to get out here. Like, I'm looking for exits at this point. So he's watching, he's explaining. These guys are trying to tell me what to do. And I'm like, okay, go to judge my name forms. And then I finally look at my instructor and go, by the way, what's the name of our school?
I go because I can't go up and say Doug's Gym. And he goes, oh, yeah, we're the Academy of Korean arts, because I should tell you that. Like, what are you doing to me, dude? And I was like, Okay, what is your name? And he's like, oh, I'm sobbing in McLaughlin, but he's like, technically, it could be a fifth degree and I'm not quite a fifth degree. Just say, Mr. McLaughlin. It'll be fine kid. And you're like, okay. I'm like, okay, and once again, Mark and Doug are, they're crying. They're actually holding each other crying. Because they're like, funny. You done to her. And then we go to watch the end. I'd never point spark. So, I don't know what sparring is. I'm watching people like Kia hate each other and run to the other side of the ring. And like, what is this? And he's like, oh, you've never pointed a spark. And then like, what is point sparring? He's like, okay, so think of it like tag, tag, you're it? Then like, okay, he's like, but the judges all have to agree. He's like, so if there's five judges, he's like, you want to try to get three of them to see and up and he's explaining point sparring in a matter of minutes. And then like, okay, all right. I was like, I forget. And then he watches one judge go up to a girl and take a bow and hit her between the legs to see if she's wearing a Kata.
Apparently, now you have to wear female protection. He looks at me. He goes, oh, crap. He's like, are you wearing I went and I looked at my don't even ask me. He goes, we have to get you a cup. I'm like, okay, where do we get one?
So we go outside, there's vendors. All the vendors are all sold out of the female protection equipment because nobody knew they needed them. So, he goes, all right. I got this figured out. He was just gonna wear a juvenile side, boys cup. I go. I don't know if that's gonna work. Because It'll work. Trust me. All right, you know best. So he says do forms first. Then we'll run out one by one. Like a well, maybe you sort of woman goes, you should buy it now because I'm selling out of them. I said, oh, okay. So I looked at him. Are you buying? I'm not buying. Because, you know, he goes so he buys once we looked at the girl, woman he goes, what size do you think she'll need? And I'm standing there like, ah, the first luxury I thought a man would buy me is not a productive jock strap. You know? Just be honest, this is not how I thought this would go. You know, the woman's like, okay, this is about what size should mean? They're holding it up and I'm mortified. And so he holds it. He goes, alright, we will wear this. Like we'll get we'll take care of this, you know, after and I'm like, okay, cool. Got it. So to go out, I do forms and I wind forms. All I knew was a yell off the top of my lungs. I'd like to be really loud. And apparently, I have a really mean face when I'm not smiling and the judges like that this would come to be my trademark.
So all the times that people were like, Look, man, why don't you smile more? Well guess what people this worked for me. So, I went for forms and I'm all happy with the trophy. And so now it's time so they say, okay, you know what we are fighting, get ready. So, I run back to Mr. McLaughlin. I'm like I need the jockstrap. He's like, okay, hands it to me, I go, what do I do? I have to put it on the outside. It's like, I don't know. So he goes, go into the bathroom. It's a middle school. So these stalls are not that big. So he goes in with me. And he's talking me through this. And he's like, don't put it on the outside of your dobok put it inside. So, here's this man, not with his back to the stall. As I'm putting this thing on. I come out, and I'm walking bow like because it's. So he comes out. He's crying. And I'm like, I can't kick like this. I was like, 'cause I can't close my legs. He's like, you'll be fine.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Sounds like the title of the day. You'll be fine.
Danielle Orsino:
Yeah, everything was fine. Got this, like, go outside. And I'm standing there. And they go to check and they hit it. And the guy looks at me and he goes, the judge goes, and he hits me right between the legs with the bow. And I'm like, and I'm smiling. Like, yeah, I'm set. And he goes, you don't have just the insert. Wearing a jockstrap and the guy goes, judge was why? I didn't know you could just use the Insert. Because yeah, it's just like this little plastic. He goes, go and he's looking at me. He's like, are you really wearing it? This ain't gonna go talk to my instructor. I just looked at him like to goes over and he talks about walking when he's like, you got her wearing this. That's all that was left. Because you know, they just made the McLaughlin was not and no. He's like a woman who said they were sold out.
Do you think it goes okay? She wants to be alright. Like he just walked back. Because he's like, I'll tell this kid. They say go. I'm fighting a kung fu girl who jumps around me? And that's all she does is just keep jumping. She's just hopping. And I'm looking at McLaughlin. Like, what do I do with this? So, I just walk over just a puncher. I just because I didn't know what else to do. So I just literally walked over wham hitter. And I looked at him. And they go point and I look at McLaughlin. I'm like, hey, that worked. I wound up winning fighting. And I come back and I get two trophies in my hand and I'm like, he goes, good. Do you want to do this again, I'm like, this was kind of fun. I'm like, I'm not doing it with the jockstrap again.
I'm like, but this was fun. He goes from now on you go to tournaments by yourself, I'm not coming. I'm like, what? He goes, if you want this, you will find a way to get to tournaments alone. Usually can do this by yourself. He's like, I'm not coming. He's like I will come once a year to check on you. See, we see where you're at. That's it, not doing this. So he's like, You have to start going now to the organization that has a tournament once a year, because I'll be at that one. And then I will come to one wherever you are. He's like, we'll agree on it. And then you say why? Because he felt that if I really wanted it, I would find a way to make it happen. And he thought it would be good for me.
Jeremy Lesniak:
That's kind of what I did to teach someone, sort of a deal.
Danielle Orsino:
That was his mentality. And I wound up traveling up and down the Northeast. And eventually a little further on my own every weekend, Saturdays and Sundays, traveling all down following the NASCAR circuit, the , and just traveling all over and competing. But his deal was I had to do both forms and fighting. I couldn't do one or the other. I had to do both. He knew I had an affinity for forms. I didn't love sparring, because I was just not. It wasn't my thing. But he said, I will not allow you to do one or the other. You have to do both. And he said that I really wanted to do open forums. He said you cannot compete in open forums.
You must stay traditional. He said the only time you can start competing in open forums is when you get to red belt level. He said I will then start allowing you to change things after you've won your first grand championship. I will allow it so I was like mother effer I mean, he took the fun out of everything. I said, what can I do with weapons? He said, you can't do weapons till red belt level. So, he kept me on a leash that was inches. And hold it. I mean, every chance he got, and he said, I have to be present for a grand champion when? And I like it, but if you come once a year.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Once or twice a year.
Danielle Orsino:
That's right. And he was there for my first grand champion. And Michael Jai White was my judge. Spawn was my judge. And you want to talk about a tough judge? He was my judge.
Jeremy Lesniak:
I know that pressure of performing in front of him.
Danielle Orsino:
Yeah, it's not. And he walked in unexpectedly. He was at a charity tournament. He just walked in, as we were lining up, and it was an underrated grand champion. And he just walked in. And he had to finish spawn, he was getting ready to do the Mike Tyson biopic. He was, like, just intimidating. And he walked in and literally walked across and said, you guys don't mind if I judge right? And everybody was silent, ‘cause we were like, dude spawns here. And I looked at my instructor and just went, whoa. And I went, like, I was like, shut up. And don't embarrass me. And I said, and he was like, you don't mind? And everybody was like, oh, no.
And he's like, I think I'll sit in and judge. And I'm like, you know, it was just that moment. And I was up against, like, all open people. And I'm like, there's no way I'm winning. No way. And what I wanted, I was like, okay, spawn just judged me. Like, I'm done. I can die now. Like, we're finished. But, yeah, it was. I love competing, but I would not have done it on my own.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Now, obviously, as you're going through, you're following these circuits. And you're doing all this stuff. You're continuing to train, I would assume back in class. Right. Like you're still maintaining that pursuit of all that. We started the episode talking about a rather boisterous young woman. Was that starting to shift at all?
Danielle Orsino:
Oh, that shifted by the first month.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Okay, that was gone. How would people have described you? You know, a few months in then what? What was your personality type? If not that.
Danielle Orsino:
I fell right in line. Once I knew the rules, I didn't know the rules. Once it was explained, like, hey, this is the ranking. This is how you do it. You don't walk in front of black belts. Everything is sir. No, sir. When you spar, I mean, we would literally if we got hit anywhere cleanly, you'd have to stop and say thank you. You know, thank you, sir. May I have another? I mean, it was so ridiculous. I learned very quickly that I respect that politeness. All of that. Real quick. I learned that I fell right in line, because I didn't want to. I would never have my father raised me right. I didn't want to be disrespectful.
But I didn't know the rules. And you know, a lot of it came from as much as I love the Karate Kid. You know, it was that kind of Mr. Miyagi kind of thing. But I didn't know. So once I was there the rules were laid out. I fell into it. And I carried it through all the schools that I've been through and been to. When I did leave, Mr. McLaughlin, and I went to Vincent Lyn. I was respectful. It was Vincent as well. And Vincent and I were very, very close. We had less of a traditional student and Shifu relationship, but I was still always respectful with Vincent.
Jeremy Lesniak:
How long into taekwondo? Did you shift into Kung Fu?
Danielle Orsino:
I was in taekwondo for 10 years. Okay. And last year? I had met Vincent at a tournament. No, I met Vincent at the first tournament. First at a tournament. I was actually competing for grand champion when I met Vincent. I met Vincent and Ric Meyers together. And then I didn't know he was close to where he was in Norwalk. I was training in Danbury, I didn't know we were as close as we spoke a little bit at the tournament.
Jeremy Lesniak:
For people that may not live in the Northeast. This is Connecticut. We're talking about Connecticut.
Danielle Orsino:
Yes. I'm sorry, Connecticut. And I didn't know we were, you know, maybe 45 minutes away. And then I was at a martial art convention. And Vincent was there scouting, believing he was to sign autographs. And there was some other movie thing going on. And he stopped me and then he recognized me from the tournament, we started talking again and kind of picking up and we just kind of hit it off, became friends. And then I hit I told him I said I always had this interest. Wushu and Kung Fu, kind of melding it in with my taekwondo. And he'd seen a full art form I had done. And so we started talking more and you should come train and you know, come to the school. So that's kind of how we picked up and, and I wound up making the transition to kung fu. And he had suggested training without paying who was wushu champion. But Vincent and I just became friends that way. I started training with him, I trained with Vincent for years before he had shifted away and had started doing more Qi Gong and Tai Chi work. But you know, to this damn storm, I stay in touch with Vincent. But you know, it was still always a respectful relationship.
Jeremy Lesniak:
So, it's not uncommon for people to shift our shift instructors. And honestly, if, if somebody had asked me, you know, what's the likelihood, based on the first 15 minutes of our conversation, that you would have gone elsewhere and done different things at different structures? I would have said, you know, ninety nine nine. But why? What was it, you know, tech 10 years ago, is an uncommon time for people to switch, people don't usually switch, you know, to either very quickly, you know, maybe 2,3,4 years, somewhere around like, mid upper red bell in ITF. Or it's 20/30 years. 10 years is not a common time for people to switch based on my conversations with folks.
Danielle Orsino:
It was not due to my relationship with Mr. McLaughlin being solid. My problem was the head of my organization, Mr. Fisher, and I will call him out very clearly right here right now, I have no problem. He was a power hungry megalomaniac, who was running the organization into the ground and had a problem with women. He was your typical misogynistic jerk who had a huge problem with me because I was beating all the NATA records. And this is fact this is not feeling there's multiple witnesses, he was abusive. It came to a head at the end of our Art tournament. I was inducted into the World Martial Art Hall of Fame and pioneers Hall of Fame. All in one year, I had gotten all these accolades. I had made several magazines. You know, all this stuff was going on at this point. In the grand scheme of NASCAR, and I say, the mouse had already kind of done her thing. You know, there was nobody on the circuit that people were like, you know, this is before Chloe, Bruce before the major people.
There was kind of a vacuum. And I had made a name for myself, but I had never signed up for rankings. It was to the point where like, NASCAR was kinda like, look, are you going to sign up if you're messing up our rankings? And I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I had done [00:47:52-00:47:54]. I've worked with the rock. I've worked, you know, I've done my thing. And I was kind of making that decision of what am I going to do? Unfortunately, I had a bad injury that popped my hamstring out of the insertion pocket. You know, I made some I had these injuries. And I was like, What am I going to do? Vince it was kind of like you have to make the decision or you're going to make the jump to stop work, whatever. But I had also what I had done, which was great was that it had a bad reputation on the tournament circuit for being crybabies. I took it out of that. And now people like the NATA series, North American Taekwondo Association. And it was all based on you know, there's that little dark haired girl running around and she's legit. Bishop didn't like that.
And I was also from Danbury, not the Norwalk School, which was our headquarters. He rode me very hard, is not nice to me. And at our organization's tournament, I was supposed to get this big award for all the work I'd done. I was helping Vincent out, everybody knew it. I had cleared it with everybody. And that day, I had gone to work and I said I would be at the tournament. But I have to work first. And I'm coming, got to the tournament and some not nice things were said about me as I got there. I went to compete and he sat down with the judges and said, let's not forget who went to work and is now here fresh as a daisy and who's been helping out at the tournament.
Let's let that reflect in our scores. And my instructor was sitting on the panel. Some other people overheard it as well, that's not really nice to say, I got up and did my best. And I only won by a 100th of a point because he deducted points for me working and I was like me while other people literally forgot moves, and I was like, hey, I still want who cares? You know, when to do it, when to fight. And long story short, I had been the champion returning so I should have gotten by. He made me fight every single competitor every round. And I was like, Okay, no problem. A girl came at me literally at my throat. And it was continuous. And we wound up having a slugfest and he tried deducting points for me and told me I was fighting like a man just making bad comments. He was the head ref and then decided to coach her while we were fighting. And I'm like…
Jeremy Lesniak:
Okay, I've witnessed some of this stuff over the years, and it still blows my mind.
Danielle Orsino:
And my instructors watching I finally turned to him. I said, are you going to do something like this? And I took my mouth. You're like, what is going on here? Girl pulled my hair. I finally stopped and I said, you're getting used and like, do you see what's happening? I won the fight. My last match was between a friend of mine who was also his student. And he coached her while we were fighting. Oh, she's open to the left. She's doing it and I'm like, what if? And then he was telling me…
Jeremy Lesniak:
He's the head referee. While he's the head rep.
Danielle Orsino:
Then I won the match. And he said the fight was really close. And I see the scorekeeper look at me to know when she's shaking her head going no and mouthing. It's not that close, Danielle. So I won the match. Overall, it says overall grand champion men and women fighting together. So at the end, he goes, Can I get the grand champion? You know, come up. So I go walking up. Turns out my system instructor won the men's division, so we're supposed to fight. He's thrilled. Mr. Carbone is like, this is great. It's gonna be your knee. This is awesome. And I'm like, cool. We go marching up. And he goes, no, you're not fighting, collarbones like why it’s Danielle? Like, this is awesome. This is exactly what I want. And he goes, no, I'm not letting her fight. Like, why not? He's like, I don't feel like it.
And I literally looked down, looked at my belt, am I wearing my pink Black Belt again. And as a put problem, and he would not let me fight, he would not let me go for grand champion performances. Because it was me. He decided to give the silver cup which was the year whoever did the most that year for the NATA was supposed to get it. It was supposed to be me. He gave it to someone else. Nobody could figure out why. And they said it was just because he didn't want me to get it. He it's its mother disparaging things. And at that point, I had enough, walked right up to him, took my black belt off and said, if this is what it means to be a black belt here, I don't need it from you. I said, I'd like to say it's been a little slice of heaven. But it hasn't dropped my black belt on the floor, looked at Mr. McLaughlin said, I love you, you're scared of him.
I don't know why I'm done with all of this. And I'm done with the blood, sweat and tears of this place. I've given 10 years of my life. I've given dues. I've done all this and all I've heard about is who I'm sleeping with, who you think I'm sleeping with. You've said horrible things about me and all I've done is elevate this. I'm over it, dropped my black belt and turned around and walked out. And look back. There were other things that happened. I had been beaten badly in front of the whole organization during a sparring match because I asked Mr. Bishop to spar when I was getting ready for a huge tournament that he asked me to go to represent the NATA. And he beat me so badly. I threw up. I mean bruises everywhere. He took my face and rubbed it down across the floor. And it was I was beaten. For over half an hour somebody had to step in and say she's had enough, like, back off. And when my instructor did call him and my father called, he was like, well, she asked a black belt to spar you never asked a black belt spar. And I was like, that's what I did.
You asked me to get ready for this tournament. This tournament was a sparring tournament. I didn't know I liked it. I agreed I had no idea I did anything wrong. Like nobody explained to never do. So I just had enough. So after 10 years, I was like, that's it. I felt like nobody was getting my back. And so I walked out and Vincent, Open Arms was like, come with me. Your talents being wasted? Like let's go. And I went with him. So I was upset. I tried to talk to McLaughlin afterwards. We had a few yelling matches, because I felt like he could have backed me up. I'm still grateful to the man for everything he did to me. And for me, you know like but I think I just outgrew it. You know? And then I moved on to Vincent. I studied kung fu. I studied Wushu for years when I won my silver medal for the WKA and I was on Team USA. It was with another kung fu place. But after a while I just realized I can't keep giving my loyalty to organize schools. You know, it got to be too much. I think the curtain ended pulled back, you know, kind of like the Wizard of Oz, I'd seem too much. And it just couldn't do it anymore.
Especially as a woman, you know, when I'm where I'm at now I'm still studying, but I'm staying at a great place where it's Muay Thai, it's different. I'm studying with Doug Bradford who I think it's much more low key. It's Muay Thai, it's just, I'm learning to fight from a different angle, breaking some of those habits, but I'm still the core of martial art training. But, you know, I'm at a place called Ultimate gym in Charlotte. And Doug has a different philosophy of just trying to take what you've learned and reposition it, but he's older and kind of been through the same thing where he's given his loyalty to a lot of different places, and kind of where it's happened. And, he's used an amalgamation of what he's learned and helped out. You know, like, it's a lot more chill, but after years of being with different instructors, you know how that goes.
Jeremy Lesniak:
So, what's your reason? Like, why are you getting up to train? Why do you invest the time? Still, you've accomplished a lot, what's what's keeping you going?
Danielle Orsino:
I think there's always that striving to be better. You know, part of it is, from an author perspective, as an author, I think it helps me just, you know, when I'm writing my fight scenes, martial arts has been a huge factor in that. But martial arts is ingrained in me now. I can't get rid of it. It's not like I can just separate myself. That's not possible. I'm a martial artist that at the center of all of this, I think I always was, I just didn't know. And that day, you know, that I walked in, and it's much of a pain in the neck as I was. Something woke up. And it was almost like, hey, look, I was always here. So, I can't separate it. I can't stop training. You know, when I left, I organized martial arts. And in the sense of a school, a uniform and all of that. I went into boxing at Lone Wolf.
And I met my coach of six years, Manny. And I loved it because I still did some boy tie with him and I boxed and that still kept that spark training. And when my husband was relocated to Charlotte, I was like, oh, my gosh, what the heck am I going to do? I was panicking. Because I was like, you know, and I looked up places and everything was like a kung fu school. And I was like, I'm not walking back in. And then I found Doug, why am I still? I want to ask about that. Why not? I could not do as much as I love and I love forms. And I love cooking. I love kung fu. I really do love it. The idea of walking back into a structured school where I have to give my loyalty to somebody I don't know. That scares me again. Because I've been burned. If it was Vincent, no problem. It was like hey, Danielle moving out, Charlotte. I'm opening up another school. Not even a question. Somebody like Vincent, you got it? Yeah, let's go. Because he knows how I train. We could go. When I studied with [00:58:32-00:58:34] it was wushu school. I studied there before the WK which was the hardest studying I've ever done. He's incredible. But [00:58:41-00:58:43]? And of course he is. That's different.
But the idea of walking into a school, signing a contract was I just sorry, I just don't understand the business aspect of it, but I don't love it. I couldn't see going back into that atmosphere. I just, I don't know. I think like I said, pulling the curtain back and knowing what I know, and getting competitive. I also know me. I'm not doing another Twitter. I'm done with tournaments. I say that now. I say that now. But 2008 was my silver medal. And then, believe it or not, I was at Tiger shamans for a little while fighting. And they convinced me to do their COC and I did it, which I actually had fun with. Just because I wanted to fight. And I did their COC in 2010. That was my last competition. And Doug right now is trying to get me back in the ring. He's dying to get me into one kickboxing Muay Thai match. might succeed. No, I'm saying no, I'm saying no right now. But I'm going on the record and saying no. And you know, and in a year you'll check in with me and I'll be like, yes, I just did this my time match.
Jeremy Lesniak:
You know, what's that line? Macbeth, we think the lady doth protest too much. Yes, exactly. That's all that's coming to mind right now.
Danielle Orsino:
I know it was funny because the first day I walked into Doug's gym, I took my first Muay Thai class. And literally I came in Muay Thai on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays, I went in on a Tuesday, came back on a Thursday, and he called me the obstetrician. Have you thought about getting in the ring at all? And I just looked, and I was like, and I took my bike. No, when I turned around and walked out. There was like, no, no, not, was not having this discussion. Yeah, I'm not having it. But I just, I know me, I'm competitive. But the idea of testing again, and just, I think it's great when you haven't done it, but when you've been in the machine for so long, you're like, I'm not getting up in front of people to judge me. When I've been in this, how many years? I've been in it for over 20 years.
Like, go, it's funny, because like, Doug's probably gonna listen to this podcast, and he's gonna kill me for saying this. But it's funny, he's gonna kill me. It's funny, because it's like every now and then I'll get in the ring, which for Muay Thai and somebody will try doing like a butterfly kick. And I'm like, no, this is a butterfly. But you know what, I'll do it back. Or they'll do an x. This is an x. And so I still play the game a little. And I'm like, Danielle, you got to stop. Seriously, you know, or I'll do something. I'm like, I have to stop. I have, you know, where I want to bust out Eagle Claw.
So, what you're saying is it's gonna happen, but it's bubbling under the surface. And I have to stop. So, I love Kung Fu and I love doing it. That's kind of what I like about Doug is so he does a lot of Tai Chi. So, he'll give me some moves. And I'm like, this is enough to keep it to keep the monster down a little bit. But I cannot let super tournament girl out. Because once she comes out, there's no putting the genie back in the bottle. And I kept her down for a while. But I trained nonstop when I was on when I was competing with Team USA. I mean, I would train five, six hours a day on Eagle Claw. And that form is two and a half minutes back into I mean with the aerials. It was brutal on my body. So the idea of going back and doing a form now I have to just it's time to retire.
So getting back in the ring even to fight it's no I gotta I have to know my limits. But I want to keep training and bettering myself because fighting was always weak like I was a good point spar but I think if you're a good warm competitor, point sparring, you're usually decent at without going crazy training, you can usually get away with it. So it's just in me to kind of want to improve that. Because all the former competitors out there don't hate me. There is a little bit of a we do have a little bit of a reputation of oh, you're pretty forms. Aren't you sweet? Your former competitor. Like, nobody's sitting there and going, oh, you're a former competitor, like, ooh, you're dangerous. But if your point spar, you know, it's like you're a fighter. You know, they leave.
Jeremy Lesniak:
That's how I grew up as well. Like, I get it.
Danielle Orsino:
Yeah. So you know, you kind of always want to prove that you can fight too. So that's why taking Muay Thai to me was because I wanted to do something that 's like, okay, nobody would ever expect me to take more time than they would expect. Oh, you're gonna take Tai Chi? Yeah, that's it. Yeah, of course, you would take Tai Chi. And nobody be like, you're really taking Muay Thai, like at a real place that looks like a Gleason's gym. That's what you're getting in. Nobody would expect that for me, they would have expected me to go find a kung fu place. So that was kind of important and also, like set from writing from an author point of view. Doing that, to just keep my fight scenes realistic. I always have to learn something new. And here I can take some play and things like that, which helps with the sort of sword fighting. That's important.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Now, you said author, you've won book books. Tell us about these books.
Danielle Orsino:
I have three books. Okay. The fourth book is on the way on May 30. It drops. Okay, fantasy books. So they called the series Birth of the Fae. Book one is Locked Out of Heaven. Book Two is Thine Eyes of Mercy. Book Three is From The Ashes in the forest kingdom come. They are the retelling of the origin of the Fae. So, very fancy high epic mythology kind of mythic fantasy based.
Jeremy Lesniak:
You mentioned fight scenes.
Danielle Orsino:
Yes, I've been raked over the coals for being violent, “awesome”. Yeah, I'm all for that. I'm not gonna say no to that. But I do tend to win. write very much from a martial artist standpoint, you know, very close in range fighting, and not sweeping battle scenes on horses. Because I can't really attest to that type of stuff, but I can attest to, you know, knees to the chest, you know, or grabbing somebody's back ahead and smashing the knee, you know, that makes sense to me that I can kind of go with four sword fighting scenes and just picking up on a screen mystic and using that instead. That makes a little more sense. So on one note, people really love that because they say, you know, the fight scenes, like you're right there, and they're more realistic, because I know how the body's gonna flow. versus, you know, some people are like, oh, she's so angry.
I'm like, well, you wouldn't say that about a male author. But okay, I'm angry. So, you know, I'm like, cool. But I wrote them. When I was nursing, a patient inspired the story. He was undergoing IV treatment for Lyme disease. And I was a nurse. And basically, he just didn't want to sit in the chair anymore. So he's like, say something, entertain me, do something. And the story, I just told them, This started telling him the story. And so he said, you need to go write this down. So every day he'd sit in the chair, I tell him another chapter of it. And we kind of just started talking cool. And then I usually go write it down. So I wrote the first story, locked out of heaven. So the basic retelling is that they are angels who can't go home, they get locked out. So the war between the creator and Lucifer happens. And these two sets of angels can't go home. One of them is the army. For the shining Kingdom.
The other ones are angels that were just sent to get the earth ready for humans. And after the war, they find that they're locked out. And they become what we know as our Greek gods and goddesses, Egyptians, the polytheistic pantheons of humans, and they become what we know is the fact some people don't like that attitude. And maybe I'm on a blasphemy list here or there because of it, but you know, whatever about that.
Jeremy Lesniak:
See more about that? I'm always interested when books or when any information is banned, or restricted. I find it fascinating.
Danielle Orsino:
Because I have taken, you know, a lot of people know the failure of fairies from Celtic lore. What I did was, I gave it a little twist. And I found out that virtue angels are actually in the Christian pantheon of angels. Okay, so you know, you're archangels and then down the line, you have virtue angels, which are considered nature angels. So I pulled from that, and I was like, oh, okay, I'm gonna put them in the book. And I was like, they're the ones you know, tending Earth. And then I made up this power brigade, which would be the archangels footsoldiers. Once again, I wasn't thinking like, oh, this is gonna really upset people. And so I kind of worked that out a little bit. And then as we, as I started writing it, I had these two sets of angels, once again, not thinking anything, and wrote the story about them being locked out of heaven, and stuck on Earth.
So as from there, it developed. And then I wrote how maybe humans happen to come across these two angels fighting at the Red Sea. And maybe didn't part the way the human's foot did, because, you know, maybe it was a waterspout caused by one of the Fae. So, people did not like that. I was saying that, you know, God didn't part the Red Sea, but one of the Fae did it because they're elements, mentally gifted. So, people didn't like that I was retelling a biblical story.
Jeremy Lesniak:
They didn't know that this was fiction, right?
Danielle Orsino:
Yeah, I kept saying that okay, apparently didn't get through. So, you know, in the chapter at the end of the book called Let There Be Water or Let My Reapers Go. The weeper army is the dark [01:09:18-01:09:19] power brigade, Queen Aurora of the Light Fae, causes a waterspout in parts of the Red Sea, and the Israelites think it's their god walk. And at the end of it, she looks up and says that I just do your dirty work. Once again, she's still giving credit. Yeah, I just want to make that clear. She's still giving credit. People did not like that. They felt it was blasphemous. And let me know it, too.
I had a blast. I made the blasphemy list I made so there might be a chapter in there, where the Dark Fae are discussing a curse that they use called they say something to the effect of damage to Lucifer whenever something goes wrong. So, one of them says, you know, we use that term a lot. But when you think about it, the creator, they don't refer to him as God, it's the Creator to them, locked us out after we did all this work for him. But [01:09:56-01:09:58] took his whole demonic horde back and didn't leave anybody here. Who's really the bad guy? Yeah, that didn't go well at all. So, people didn't like that chapter. And then I titled it empathy for the devil that really didn't go over well.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Did you know going into that would ruffle feathers.
Danielle Orsino:
I didn't think so, because I figured this is a fantasy book, like nobody's taking me. You know, it's a fantasy book, like, what's the big deal? I didn't think it would go the way it did. I was put on two blasphemy lists, then a group got together and decided they were going to petition the Vatican to ban the book, and have it pulled. I don't know where that stands. At this point. I know there's a third group that wants to put me on the blast me list or something. And I'm thinking, well, third time's the charm, go for it. You know, I don't know where it stands. And all I've said is, if you think that was bad, wait till you get to book five guys. Because now you've really poked the bear.
Jeremy Lesniak:
I was wondering if you were gonna lean into it a little more. It does seem like your personality that you don't like being told no.
Danielle Orsino:
Yeah. Now? Like, you know, if you thought that was bad, and I didn't mean to do it, that was just literally like I'm telling a story. Now I'm like, well, wait, because a lot of people have asked, What are you going to do? If they've been around since the beginning of time, they must have bumped into Jesus. And I'm like, oh, you ever go in there? Yeah, we're all in there. You know, I'm an equal opportunity offender, more go in there, guys.
I've gotten hate on Instagram where people have, you know, damned me that they want my home address, because they have literature they want to send me about my anger with God and things like that. And so what I tell them is, you know, bottom line, Lucifer has not told me where we're going to live in what realm of hell once we're married, but as soon as he does, I will give you my address on inhale. And you can send everything there. And I love it. You know, from this point.
Jeremy Lesniak:
I love the… The refusal to meet them on a serious level. Right. So sometimes, like, it's, sometimes the story is just a story.
Danielle Orsino:
And that's, I tell him, you know, when I tried to tell him, like I've said stuff, like, if you really think what I'm saying is gospel, then you're dumb, they turn around and go, oh, so if I read the gospel, I'm done. I'm like, That's not. So at that point, the minute I said that, and they changed my words around, I went, okay, if I try to argue with an idiot, you can't tell which one of us are idiots. So I'm gonna stop. And now I just hit them up with, you know, the same, I just talked to them, like, I'm engaged to Satan. And, you know, I tell them where we're registered. And, you know, I tell them, like, if they say stuff, I'm like, oh, that's just you smelling my own Brimstone perfume, you know, I just kind of play it off. Because if that's what you want to believe in, this is the time you have.
Jeremy Lesniak:
One of the clearest indications of making an impact is that a certain portion of the population gets upset. It's how you know, you've made it if you're, the more upset you can make people, the better. I received some of the books I've written, only one of them was a novel. And there are some elements in it that are not as flamboyant, or potentially blasphemous is what you're saying, but it edges around some political stuff. And it really, you know, there's a chunk of people that got really bent out of shape about and I said, hey, if my words can make you feel something that strongly I've done my job
Danielle Orsino:
I just, you know, it's funny. That's exactly it. My publisher, 4 horsemen publications, funny that I published my chores and publications. It's just too perfect. You know, I couldn't have planned that if I tried. Erica had said, she's like, You know what, when the haters start coming, you've done something and there's nothing I can do. I'm happy with it. You know, at the end of the day, I owe a lot of this to martial arts. I really do. And so I'm grateful for all of it. I'm grateful for my journey. I love being an author. But it all started with martial arts. Martial arts led me to nursing which led me to meet my patient and led me to becoming an author. So it really all worked itself in and will walk my path.
Jeremy Lesniak:
So really happy other than it sounds like.
Danielle Orsino:
No, it really, you know, it started with Kato, Wonder Woman and Bat Girl, and it just kind of went to New Orleans. Yeah, who I've inspired the mermaid and my books. So, you know, everything kind of happens for a reason. And I'm really happy about it, I think that's probably why I will always find a place to train. Because for me that's home base. And that's where I can clear my head. And stop. You know, I always joke, there's a lot of voices in here, when I'm writing, when I'm hitting a pad or when I'm kicking, and even when I'm listening to whoever my instructor is, at the time, right now, it's Doug and I foresee that as long as I'm in Charlotte being, you know, that voice, for the foreseeable future, it's nice to have somebody to just tell me, hey, focus on the past, and just do that, don't listen to all the noise. Because I am getting critiqued and judged as an author for a while, you know, you have those voices. So it's nice to have somebody to just be like, let's just hit the bad. Just, that's all that you have to worry about right now. And learning something new, kind of keeps it all fresh. And I think that's really nice. And having that a little bit of Mr. Miyagi, kind of, really,
Jeremy Lesniak:
You know, we want Mr. Miyagi.
Danielle Orsino:
We all want exactly, you all want, everybody wants Mr. Miyagi, if you're in the martial art world, you'll want it and it's kind of nice to have that. And I'm grateful that I found it down here, because I really, I was, that was something I was nervous about, is finding that again, and for all the times that things have gone wrong. Traveling through that martial art ladder, it's, you know, I am grateful to the ones that I've had and the things I've learned from them.
Jeremy Lesniak:
If we were to sit down, have a follow up conversation, let's say 10 years from now, what would you hope we would be talking about that's transpired in the next 10 years?
Danielle Orsino:
I'd like to say that, you know, I had an anime based on the books, I would love to have had a live action anime based on some of the later books, it had something to do with some of the fight scenes. That I'd really like to say. And I'd like to think that it's still writing. You know, or have something to do with it. And you know, I'd still be creating in some capacity. And I'd still be training in some way. Maybe I finally broke down and did some Tai Chi. Maybe, though, keeps telling me to start the class and I'm like, I'm so not a Tai Chi person. But maybe finally, I will do it. All the more reason for you to do it. I know. It's telling me and I keep resisting Tai Chi, I try it, I go back, I try to go back. I know it's calling. But I'd like to think that my work would be out there in 10 years, and be mass consumed in different formats, like I said, anime, live action, something, you know, to that graphic novel, but more readily available. But I would still be training in some capacity. Whether you know, I joke about tai chi or something, I'd like to think that I'm still moving. And I'm still bettering myself in the martial art community.
And I'm still grateful for everything that it's given me, I don't want you know, I talked to some martial artists, and they're, they're not grateful. They're, they're more bitter for their time that they've spent, you know, whether they're mad at that one instructor who didn't give them an opportunity, or the Miss tournament opportunity, you know, whatever it is, I want to be giving back in some way, I can't see teaching again. But I'd like to just be doing something for it and bringing some attention to it. Because I do think martial arts has gotten a bit of a bad rap with the black belt factories that pop up. And people don't give it enough credit for the good it can do for kids. And women, you know, not all of us have to start at five years old.
You know, we can start martial arts at any age and get the benefit from it. And I think sometimes that's lost. Big because everybody thinks you have to start when you're flexible. And you can only start at eight years old. And then you get the oh, there's no 12 year old black belt to understand. You know, we get into that whole conundrum and back and forth. And I think there's a way around that. I think it needs to be more recognized. Whether there's programs in schools, I think it could be brought into the physical education programs in schools, in some capacity. It's just not explored. And it's a shame because I think it could be made more readily available. Whether that's finding an art that we could all benefit from, or even picking styles like, I think Tai Chi could be, you know, something cool that everybody could benefit from it. But, you know, even me, you know, there are ways I know right now, Doug is gonna be like, what's going on? You should get in here on Saturdays. You know, there are ways to do it. But I don't think that, you know, there's obviously a problem with finding certified instructors. And then we get into the whole how you certify, you know, all those things. But I think there are ways that we could put our heads together, even just as a collective group as martial artists, to find a way to bring it to more kids.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Oh, absolutely. If people want to find your books, where will they go?
Danielle Orsino:
You can find me on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, or even check out my publisher at 4horsemenpublications.com.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Social media, websites, anything like that too.
Danielle Orsino:
birthinthefae.com. Or you can find me on Instagram at @birthofthefae_novel. And then you can find out everything that's going on with me and the Fae.
Jeremy Lesniak:
And so we're winding down, what final thoughts do you have for the folks listening today?
Danielle Orsino:
I think the biggest thing that I want anybody to take away from the discussion is just that journey in martial arts. Everybody's journey is different. It's individualized, but it's a journey worth starting. At any age. You know, you just have to find the right place where you fit in and you kind of know when you go in. You know, it doesn't matter if it's Taekwondo, Japanese, or Korean art, Kung Fu, Chinese art, whatever it is, you'll know when you go in. But if you're uncomfortable at any point, contractor, no, back the heck out. Don't feel like oh, I didn't finish. I didn't get this belt. No, that should not matter. You know, when it's when it doesn't suit you anymore. Don't feel like oh, I didn't finish. You know, I'm a failure. I didn't start when I finished whatever it was. When it's time to go, it's time to go. And you can always jump into something else. You know, that's, that's okay, too. And not everything has to be a lifelong journey. You can pause it, go back, you know, kind of dabble. That's okay, too. You know, just do what makes you feel comfortable, but definitely try it out. Don't feel like you have to be super flexible or, or any of that. There's always something out there for you. But you gotta just try it.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Did I tell you that was a great episode? Great storytelling. Danielle, thanks for coming on. Thanks for being so open. Holy cow. I am still reeling a couple days later, as I record this outro from just the force of our conversation, super cool. Hope we get to connect at some point because man, good stuff and look forward to checking out the books as well. Listeners go to whistlekickmartialaartsradio.com. That's where you're gonna find all the stuff that we've dropped some really cool photos that she sent over.
Of course, we've got the links, everything that we talked about, if you're down to support us and all of our work, remember, you got choices, you might consider buying one of our books on Amazon, maybe telling others about the show or supporting our Patreon, patreon.com/whistlekick. If you want to bring me to your school for a seminar. I love to join you, reach out, we'll find a way to make it happen. Don't get the code PODCAST15 to save 15% on anything whistlekick.com. And if you've got suggestions for guests or topics or other feedback, we want to hear email me Jeremy@whistlekick.com. Follow us on social media. We're @whistlekick. And that's it for now. Until next time, train hard, smile and have a great day.