Martial Arts Biography
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Martial Arts Biography
My
interest in the Martial Arts began at the age of 13, after watching
Yogi, a friend of mines, defend himself from someone who we all knew
was studying from a very popular Martial Arts school in the 70's.
For as
long as we’ve been friends, I have never known Yogi studied karate and held
the rank of yellow belt, until he was forced to defend himself that day. I
always used to wonder why Yogi had so much confidence in what he was doing
and had no fear of others.
Watching them fight and seeing that this person was unable to get through
Yogi defenses, I later asked Yogi about the school he belonged to and would
I be able to join.
In
1973, I began training and studying the Hybrid Style of Japanese Shotokan at
the Martial Arts Dojo of Inner Peace and Strength, which was founded by
Sensei Randy Giles and James McCoy. When I first started, I was the smallest
one in the class weighing only 125 lbs and standing tall at 5’2’’. My
instructor, Sensei Giles, was convinced then that I wouldn’t even be able to
last more than 2 weeks under his style.
Training took place within the basement of Sensei Randy Giles house. Being
in such a small space taught us how to fight in close quarters and helped me
to develop my trademark Jump Side Kick, which I developed to fend off
larger, stronger and bigger opponents. The inspiration for this technique
came from watching Tiger Kim demonstrate a 7ft flying side kick, breaking
boards. I also worked on developing my speed after being influenced by
‘Super Foot’ Bill Wallace, who was known to have the fastest kicks in
Martial Arts.
Over
the years, the school moved to Forest Hill Community Center in Queens and
then back to the Basement.
In
1976, I received my black belt and continued to train under Sensei Giles and
worked out with Osin William T. Taylor. In 1980, I started teaching private
classes in the basement of the building I lived in, for about 2 years. For
the next 4 years after that, I began teaching at-home private lessons and at
a studio in Manhattan. But I always returned home to train with Kyoshi Randy
Giles and my Dojo brothers.
During this time, I received my 6th degree black belt under
Kyoshi Randy Giles.
In
2002, I met Master Will Lawton, who heard about an incident in the street
which involved my use of Martial Arts and asked if I would be interested in
incorporating and teaching my fighting style at the Mary Mitchell Center
(Fight Back Program) with him and Master Isreal Gonzales.
From
2002 to this day, I have been teaching and training at the Mary Mitchell
Center while also studying the Art of Bilalian Ryu Jujitsu, under Master
Will and Master Isreal. I also now hold a Degree under Hanshi Abdul H. Bilal,
Chief Instructor of Bilalian Ryu Jujitsu Organization.
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"The History of the Martial Arts School of Inner Peace and Strength".
The Martial Arts Dojo of Inner Peace and Strength was founded in 1969 by Sensei's Randy Giles and James McCoy bringing the martial arts of Japanese Shotokan, Japanese Goju Ryu and Korean Taekwondo together as one, but it did not end there. Having an interest in various forms of martial arts, both Giles and McCoy endeavored to enhance their arts taking various techniques from different styles and adding them to their school's system.Using Japanese Shotokan katas and fighting techniques as a foundation Giles and McCoy utilized and combined the best from each of the various martial art forms to make their system of Shotokan not only strong and swift, but fluent, explosive, agile and unpredictable. The system that Giles and McCoy developed incorporated the powerful swift low stances and techniques of Shotokan, which is geared toward close quartered combat with short and precise techniques.Taking what they had learned from Japanese Goju Ryu, which means hard and soft Giles and McCoy enhanced the internal power of the Shotokan, making it more explosive as well as fluent like water. Along with the high kicks of Korean Taekwondo it made Giles and McCoy's new system of Shotokan even more flexible and their art was becoming more rounded. The funny thing is it wasn't until some years later that Giles discovered that Gichin Funakoshi the Founder of Japanese Shotokan wanted to do the same thing with his art.In 1918 Funakoshi wanted to have a center where all martial artists could come and train and share their art with one another. In this martial arts center there would be no master sensei everyone would be equal with no one in charge. Funakoshi believed that every martial art style is meant to change; that each martial artist was his or her own style. Gichin Funakoshi said that the "DO" at the end of "Karate-DO" implies that it has a life of it's own and is meant to change from Karateka to Karateka, which means from one martial artist to another the style of martial art is meant to change. Sensei's Giles and McCoy didn't realize it, but they were on the same track as the Japanese Shotokan Founder over 51 years before Giles and McCoy founded their Martial Arts Dojo of Inner Peace and Strength.The martial arts of the late 1960 were still very clannish especially in the countries of Japan, Korean and China. In order to control the uncontrollable these countries formed organizations, such as the JKA (the Japanese Karate Association), the KTA (the Korean Taekwondo Association) etc, etc. These associations were developed to have control over the style(s) of martial arts, which then flowed over into the United States and other countries. Their strict governing rule other martial masters endeavored to enhance their arts and the hybrid martial arts styles emerged.
Looking at history way before, Japan, Korean and China tried to control
the martial arts in their countries, various martial artists began
improvising and enhancing their art forms. This is how so many martial art
styles came to be, changed throughout time due to necessity and practicality
and most of these hybrid styles were put to the test as they were in the
olden days, in Kumite (free style combat).
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Ten years later while training with Sensei William "Billy" T. Taylor, Taylor was trying to come up with his own school emblem for a hybrid system he had created called "Sho Yun O". Sho = Shotokan, Yun, Yunokwan and O for Okinawate. Sensei Giles designed an emblem showing the Red Japanese sun and crescent moon with the North Star; a house made of oriental characters with a monk in the lotus position sitting in the house as the house floats above a water fall which flows into two martial artists. One martial artist in a black martial uniform who's standing in Sanchin dachi (Hour glass position) with one fist open and the other closed.
The waterfall also flows through another martial artist, who's
wearing a white martial arts uniform who thrown out a
side kick with the left leg along with a left back fist while his right hand,
which is open, guards his center line. The colors of the emblem covered the
range of the belts in the martial arts: white, yellow, orange, blue, green,
purple, red, brown, black with a gold frame. The emblem's colors
covered all the colors in the Japanese, Korean and Chinese arts
since Sensei Giles did
want the emblem to be well rounded and worldly, as he felt a martial
artist should always strive to be. In any case, Sensei William "Billy" T.
Taylor did
not accept Sensei's Giles design, and so Sensei Giles decided to use it for
his dojo, for the Martial Arts School of Inner Peace and Strength. With the
help of one of Sensei Giles students, Jorge Abreu, the new School emblem came
to fruition.
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The following is the lineage of the Martial Arts School of Inner Peace and Strength:
Sensei Randy Giles and James McCoy founders and Instructors.
1st Black Belt student, Tyrone Giles, at the age of 11, was taught since he was
3 years of age. Tyrone Giles quit shortly after receiving his first degree
black belt and Tony Thomas was moved to the number one spot. Shihan Antonio
"Tony"
Thomas has trained with Kyoshi Randy Giles since the age of 13 and has been
in the arts for over 34 years and still continues to train and teach today. Master
Tony Thomas can be found instructing at the Mary Mitchell Family &
Youth Center.
Kyoshi Randy Giles has promoted over 20 black belts some from other styles that came to the Martial Arts School of Inner Peace and Strength to enhance their art. Sensei Luis Reyes, under the tutelage of young master Ernest Ramos of the Tai Chi Combat system, continues to keep the Ernest Ramos Karate Training Hall open after young master Ernest Ramos tragic death. Young master Ernest Ramos also studied with Master Randy Giles and achieved his 2nd degree black belt in the hybrid Shotokan system. To keep young master Ernest Ramos dream alive, Sensei Luis Reyes continued his training with the Tai Chi Combat system as well as studying the hybrid Shotokan system from Master Randy Giles.
Over the years Sensei Luis Reyes
has achieved the rank of 4th degree black belt under the tutelage of Kyoshi
Randy Giles and has produce black belts of his own; one of them being Sensei
Luis Reyes son, Luis "Bebo" Reyes. Luis Reyes' Ernest Ramos Memorial
Training Hall can be found at 1175 Gerard Avenue, Bronx, New York 10458.
Kyoshi Randy Giles Martial Arts background is as follows:
Japanese Shotokan under Sensei Rudy Martinez and then Sensei Earl Razor.
Japanese Goju Ryu under Sensei Craig Powell. Praying Mantis under Sifu Wayne Lambert. Taekwondo under James L. McCoy under Thomas Lowe. Sanchindo under William "Billy" T. Taylor under Grandmaster San Carlos. Tia Chi Combat under Grandmaster J.B. La Puppet. Sho Yun O, under Osin William "Billy" T. Taylor. Kyoshi Giles also has studied Aikijitsu as well as various close quartered combat arts over the 42 years he has been in the martial arts which he continues to pass down to his students.
When Sensei Giles and Sensei McCoy founded the Martial Arts Dojo of Inner Peace and Strength, there was no sports karate as there are today. Both Giles and McCoy taught martial arts for self defense, street and hand to hand combat with the science of the body, mind and the spirit. The martial art is not only an art but a science and even though each individual is different in some, if not many ways, the science behind the art still applies.
Sport Karate is in a control environment and is mostly full of flash and not applicable techniques where as a baton twirler could compete in weapons and win not having a clue of what they are doing where kicks that are nothing but leg raises are thrown. In the school of Martial Arts of Inner Peace and Strength, applicable technique of martial arts science are applied for purposes of self defense, street and hand to hand combat as well as the understanding of the sport karate arena. These teachings continue today under the instructions of Master Tony Thomas and Sensei Luis Reyes.
