MARTIALFORCE.COM

PRESENTS

AN INTERVIEW WITH

MASTER GJ TORRES

AUG / 2014

My name is Franklin Puello and welcome to Martialforce.com Online Martial Arts Magazine. Martialforce.com is proud to present an interview with a man that has had four decades of competitive dedication and a passion for the art of Karate that burns in his heart, which began early in his life. This dedication has been a source of power with no end as he passes the torch to many in an effort to help them improve themselves and in turn live better lives.  With selfless devotion he continues to practice his art always learning and adapting. For many years we have brought to you those that have given their practice an intensity that lead them to greater things in there life and as a result have helped other to succeed and achieve. Everyone goes through life with either a purpose of choice or one that is destined to be who and what they become. In this interview you will learn about the Teacher, Practitioner and family Man. His name is GJ Torres and his art and proven skills speak for themselves.

Interview by Franklin Puello

Martialforce.com Online Magazine

Martialforce.com: Where are you originally from?

GJ TORRES: My native is Arroyo Puerto Rico, I moved from there to the Bronx when I was 4 years old and live at the Gunhill Projects until I was the age of 10. From there i moved to Brooklyn and then back to the Bronx in my teen years

Martialforce.com: What year did you begin martial arts and who was your first martial arts teacher?

GJ TORRES: I started martial arts at the very young age of 7, in 1967, my family martial arts background goes back even later ten that. My first instructor was sifu/master Yuk Bok Whong, a kung fu instructor from heilong Jiang China who operated a class at the China Town community center in 1967 until 1980, he was a co worker of my father who was a very accomplished boxer who fought out of Brooklyn back in the 60's and late 70's. My father worked as a cook for the US Embassy New York and Sifu Whong was a janitor at the embassy so they became great friends and I started training with him as my first teacher. The heilong (Black Dragon) style was my first. my second was in Taekwon Do under the jhoon Rhee system as a teen, Peter Urban Goju in china town, Shidoshi Ron Van Clief being my last and present instructor. I idolized Shidoshi Van Clief and when i saw that he was the Black Dragon and my first style being Heilong (Black Dragon) I knew it was meant to be so that's why my schools are called The Black Dragons Dojo's

Martialforce.com: Did you compete in the sport Karate tournaments in those early days of training?

GJ TORRES: I started competing since the beginning with sifu whong, sifu and some of the oldest Chinese sifu's in New York would have forms, weapons and sparring events almost every two months. I also started competing in tournaments held at the garden in New York by Henry Cho and Aaron Banks and in New Jersey at Gary Alexander's Tournaments, i was considered a young fighter with fast feet because of my versatile ability from the styles I studied, i still compete in most of Asia and here in the US.

Martialforce.com:What are your thought on the tournaments of the past vs today?

GJ TORRES: Many may find this disrespectful but those who come from my age era would not hesitate to agree, Karate, Kung Fu and Tae kwon Do was great back then and the tournaments where awesome and very difficult to win. People fought for glory, respect and for the name of their style and instructor, there was very little protection if any in sparring and all styles came out to represent the arts in Kata, Weapons, Demonstrations and Sparring.... today? wow, if you’re not flipping, tumbling, twirling during a form, you have no chance in these so called rated tournaments, if you brush past a target or stick your arm out and run in, you’re not scoring a point, if a person flaps their feet in front of you and you rush them into the crowd or knock them through chairs the love tap or the flicker will get the point, if you charge an opponent and they are running from you and glaze you with the foot or hand they get the point, the equipment used in these events are coward equipment, chest guards, face guards, forearm pads, chin guards, foot gear, hand pads, head gear..... things that take away from the essence of true martial arts. Until this day myself or my students will not compete in sparring if they force us to wear head gears. I understand the so called safety matter of the gear but you have more injuries now then we ever had when we just fought without these things. I as a tournament promoter do also enforce the rule of sparring equipment but not for the art just because if I held an event with no gear it would be just my students and maybe a few others that still have love for great karate. The tournaments today are ran by anybody, and I mean anybody, promoters are not all martial artist, people are receiving ranks for supporting events, attending seminars, attending hall of fames and so on! to me, if I like you and you have a good event i will fill your place, if you are a phony and run an event? don't even think about us being there!

Martialforce.com: Your sons are also well trained Martial Artist and successful young men, was it their decision to begin their training or did you make it mandatory for them?

GJ TORRES: My passion and life is martial arts, I never cheat on it, I'm always faithful to it and its my families lifestyle. My sons are well trained because its our bloodline, we are a warrior family with love for the art and since the age of 4 they have been dojo children, now my twins are 35 years old and my youngest boy is 28, all family men and dedicated fathers and husbands. my sons are champions and respectful to all in the arts which is something that's hard to come by these days

Martialforce.com: You have connections in Viet Nam; can you tell our readers how that came about?

GJ TORRES: I have been an international traveler and competitor since the age of about 20, when I was a teen and even in my under years I would be fascinated with Asia because i grew up watching all the Chinese movies and imagined what it would be like to fight an Asian ....LOL, I saw my Master Ron Van Clief fighting kung fu china men in the movies and watch all the styles and animal styles and thought it was so cool and one day I will be there. I started traveling to Asia and visiting schools, not just in Hong Kong but also in China, Japan, Okinawa, Thailand, Lao, Malaysia and Vietnam! I remember my first trip to Asia in 1979, i just decided to get on a plain and head to Norida Japan, also known as Tokyo, it cost me $700.00 back then for a round trip ticket, I had no clue about the time change and day difference so I made my round trip ticket for 5 days. When i got there and found out that i would be flying back in two days I was so angry, I rushed around asking people where is there a karate school, the first school I found was one of shotokan dojo, the master looked at me and said, American? Karate? and he allowed me to watch not participate. the second school was also a shotokan school but the instructor was also teaching jujitsu or something in that family to his class, he allowed me to workout with them and offered me an entry into his organization for $300.00 US Dollars.... never the less to say I refused respectfully and also because I was budgeted to my travel. i came back home after a couple of days and loved it, then I was the only non military instructor/black belt that could brag that I was in Japan and worked out with the Japanese....lol  I then decided that I would explore Asia and learn as much as I can about the different countries styles and systems. I traveled to Hong Kong, China, Okinawa, Thailand, Lao, Vietnam and did this at least 4 countries a year every year. I started competing in those countries and loved it, it was like I was Gilligan from Gilligans island, every where I went everybody started at me and loved me, i was like a celebrity everywhere, instructors liked me, competitors loved my fighting, the woman loved me....wow I was the man because I was in heaven. then I met master dong, one of the oldest teachers in all of Asia and most respected by masters around Asia, he asked me to stay and study Vovi nam, the Vietnamese martial arts, I said sure because it was different and awesome, when I spend that much time there I decided I wanted to be the first Puerto Rican Vietnamese so i applied for dual citizenship and was granted the privilege because my sponsor was master Dong. I then bought a house there and on the top floor of the house I built a 2000 square feet dojo and started teaching with the blessing of master Dong, the dojo now has been active for over 10 years and I opened another in the city of Ho Chi Minh when I produced my first black belt there, my main school in Vietnam is located in hue city Vietnam. The minute I opened the doors to the first school it was packed, packed because I was different and I am American and they love us! In the resent year I opened a dojo in Phuket Thailand, one of my Vietnam students moved there and asked if he could open a dojo so I granted him the privilege.  I still live in Vietnam till this date and travel back and forth to the US to check on my American schools.

Martialforce.com: This question is usually one that for whatever reason causes controversy, but I’ll ask. What are your thoughts Kata training and do you agree or disagree with it and why or why not?

GJ TORRES: No Kata, No Art! if you are studying an art without Kata then its like your pretending that you know how to play a piano but have no clue what the keys sound like or why they are so many! Kata is your teacher when your teacher is not there, Kata symbolizes your style and where it came from, kata is what makes you better in all aspects of your art. Yeah many say that Kata is a waist of time and that there is nothing that Kata can do to improve your fighting ability, only idiots say that, or lazy people who either don't have the mind to understand how it (kata) with imagination will make you into an awesome fighting machine and keep you strong. Have you ever seen two fighters at a tournament, one is not good at kata or they never learned or practiced kata verses a fighter that practices kata in a sparring match? the one who doesn't do kata will flash techniques at you and maybe tag you a few times with no power or form, the one who practices kata strikes strong and hard like a freight train and usually get disqualified or reprimanded for being to hard or to agressive.... kata is the art, no kata, no karate, kung fu or taekwon do.

Martialforce.com: Can a student learn to fight or defend against an attacker using drills without sparring?

GJ TORRES: It is a proven fact that action is just thoughts! drills are actions put forth by thoughts, we all learn to be great fighters by drills, you don't become good or great by beating the heck out of each other every day but by drilling the movements into your brain, if someone asks does a drilling students have a chance against a student that fights all the time I would say, definitely! You can do drills all your life and when the time comes if you have the heart you will beat any opponent any time. There was an experiment done years ago by a very well know university, they had a very good foul shot basket ball player shooting into the hoop all day long, in another part of the university they had a kid that never played basket ball in his life watch this other kid shoot on video all day long, the next day they put them both together and guess what? the kid that never played basketball hit 90 percent of the shots in compared to the ball player who hit 99 percent. we go to class, does the instructor tie strings around your arms and legs and teaches you by moving your body parts like a puppet? NO! its all visual and what you see is what you learn, same as drills, you can perform drills or you can fight, all it takes is application

Martialforce.com: What in your opinion is the best weapon in a Martial Artist arsenal?

GJ TORRES: There is nine parts in the martial arts that makes you a weapon, two fist, two elbows, two knees, two feet and the ultimate part your head, if your head is not ready your heart has no courage, if your heart has no courage your body is useless.

Martialforce.com: Do you consider the average instructor of today a professional?

GJ TORRES: Today's martial arts is different from what it use to be, back in the old days you didn't have to advertize to get students because every body came running in to fill your school and learn karate because it was a cool way of beating somebody up...lol I remember after class being out in the park continuing sparring with your dojo partners because you loved it so much you couldn't get enough, children and adults don't have that passion anymore and martial arts is the last thing on their minds as an activity, fitness or self defense. the instructors of today who decided to open a school as a business have it hard, now you have to go and grab a students and convince them that martial arts is very good for them. i don't consider them anything but what they are, some are good instructors because its their life passion and some are just in it because they just want the business, the ones that want it for the business are professional business instructors and the ones that have a school because it is their passion are professionals in life improvement of others, in my schools we teach for life improvement of others!

Martialforce.com: What in your opinion makes a good self defense system?

GJ TORRES: A good self defense system is not played by multiple exchanges with the attacker, for years I have seen practitioners demonstrate one person attacking and the other, who is suppose to be the defender grabs the arm or leg, pull it in, twist the person in about 5 to 10 moves and finishes off with either a lock or a  strike, self defense is not like that, practice and teaching it will get someone hurt. A good self defense system will teach you hit hard hit fast and keep hitting until you feel its over, my theory of self defense is, the person is a dry pavement and you are rain, wet the hell out of them until the pavement is completely drowned, giving an attacker a chance is giving them another reason to hurt or kill you..... most self defense systems teach all that complicated stuff because it looks cool, there is nothing cool about defense.

Martialforce.com: What is the very first thing you would teach a new student?

GJ TORRES: First I teach the parent if the student is a kid, I teach them that martial arts is a contact activity that involves two or more people kicking, punching and more at each other, if its an adult I tell them the same. I'm a great believer that you must use what you learn even in the first few times you train, I allow the students to spar even in the first few classes, why? because I know that if you become confident in using what you learned as soon as possible it will only make you better every day

Martialforce.com: Do you currently stay active teaching and if yes, what is the location of your school?

GJ TORRES: I teach every chance I get when I'm here in the US, i visit the schools and enjoy teaching from the youngest to the oldest all ranks, i presently have 5 schools in New Jersey, Eatontown New Jersey ran by Shihan Melissa Jaggers (Dojo Headquarters), Red Bank New Jersey ran by Sensei Miriam Miron, Long Branch New Jersey Sensei Genaro Hernandez, Freehold New Jersey Master Ray Torres, Shrewsbury New Jersey Master GJ Torres Jr / Puerto Rico Shihan Ruby Camacho, Atlanta Georgia Shihan Lawrence Johnson, Hue Vietnam Sensei Loi Nguyen, Hochi Minh City Vietnam Sensei Kien Tran, Phucket Thailand Master Nong Rukun. when I am in the US i usually spend most of my time at the head quarters in Eatontown New Jersey, when i'm back home in Vietnam i teach at my Hue City Dojo which is on the top floor of my home

Martialforce.com: What are your short range plans in regards to Martial Arts Seminars?

GJ TORRES: We are growing and growing fast, quality martial arts by quality dedicated Sensei's and Master's. I teach free seminars to my peers on how to build a strong and productive school and teach them that motivation is what got me here

Martialforce.com: What are your long range plans in regards to Martial Arts or just life in general?

GJ TORRES: Retirement as a successful business man that don't have to work until I die, and hope for an eternal life of martial arts through my great dedicated students that will keep my passion alive for centuries to come

Martialforce.com: Have you ever considered making training video’s to sell on the market?

GJ TORRES: Making videos was attempted years ago and in my findings, everybody wants to produce one about their style or system. I would do a video library one day for my students but as for the public? there is just to many out there and I really don't want to be on that ban wagon, I could probably make tons of money just with my students but the envy of egoistic  martial artist these days no one out side of my school would buy it.... I would do a public sale video but only on how to teach people to run a successful school, I’ll probably call it Karate masters for dummies....lol
 

Martialforce.com: What are your thoughts on Martial Arts and Martial Artist of today?

GJ TORRES: Martial Artist are like wild fire, its burned out of control, titles are being used like; Masters, Grand Masters, Professors, Supreme Grand Masters, World Champions and so much more. everybody that was around in the 70's Kung Fu Theater days are all Grand Masters now and they have produced other Grand Masters to continue the trend, we have world champions that never left their home town or even state but have such titles, we have undisputed International Champions that driven to Canada and consider themselves at that level, Hell I been around most of the world but would never use such nonsense and bull and I have won everywhere I been nationally and worldwide. Martial Arts events have become a quick paycheck to non Martial Artist; Promoters have become grand masters but have never sweated a bead off their forehead. so much nonsense, as a school owner and successfully having hundreds of students i decided to just shut down my support to non Martial Artist and stop feeding these phonies. if you’re a Martial Artist? I will be there, but if you’re not? Don’t come knocking at my door for support of your puppet show. Martial artist today have one major problem, Self Gratification just being good is not good enough, if Joe is a master? Billy has to be a grandmaster because it makes him feel better. The honor and respect for one another is gone, everybody should just take a step back and work on ethics, stop pretending and start producing, the world of non-martial artist needs you but needs you to be real!

Martialforce.com: We know you do not like the title of Grandmaster, can you tell our readers why?

GJ TORRES: I always believe in a set way of life, in martial arts I go with that same rule. when I was growing up it was all about performance and goals, here is my concept behind titles and ranks;  A SENSEI, ONE WHO STUDIES KARATE FOR A LENGTH OF TIME AND HAS COMPLETED THEIR REQUIREMENTS AND ACHIEVED A BLACK BELT IN THE ARTS A MASTER. ONE WHO HAS OPERATED A SCHOOL FOR A LENGTH OF TIME AND HAS ENHANCED THE LIFE OF OTHER IN TURN PRODUCING OTHER TO THE RANK OF BLACK BELT AND IS A GOOD FAMILY MAN AND PROVIDER TO HIS OR HER SIBLINGS, A GRAND MASTER ONE WHO HAS DONE EVERYTHING THEY EVER WANTED IN THEIR LIFE, NEVER NEEDS TO WAKE UP WITH WORRIES, IS FINANCIALLY SECURED, HAS A LEGACY AND IS CONTENT WITH HIS OR HER JOURNEY!
 do you know how many grand masters are out here who don't even drive a car, don't even posses a drivers license, can not get a passport because they owe child support, don't have a school, created their own style by pretending they know martial arts, got awarded their rank by some other person with those standards? there is thousands of them out there! I have a lot, but there is something missing that I cant find, something that hold me back from using such title, what it is I don't know yet, i am a ninth degree black belt, a rank well deserved and assigned to me by a real champion, pioneer and legend, my teacher and hero, Shidoshi Ron Van Cleif, a grand master, one who has those qualities I mentioned and has that right to use that title, one who still till this date is one of the fittest machine of a man. I am a grandfather, a father, a teacher, a master and a friend, but until i know what's missing, what needs to be corrected and perfected, I'm just Master GJ Torres.

Martialforce.com: What are your thoughts on black belts that don't train anymore or have never competed but find themselves judging in local and national tournaments?

GJ TORRES: When I was younger I use to do gymnastics and played basket ball, now when someone asks me do I play basket ball I say, i use to when I was a kid but haven't for a while so probably can't any more or I'm not that good anymore.... this is just unacceptable unless you have an impeccable Martial history of championship skills or winnings, its unacceptable to put on a rank and pretend that you know what your judging when you have either never done it or haven't done it in ages, leave that to the active and performing instructors who still do it! I've always competed because i love the spirit and whats good enough for my black belts to do is good enough for me, masters like Jonaz Nunez, Grand Masters like Ernest Hyman, Bob Melony, who even after 65 are still doing there thing..... so tired of people standing or sitting in a ring judging and when its time to compete in masters and grand masters division they run and hide from the real warriors, I know, many will use the excuse that they have a bad back, bad knees and many more excuses, but in reality its just the coward in them, if you have no ambition in doing something with what you call your life dedication, throw your belt away and say you use to study martial arts.

Martialforce.com: What in your opinion needs to happen to improve the quality of tournaments local and national?

GJ TORRES: In my opinion, and it’s just my opinion otherwise you'll get allot of hate mail from promoters....lol, tournaments these days are just a business project to many promoters, many of them are not even credible martial artist, they saw a way to make a fast tax free dollar and before you know it they are running a big tournament and being called grand masters! real karate tournaments should be style friendly, no rules should be sent by mail, discussed or even printed, in order to assure fairness for all styles and systems the rules should be discussed and agreed upon by all the school owners the morning of the event, this is how I been doing it for over 30 years as a master promoter and believe me it works because no one has a reason to complain once the event starts. In Asia it's done this exact way the sensei's and masters all have a black belt meeting that morning and decide what fits everybody. lets look at it this way, if I know the rules I apply will benefit a certain group and it will be at their advantage, wouldn't that motivate me on making the rules more to their favor? I believe everybody has a say on the rules. unlike many promoters, I run a tournament for the love of competition, i have my sport wear company sponsor all my events, make a little or not, its for the love of it!

Martialforce.com: What’s your overall opinion on "sports karate" and on the new generation of tournament fighters?

GJ TORRES: It’s a dam shame what martial arts fighters have become, I’ve been competing for over 40 years and can say what others my age and experience say, there is no karate in today's fighting competitions, it’s all a game of flash and tag! I’ve seen some sport karate fighters match up against strong karate competitors with a heart to hit or be hit lose to a tag from a sports fighter while driven through the ring with brunt force of the strong fighter, fully extended techniques without proper execution or retrieval, no power, no chamber, just crap! and the judges are worse, they call these techniques as valid, try this stuff in a traditional competition or even in a Kyokushin event, it’s not going to work for the sports fighter because it’s not what we teach. That’s one of the biggest reasons that today’s martial artist can’t defend themselves in a real street situation. We never used head gear at a tournament and if the promoters want us to compete they have to adjust the rules, if not we will just walk away, not that we are trying to play tough guys, it’s just distracting and not necessary, how can you say there is no contact to the face or the head but yet make head gears mandatory? if the fighters of today would concentrate in fighting with karate instead of fighting like if it was a game of tag, they would be awesome because there is some talented fighters out there. I’ve been to some tournaments that the sport fighters stop the ring and ask for coach time, point to the judge and say that he wasn't paying attention, ask the center judge to watch the other fighter because he is hitting to hard, calling their own points to try and influence the judges, totally not karate! They should call that type of event a martial tag tournament. Not that I’m promoting danger in events, heck I have competitors wear the necessary equipment for protection also but I surely make sure they are in a karate fight! People get less injured when they know they have to protect themselves much more carefully. like I said I been competing in tournaments for over 40 years, here in the United States and overseas, with mega stamping on my passports, but never and I mean never will I compete in rated events because they are not karate, not karate forms, not karate weapons, not karate fighting

Martialforce.com: Do you practice weapons and if yes or no, why or why not?

GJ TORRES: Yes I do practice weapons, I enjoy everything about karate, i learn everything I see that's different, even at my age and with my martial history till this day I still study, i live in Vietnam and there is a style there that I found very interesting called VOVINAM Vietnamese martial arts, I've seen something different in their weaponry so i ask the master there if he can teach me this style, in turn I share what i bring from the west. weaponry build your skills and ability to take any average object found anywhere and enhance your defense in a street situation, we all got allot of influence from sony shiba, bruce lee and all the other movie made heroes demonstrating each weapon so we as youngsters would pick up anything in the street and make it that weapon. I still as I said study weapons and yes I still compete in weapons divisions here and overseas.

 

Martialforce.com: What’s your favorite weapon, even if just spectating weapons training and or competition?

GJ TORRES: All weapons are my favorite but my choice for competition would be the bo and kamas. These two weapons are truly unique in its own way because of the magnitude you can show in your performance. But i will also judge and be enlighten with every weapon from the Chinese broad sword to the Japanese tonfa

I hope this was not too much info and again thank you for the opportunity and respect to my expressions,    yours, Master GJ Torres 

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