MARTIALFORCE.COM

PRESENTS

AN INTERVIEW WITH

SENSEI RICK SENIOR

Seasoned Warrior

SEPT / 2012

My name is Eddie Morales and welcome to Martialforce.com Online Martial Arts Magazine. The person I am introducing in this interview has a dedicated history in the Martial Arts. His lineage is strong, traditional and hardcore at the very least. He has a vast knowledge of technique and application with a realistic view on its application.  In speaking with him I get a strong sense of commitment to the art he practices with a humbleness that is rare in this day and age of Martial Artist. We will talk about his beginnings and current views on Martial Arts. It is my privilege and honor to welcome Sensei Rick Senior and we here at Martialforce.com hope you enjoy reading about his journey.

Interview by Eddie Morales

Martialforce.com

Online Magazine

Martialforce.com: Where were you born and raised?

RICK SENIOR: I was born at Bronx Lebanon Hospital on the Grand Concourse to Jamaican immigrant parents. I started the 1st grade at St. Angela Merici 163^rd Street in the Bronx. I was a pretty sheltered and happy kid that never had any issues at that time. In the 3rd grade my family moved to the North Bronx Gunhill Road area. We lived on Fenton Avenue between Boston Post Road and Given Avenue. This area of the Bronx was a heavily integrated section which included Italians, Irish, Puerto Ricans and our family was probably the 2nd Jamaican family on the block. Growing up in the Bronx exposed me very early to bullies and punks. I was the younger brother and I was always somewhat of a loner. Although I had friends I was still basically a loner. I was always a chubby stocky kid who lacked confidence and wasn’t very good at many things. Many of my friends where good athletes who could run faster, and developed earlier and became better ball players at an early age.  I always wanted to do something that was different but I didn’t know what it would be.  As I grew and developed and got more involved in sports I began to get more exposure to the life on Boston Post Road.

Martialforce.com: What is your current occupation?

RICK SENIOR: I am an insurance sales man. What I love more than anything else is the independence of not having a boss. Maybe it is the WestIndian blood in me but, I just don’t like being told what to do.  So being an independent contractor is the way to go.

Martialforce.com: When and where did you begin your Martial Arts training and what motivated you to study?

RICK SENIOR: I was around thirteen years old when this incident occurred. One night a good friend of mine named Donnie Reid and I went to a Carnival at Immaculate Conception school on Gunhill Road near White plains Road. We had a good time and we were on our way home when we got confronted by at least 13 kids who were all older than us. I was always a fairly big kid for my age; the majority of them surrounded me. My friend Donnie who was a little smaller than me, was very quick and alert and was able break free and get away. I was surrounded and got blindsided. Some of these kids had car antennas they started wailing on me with these car antennas. It was a terrible situation. I know that you are aware that an old-time metal car antenna is just like a fencing sword that can lay you open. A survival instinct that I did not know existed, kicked in and I was able to punch my way free and run for my life. The amazing thing was that, I never went down I was able to take the punishment and never lost consciousness. When I got home my father was furious. In those days when your family was harmed you drew down and handled things yourself. We got into his car and went back to the Carnival.When my father and I showed up, and they saw the fire in his eyes they scattered. I went to give chase and he told me never chase someone on their home territory.

That night my father said to me, “the situation in the Bronx is very dangerous. The fighting skills that you will need is beyond my knowledge”. “Find a man with an impeccable reputation and with good standing in the community not some fly by night nut job who is faking his credentials”. When I look back on that statement I come to realize that my father was very astute. Bare in mind he had no knowledge of martial arts but he knew what requirements to look for. This started my search. I ran into a few people who read some Martial arts magazines and knew some jargon and had faked their ranks. I being young and gullible fell in with them until one day in high school I met James Outlaw. One day he and I were playing fighting when he grabbed my wrist and turned it and I ended up on the floor face down with my arm locked behind my back. I asked “What was that!” he laughed and said “That is Ju-Jitsu” “what in the world?”  He said if you want to learn you should go and visit my dojo on Tremont Avenue.

Martialforce.com: Everyone is influenced by someone, either directly or indirectly and it’s rare when this is not the case. That being said, who has been your greatest influence throughout your life in regard to Martial Arts and or life in general?

RICK SENIOR: I took my friend James Outlaw’s advice and went to the Tremont School of Judo and Jujitsu on Tremont Avenue in the South Bronx.  It was a three story walk up in a well-kept building. When I got to the top floor there was a big black metal door with a Joseki “Emblem” on the door. When I stepped into the entrance the place was immaculate. I immediately noticed high quality black and white photographs of men in hakamas being captured in highly advance and aggressive fighting maneuvers. There was pictures of Sensei George Klett, Sensei Ralph Reyes, Sensei Marquez, Sensei Gil, Sensei Medina, Sensei Lewis Palza just to name a few. (At the time I did not know any of them.)My heart was racing, I had actually entered into an authentic dojo for the first time. As I walked into the area I saw a huge mat area with a sitting gallery I turned around and there behind the display case was a slender man with a grey goatee wearing a lime green short sleeve shirt and a pair of bifocal glasses typing on an old typewriter using the hunt and peck method. Needless to say I did not associate this man with any of the pictures that I saw on the wall. Then he spoke “May I help you?” I was startled, I would like some information about classes? He said how old are you? I said 14 he said “My goodness you’re an animal for 14!” I usually won’t train anyone under the age of 16 unless I put you in judo. But you look like you can take the punishment so I will train you in ju jitsu. I looked at him quizzically and said Are you the….? Yes I am the professor!!! My mind was blown. I had been talking to the Headmaster of the school and did not know it. He said classes are tonight bring your father or whoever pays the bills to get you signed up. I don’t remember my feet even touching the ground as I flew downstairs to get on the bus to go home and wait for my father to get home from work. That evening when we returned, the dojo looked different the air was thick and the anticipation was unbearable. While we were climbing the stair case we hear “BOOM” we jumped. We walked a little further and “BOOM, BOOM, BOOM” “Kiiiaaaaiiii – Boom” They were practicing Ukemi – Waza Falling ways.  The windows on the staircase would rattle with each fall from the concussion of the slap out of 60 plus people hitting the mats at the same time. When we got to the next landing my father stopped and looked at me and said (in his usual Jamaican Colloquial manner) “Man, you sure you want deal with this Rhatid here? Dis sound serious man” I said yes dad this is it. As we were turning to go up to the next flight of stairs there was Professor Pereira standing there in full gi and hakama with a brand new gi in his hand. He did not look so friendly this time, his eyes were on fire. He threw the gi to my chest and yelled “your late get in there and get started” he turned to my dad with such nice smile “Hello sir glad to meet you, step into my office” For years I have never seen the inside of his office only when I got into trouble. That night I saw a man that worked what looked like magic to me. It seemed like he was levitating 250lb men across the mat with ease. I had never seen such grace and power in my life I knew that I was now home. Ju jitsu would be my path.

Martialforce.com: Can you give us an example of a typical day of training back in your early days of training?

RICK SENIOR: Training in Mi Yama Ryu Ju jitsu I must say was the highlight of my youth. Shihan Pereira was a fierce man with a fiery disposition. He was humorous and hot tempered but he was passionate about his art and he loved his students. Training in ju jitsu not only taught me how to apply technique correctly, it also taught me how to teach. The typical training day was repetition, repetition repetition. We had to stay within our curriculum we were not allowed to see more advanced techniques. We had to perfect the techniques that were in our curriculum. We had specified instructors for each belt level. Shinan Antonio Pereira and Shihan George Klett taught the white and orange belt classes. Sensei Gil taught the yellow and green belt classes, Sensei Marquez taught the 3^rd kyu brown classes and Shinan Pereira taught the 2^nd kyu brown and up classes. Sensei Pereira was a master at training drills.  We used to do diving roll outs with a man on the other side of the obstacle waiting to attack with a weapon or a closed fist where you would have to react. We used to have full brown and black belt classes blindfolded. We had full ju jitsu workout on the stair case. We would have knife attacks while being handcuffed. Some day’s we would have full workouts with your arm in a sling to teach you to use just one arm in an attack. Shinan Pereira would say, “once I teach you a technique it is no longer my technique, it becomes your technique” I trust you with this technique to take care of it and take the responsibility to practice and pass it on with care”. I took that to mean that ju jitsu doesn’t stop when you leave the dojo. Ju jitsu had become my way of life. Shihan Pereira was the most Influential man in my life besides my father. Not only was he a great martial artist he was an innovative teacher who inspired us to strive for excellence. He was a practical man who had a practical approach to life. He was not a mystic. He did not dabble into the more mystical aspects of martial arts. I once asked him “Sensei, what is Chi?” “He said you want to know what chi is. Once you get a toothache then you will know what chi is?” Not only did I want to emulate him, I wore a beard or a goatee in some form or another throughout the majority of my life because he usually always had some sort of facial hair. He was an impeccable dresser. I never saw a time where he wasn’t perfectly groomed and dressed to the nine’s. To this day I find myself still patterning myself after his style.

Martialforce.com: Can you tell our readers what you gained from your Martial Arts training and has it helped you in your daily life?

RICK SENIOR: First and foremost; Ju jitsu kept me off the streets. It kept me out of the clubs I was too interested in improving my technique. With my best friend James Outlaw together we pursued the path of perfecting our technique for the sake of technique. I began to view my body as a machine and I would push it as hard as I knew how, to test the limits of my capability. When it came close to the time for me to test for my black belt “Oku-iri” I was running 8 miles per day, I was doing free-style wrestling and learning the rudimentary basics of Shotokan and goju in the combat room at Bronx Community College. One day Shinan Pereira said to the black belt candidates “Rank is a burden” “Once you attain that rank, you will spend the rest of your life living up to it. It took me years to understand what the heck he was talking about. I could illustrate for hours of the ways that ju jitsu influence my life there just wouldn’t be enough time in this interview. Some of the most arcane techniques that I never saw the value of were the very things that actually saved my life. Mi Yama Ryu is noted for its practice of the Tai Sabake a 10 movement drill that is designed to teach you the avenues of escape. At the brown belt level we had what is called the Tai Sabake Cat step.  One day I was with two of my closest friends Omar and Bobby. We were  coming from a party at Lehman Collage one night and we stopped in at the Rainbow Diner on Bedford Park Boulevard. To make a long story short, we ended up in a potentially deadly tinderbox of a racial incident. Some of the neighborhood punks did not like the fact of three black guys coming into the neighborhood to eat in their diner. It ended without any real violence however, one incident took place. Someone jumped into a souped up barracuda and sped down the block trying to run me over. I reacted just out of plan reflex and executed Tai Sabake cat step # 4. I landed between two park cars and harmlessly avoided being run over by that coward in the car. In the street, the smallest most mundane technique could save your life. I have a black belt student his name is Sargent Deonte Singeltary he has done 2 tours in Afghanistan and 3 tours in Iraq. He told me that the basic diving roll drill that I made him do throughout all the time I trained him was the most significant thing that saved his life in combat. He was involved in a fire fight in Iraq. What he told me was fascinating, he was out of position, his team was unable to move across an alley way. Someone was shooting down on them and he could see the bullets hitting the ground. They needed to advance their position but they where stuck. From what he said, the distance between to two buildings was about 10 feet. He could see where the bullets where landing and he was able to execute dive and roll avoiding the bullets and landing on the other side rolling out into a standing position. He was able to lay suppressive fire from his new vantage point allowing his team to advance. That is an example of a basic move that we had to practice every day that saved someone’s life in combat.

Martialforce.com: A lot of kids don’t have role models to look up to and give up too easily in life, which leads to the negative alternative that the unforgiving streets offer. What would you say to a child or have a parent explain to a child that might be reading this in regards to feeling like they don’t fit or haven’t found themselves?

RICK SENIOR: That is a very important question. I have seen too many times how “Sensei’s” mislead their students and end up with bullies who have no concept of what martial arts should be. I would first of all say when someone sticks out their chest and draws attention to themselves and put on airs of how tough they are, they are usually coming from a place of fear. When someone has to try and prove to you how tough they are, they are usually dealing with serious fear issues. Scratch a bully and you will find a “punk”. O’sensei Ueshiba used a parable and I am paraphrasing, “which is stronger, the oak tree or the blade of grass?” the oak tree with all of its strength and majesty will be uprooted and ripped from the ground in the face of a hurricane. A blade of grass will lie down in the face of the hurricane and stand back up when the hurricane has passed.  What I would tell the young students coming up now is this. The greatest test of strength and character you will ever face is to not resort to violence and walk away. The concept is mercy, think ahead. Think of the consequences that you may face for not having walked away. It could cost you your life. You could be killed or worse you could end up in jail for the rest of your life.  There may be times where you cannot walk away then you have no choice. There is a poem that I first read from the Great Goju Sensei Charles Bonet “Be gentle, be compassionate, be merciful,be loving, be understanding, be avoiding, be humorous, (depending on the situation). Above all, be FEROCIOUS! Life is precious, especially yours and those you love......Ush! “Sensei Charles Bonet"

Martialforce.com: Do you have any long or short-term goals in regards to any part of your life that you can tell our readers about?

RICK SENIOR: My goal as far as martial arts are concerned is to be there for my new grandson Isaiah. I would like to set his foundation and maybe put him on the path of martial arts. My hopes and prayers are to maintain enough of my youth to where I could make martial arts teaching available for the young ones in the neighborhood who will never have an opportunity to learn martial arts.

Martialforce.com:  Are there any martial artists past and present that you have a lot of respect for in regards to their skill and tradition?

 
RICK SENIOR: Wow, that question is loaded. Many of the martial artists that I respect I have trained with in a very limited fashion. First and foremost Sensei James Outlaw who is my lifelong friend and who thought enough of me to invite me to meet and train under Shinan Pereira. From him I learned not to draw attention to myself and to concentrate on the perfection of technique. Sensei Manny Ortiz a student of Shotokan Karate who studied under Sensei Cheno Archival he is an intense and loyal individual who was also a rationalist. Sensei Jose Reyes is a goju sensei who is probably one of the most intense, and ferocious martial artist that I have ever known. He has shown an incredibly single minded focus to the perfection of technique. I have a friend names Sensei Eugene Argent (Omar) he was the one that guided me in the cerebral pursuit of martial arts. He introduced me to Miyamoto Musashi’s “Book of Five Rings”. He helped me enhance my literary approach to the study of martial arts. Last but not least, Shihan Otis Harris. Shihan Harris’ life reads like a novel. I met him at the Tremont Dojo. I believe that Sensei James Outlaw Shihan Otis Harris and I received our black belts at the same time. Shihan Harris was a role model for me. He was older than I, but he had tremendous physical ability. He is man of great courage who fought in Korea, Vietnam and the 1st Iraq War an incredible man and a fascinating martial artist.

Martialforce.com:  What are your thoughts on today’s ranking system?

RICK SENIOR: I think today's ranking systems have been distorted among martial arts in this country. In Judo for instance Jigoro Kano had no rank in martial arts because he was an aristocrat. To rank an aristocrat would be considered an insult. The purpose of ranking system was originally solely for the purposes of letting the Sensei know how his students are progressing. Ranking in the United States has become a marketing tool to generate business which I don’t have a problem with. What I have a problem with, is people giving themselves ranks to elevate themselves to lofty positions. When that happens, it weakens the integrity of the martial arts community. Personally, I could not wear a rank that I didn’t train and test for; it would just eat away at my gut. Can you imagine, you have a young student who has trained very hard, he or she put in the work to honestly gain the rank that they deserve, Then you run into someone who is falsely claiming all of this rank misleading them into a false sense of accomplishment? There was a case here in Florida where a Sensei failed his student in a black belt test and his parents took him to court and sued him forcing him to award the black belt. That to me is shameful. I have gone to tournaments where everyone is a master, a Shihan , a Soke, and I often wonder does having that many masters devalue the actual meaning of what ranking is all about? I don’t believe that true martial artist should tolerate such fantasies. Many other fields of study have methods to weed out frauds. There should be mechanisms in place to do just that. My sensei Shihan Antonio Pereira, used to say “rank is a burden” I have come to find that to be true.

Martialforce.com: Thank you sir for accepting this interview and we here at Martialforce.com wish you the best in all your future endeavors.

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