MARTIALFORCE.COM
PRESENTS
AN INTERVIEW WITH
MASTER KEVIN PEREIRA
Interview by Eddie Morales
Martialforce.com
Online Magazine
My name is Eddie Morales and welcomed to Martialforce.com Online Martial Arts Magazine. There is a saying that im sure everyone has heard at one time or another which goes “show me who you hang out with and ill tell you who you are.” While this statement may be used with negative sentiment when its heard it can also be turned into a positive by applying it to martial arts, but slightly different. “Show me who you train with and ill tell you who you are.” In the case of Master Kevin Pereira this statement becomes powerful as he trained with the renound Seido Master Tadashi Nakamura who has run a no nonsense Karate Dojo for decades in Manhattan New York. Master Nakamura has produced some of the finest Karateka such as the late Shuseki Shihan William Oliver and Shuseki Shihan Charles Martin to name a few. Master Pereira maintains a tradition of hardcore no nonsense Karate and has much to be proud of in his life. He teaches Children how to be better human beings while learning to protect themselves. His strength and commitment to pass on his knowledge is relentless with sincere heartfelt passion driving this endeavor. Master Pereira’s skill is of the highest caliber and his attitude is humble and focused on self improvement. We here at Martialforce.com are always happy to present top notch martial artist and moreover human beings that walk the walk.
Martialforce.com: Where are you from and where did you grow up?
KEVIN PEREIRA:
I'm from the Fordham Road section of the Bronx in New York
City.
Martialforce.com: What got you initially interested in Martial Arts?
KEVIN PEREIRA: Martial arts has always been something my family was involved in my older brother Carlos Negron studied Taekwondo, my uncle Benny Pagan and most of my family members were members of the Miyama Ryu Jujitsu school on Tremont. Shinan Antonio Pereira was my grandfathers cousin. Also on my mothers side of the family there are and were allot of boxers one of my uncle was even a part of a circus in Puerto Rico where he boxed and wrestled a bear. It was the only natural thing to do I believe it was my path.
Martialforce.com:
Do you train in any weapons technique?
KEVIN PEREIRA:
Yes I practice the Bo staff, Jo and Kama. While training with
Grand Master Mark Kline I learned some Modern Arnis. He was a long time
student and friend of the later Professor Remy Presas I also dabbled in
Kendo during my time with him.
My favorites are the Arnis sticks, the Jo and the Bo staff only because they
resemble things that you would most likely run into on the street branches,
pipes etc.
Martialforce.com: In regards to your lineage in martial aets, who is your instructor/s?
KEVIN PEREIRA:
I have been fortunate enough to have many instructors over
the years however my main instructors are Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura & Grand
Master Mark Kline I have also had the privilege of studying with Shinan Hector
Negron.
MASTER KEVIN PEREIRA AND GRAND MASTER MARK KLINE
Martialforce.com:
Can you tell us some of the people who helped you in
your development regarding Karate?
KEVIN PEREIRA: These are the people I would like to credit for help making me who I am right now. Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura, Grand Master Mark Kline, Nidaime Akira Nakamura, Senpai Angel Alicea, Kyoshi Billy Macagnone, Jun Shihan Gil Alstein, Jun Shihan Ino Maquirang, SeiShihan William Best, Shuseki Shihan Christopher Caile, Sensei Masahiko Honma, Kyoshi Meredith Sawyers, Master Bruce Ortiz, Kyoshi Matthew Warshaw, Jun Shihan Walter Nichols, Sensei Michael Kopp, Sensei Chris Sinclair, Senpai Michael Lorenzana, Kyoshi Morris Grucci, Kyoshi Sherwin Wise, Shuskei Shihan William Oliver, and last but not least Hanshi Charles Martin. These people all taught me something about Karate as a whole. From the technical to the spiritual what it means to encompass Karate do. The Journey never ends there's always something to learn and someone to teach it to you.
Martialforce.com: lets talk about Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura, how long did you train with him and what was his training method like?
KEVIN PEREIRA: I started training with Nakamura kaicho at the young age of thirteen. The Seido school is very large , 15,000 sq ft. With over 20 instructors. Those who got there early enough were lucky enough to spend a lot of time training personally with kaicho. Nowadays he teaches maybe 8 classes a week as opposed to just about every class on the schedule as before. He was stern and very much into using Japanese terminology. kaicho is a very hardcore instructor and traditionalist in every sense of the word. His classes were very focused on physical conditioning with exercises such as Knuckle push ups and squat drills. In the begining it was very raw and gritty but over the years his method at the schools has changed in ways to adopt to the average person without losing its effectiveness. I recall back then if 10 people joined maybe 4 made it passed yellow belt.
Martialforce.com: What did you learn from Grand Master Mark Kline?
KEVIN PEREIRA: Grand Master kline taught me many things that I could never repay him for. He unlocked secrets of techniques to me that opened my mind to greater possibilities. At times I said to myself and even out loud “How the hell did I not see that.” He showed me that true karate isn't just a punch and kick but has a deeper meaning with pressure points, throws and locking techniques. All these things were in our everyday practice and all we had to do was step back and take a closer look at the technique. The systems I learned under him were ryu kyu kempo, kyusho jitsu, modern arnis, small circle jujitsu, a little wrestling as he was a roman greco wrestler during his school days, some qi gong, also a sub art called tuite ( grab hands).
Aside from the Martial Arts he taught me how to become a leader and gave me my first real chance at exposure. Grand Master kline also taught me the business side to our industry so that I could be superior in Martial Arts as well as business. I deeply appreciate his teachings and as I stated earlier, I feel I could never repay him.
Martialforce.com: Tell us what kind of instructor was Shinan Hector Negron in your progress and what did you gain from his teachings?
KEVIN PEREIRA: Shinan Negron in my oppinion and experience is a very unique person. He reminded me a lot of Shinan Antonio Pereira. His approach was very raw and in-depth in regards to techniques structure and application. He did not sugar coat anything and reality was the underlined principle. Unfortunately I did not get a lot of time with Shinan Negron. I was there only a couple of months but one of the things I gained from him was, if you talk to your students in a sincere and direct way they pick up the seriousness of what you're teaching. He would use words like “Doped up psycho as opposed to " your opponent" which had a realistic impact on how the students practiced. Too often people tend to lose sight of the fact that the person attacking them will not be wearing a gi (Karate Uniform). It is up to the instructor to keep a realistic mental posture present when teaching. Most of the time if someone attacks you they won't know their elbow from their face but… they will be relentless.
MASTER’S KEVIN PEREIRA AND AKIRA NAKAMURA
Martialforce.com: Who is your biggest influence if any in both your life and Martial Arts?
KEVIN PEREIRA:
That's a tough one because I've had so many great people in my
life both budoka and non budoka. In my everyday life my father is my
greatest influence. He is a man who has been through a lot. He has been the
in the worst and the best of positions. He managed to do a complete 180 in
his life and is the model father and husband. My father cooks, cleans and
goes to the market. He does things that a man growing up in his era would
never do. The reason why he does this is because my mother is not in the
best of health and to be honest, neither is he. Growing up around him has
taught me extreme dedication to family and my loved ones.
In Martial Arts the person who sticks out in my mind is definitely Grand
Master Mark Kline of Piscataway New Jersey. The things he has taught me
regarding life and martial arts I will never forget. He is one of the people
who gave me the confidence to head my own group. Grand Master Kline opened
the doors of his dojo at the age of 24 with no help from his family and beat
the odds. He now runs a beautiful school in New Jersey which I had the
pleasure of helping him run. He has given lectures and seminars in over 15
countries around the world, that's where I want to be one day. He told me
once " The only person that can stop you Kevin is you!'
Martialforce.com:
In regards to modern day training, do you see anything that
could be changed to improve public perception of Martial Arts?
KEVIN PEREIRA: I
think today too much is put into the sport side of training and not enough
on the self protection aspect.
It is rare when someone walks into a Martial Arts school and
says they want to be a tournament competitor but instead its usually self
protection that they seek.
From my observations, everything nowadays is about Mixed Martial
Arts.
Years ago when people heard the words mixed martial arts it was perceived as a combination of arts usually Shotokan, Goju, Japanese based Jujitsu however now when people hear Martial arts now they think cage and tapout shorts. I think we need to get back to the root of what the arts were intended for which is what I previously mentioned, life or death self protection. I think its our job to teach from a more realistic standpoint with situations ranging from being placed up against walls, in chairs not waiting until brown belt to practice knife defenses etc.
Martialforce.com:
Does the art you practice encompass any grappling technique
and if so do you feel that it is important to practice this type of
technique?
KEVIN PEREIRA:
It
depends on the definition of grappling, today grappling is Brazilian Jiu
jitsu, rolling and wrestling. When I think of grappling I think of Akido,
Aki Jujitsu, and Jujitsu. Karate in its original form was for defense
against the Japanese army invading Okinawa the combative weapon so to speak
of the Japanese was Jujitsu. Karate is alot more locking and throwing than
what is perceived in the general publics eye. I do have Small Circle Jujitsu
and San Yama Bushi Jujitsu experience so when i look at the techniques in
those systems and I look at 90% of the bunkai ( application) of Karate forms
it is all pretty much Jujitsu or what is thought to be Jujitsu techniques.
I believe its very important because in a real life situation going back and
forth with front kicks and reverse punches is only in the movies. You want
to be done with that attacker as soon as possible and nothing does that
faster than a nice Osoto Gari (Throw) and letting them meet the concrete or
a nice snapping of the wrist. As a rule when women are attacked they are
grabbed so especially for them they need fast effective movements that don't
require allot of force to create immense pain.
Martialforce.com:
What is your opinion on tournament competition and do your
students compete?
KEVIN PEREIRA:
Personally I am not a fan of competition as a whole. There are allot of
politics in the tournament circuit 9 out of 10 tournaments are point style
and most judges see what they want to see. I was at a tournament about 7
months back supporting my friends dojo and his student was given warnings
for things that his opponent was doing to him and scoring points for, how
fair is that? Tournaments do help children overcome fear of public speaking
when performing kata and having to speak about your kata,school and sensei
also those eyes on you as you perform. I believe that's the one upside to
them. I've taught at many schools and every place had their own train of
thought about them. Since my system is so street centered in terms of the
execution of the technique using the elements the things around you as
weapons its not so much about win or loose in my mind its about survival. At
the moment they are not competing but I'm trying to plan something like that
for my children possibly a small inter dojo thing nothing too big just to
help give them a sense of accomplishment.
Martialforce.com:
Allot of the people that read Martialforce.com are non-martial
artist as well as practitioners. That being said, my question is, can you
explain the difference between sport karate technique and street fighting
technique?
KEVIN PEREIRA:
Yes, In
a sport setting the things everyone should remember and take into
consideration is both people are trained martial artist. There are a
load of rules and there's a judge. When you put yourself in a
situation like that the movements are going to take allot more effort because
of the high level of control it take to not accidentally injure your fellow
competitor. things that can be done in that environment are a little less
likely to work out
the same way on the street. In the street the person is not your opponent an
opponent is a person who has a similar training background to you and
sometimes if you frequent tournaments enough might even be a friend. On the
street this person is an attacker with intent to hurt you and cause
serious
harm.
The attacker is not trained and wont have elaborate counters to every thing
you do. I teach my students that real "fights" are quick sometimes only
lasting 10 to 25 seconds in length you want to be in then out. You do not
want to duke it out with an attacker. All in all the main differences are
that between an opponent and an attacker there trained poised martial artist
and a crazed usually drunk or high everyday Joe. The rules are another big
difference you can get disqualified for an eye gauge or hair pull in a
tournament on the street its life or death do or die in some cases.
I believe that's the issue with a lot of the trends in the martial arts
world. The big thing today is the
Ultimate
Fighting Championship and
the
selling point is that they are no holds barred fights but the last time I
checked they had rules.
Now don’t miss understand what I am saying,
I give allot of credit to people who compete in cages because its not an easy
thing to do but it is a sport so if people are learning to train this way
when they are attacked that's what is going to come out. Picture this,
you're
a 5ft tall 105 pound women and a 6ft 200 pound man grabs you, is that style
of training going to save you?
Martialforce.com: Can you explain to the Martialforce.com readers, What is ShiShiKan?
KEVIN PEREIRA:
ShiShiKan in and of its self translates to “Lion House.” Both my parents
were born in Ponce Puerto Rice the flag of the city is a gold lion on top of
a golden castle with a red back drop. To my understanding a nickname for
the town is la casa de los leones. I wanted my school to represent not just
me the martial artist but me the person because they are one and in the
same. To honor my heritage I gave my system this name. My martial arts
journey was originally about becoming more confident and forth coming. To be
a leader I aim to turn cubs into lions and every lion into the king or queen
of their jungle.
On a technical stand point it’s the culmination of my hard work thus far my
training in Ryu Kyu Kempo, Seido, Jujitsu, Kyusho and various other systems.
Karate was designed originally for one true purpose self protection in
warfare. Too often karate is perceived as kick and punch no one sees the
throws, locks, pressure and vital point strikes. The true art in a lot of
cases has been lost. I'm trying to bring it back to basics no flash just
whoop ass lol. Working from real life situations from seated positions
using everyday common objects as weapons. I cant tell you how many times I
have
seen people get beat up while holding an umbrella or a rolled up magazine.
Body mechanics is another big part of what shishikan is flowing with energy
as opposed to fighting it similar to aikido in many ways.
Shishikan is for a lack of better words reality. How real people attack how
real people move how real people think. True victory is victory over oneself
but survival is thinking like the other guy.
Martialforce.com: Our reserch shows that you teach alot of practical street defense, my question is, when were you last involved in a street altercation?
KEVIN PEREIRA: Yes my main focus is on that exact subject. Being from the Bronx a lot happens fast. Honestly I have 9yr olds that have had to utilizes what I showed them within a matter of days. I had a mother thank me because her son was attacked by 3 older children and he was able to get away using what he had learned in class just an hour before.
As for myself my last altercation was about 5-6 months ago in front of my
parents apartment building. A guy who helps the landlord a well known jail
bird type in the neighborhood was very disrespectful to both my mother and
father. I let it go minutes later I handed something to the landlord while
he proceeded to curse about my parents even started talking about me and got
in my face I told him to go about his business cause im not the person he
wants to mess with. He got closer I nudged him using a pressure point above
the belly button which makes you sit back. He got into a funny fighting
stance while I got into a calm lose stance I teach all my students hands up
elbows in but hands open trying to talk sense into him he swung at me I
caught him gave him a hip throw on a car hood and just dropped elbows on him
he grabbed my wrist I put him in a sankyo (center lock) then took him down
he realized he could no longer resist so he admitted fault got up bloodied
and just shook my hand he said gracias por no matarme manito. Every time I
see him now he shakes my hand.
Martialforce.com:
Do you think Bunkai (Application) is neglected in teaching
Karate and do you teach the application to all the moves in the Katas?
KEVIN PEREIRA:
This is
one of my biggest gripes with a lot of sport style schools today even some
“traditional” schools don’t teach Bunkai ( Application of technique). Bunkai in my opinion is everything
when it comes to basic techniques. why do we chamber? Why are we doing this?
what is this for? When you give a reason that makes sense you get much
better results. Many people especially adults look at kata like dance steps,
and its not their fault. I once read a welcome packet to a dojo in Manhattan
and it said what is kata? The answer was a set of choreographed movements
just like salsa dancing! I was appauled.
The simples looking movements could be knockouts, throws, neck breaks, joint
locks its amazing when you look at it that way I think if everyone can be
introduced to kata that way they will be much more inclined to want to learn
it. I teach the bunkai to everything we do why we bow the way we bow. Why we
start our katas the way we do every movement in my eyes is a movement that
can be used in combat. Our breathing our kiais our footwork. I tell me
students the only currency you can never get back is time. I would never
waste yours from the minute you walk into the dojo you're doing something
that can be used in combat even when you bow at that door.
MASTER’S BRUCE ORTIZ, KEVIN PEREIRA AND LEON MAJOR
Martialforce.com: What would you say to someone that is interested in learning but is unsure of the commitment?
KEVIN PEREIRA: First and foremost I want to say that you must find the right dojo, (Martial Arts training Hall). The first step is to realize that just because there is a school down the street from your home, doesn't mean its any good or right for you. I have personally known people who chose a school for its convenience and regretted it later.
If something is important to you in regards to impacting your life then spend some time researching it. Nowadays you have the internet at your disposal so you don’t have to walk to every location like in the past. Every instructor has a different teaching style and some instructors make you want to go to class because of their delivery or the manner and professionalism in which they conduct themselves.
My advice is to do your research and take it one day at a time. Everyone wants a black belt, yes that's a great long term goal however focus on short term goals like coming to class, learning the language used at the particular school, learning to tie your belt and getting to your next level. A journey of a 1000 miles begins with a single step. If you never take that step you cannot create your future which is applicable to everything in life.
Martialforce.com: Thank you for your words Master Pereira and we here at Martialforce.com wish you continued success.
KEVIN PEREIRA: I appreciate being chosen for this interview, thank you.
For anyone interested in contacting Master Pereira, he can be reached by email:
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