My Profile

This profile contains my history in karate.
Shihan Tony Martinez - USA!
I began my karate training at the age of 14, my first teacher being Fumio Demura Sensei, of Santa Ana California. I probably would have continued but funds at home got tight and I had to drop out after about six months. That brief exposure had instilled my love for karate and I had no idea then that I would pursue martial arts instruction for the remainder of my life.
In 1969 I joined the US Marine Corps and wound up in Recon training, Jump School, Ranger School and the Scuba course. Not only did it enable me to see different parts of the world, I also served a stint in Vietnam. This exposed me to numerous karate styles and their teachers. Once again I could continue my training, in Okinawa, in the Philippines, in Panama and in Southeast Asia. While assigned to Recon at Camp Reasoner, South Vietnam, our Company Commander also provided training. When we were not on patrol we trained. Our dojo was a handball court, we shared a variety of technique and kata.

After the experience of Southeast Asia, in 1971 I was assigned to Camp Pendleton in Oceanside California. Again I could not stay away from training. Most of the Marines were training in Shu Do Kan Karate in town and I joined in. My teacher was Sensei John Broderick, a tough and nasty looking man very good at Kata and a skillful fighter. My Sho Dan and Ni Dan grades cost me numerous bruises and sprains as Broderick Sensei was of the old school, I trained with him until 1974 when the Marine Corps transferred me to Massachusetts. Here I discovered Isshin-Ryu Karate in which I eventually gained Yon Dan. I trained with Sensei's Chester Holubecki, Chris Stevenson and Lewis Lizzote.

I left the Marine Corps in 1976 and stayed in Massachusetts to pursue my education. I continued with Isshin-Ryu and in 1979, I met Sensei Noriyasu Kudo, a powerful judo and karate man who became my sensei. Kudo Sensei proved to be one of the best teachers of karate I have ever had the opportunity of training with. He had the ability to determine if you were a visual, an auditory, or a demonstrative learner and he adjusted his teachings accordingly. This enabled me in my later teaching career to understand the different methods of learning. After training for six years which included teaching five days a week for four years, he awarded me with my Go-Dan rank.

In that same year, Kudo Sensei introduced me to Shihan Joko Ninomiya, the US chief instructor for Ashihara karate. Kudo Sensei had started training with Shihan a few months earlier and was learning this new application and had told me that my next stage of training would be Ashihara Karate. He advised me that we would practice Ashihara Karate from that day onward and as I had total faith in him, my reply was, "OSU"!!! Finally in 1986, Kancho Ashihara personally came to train and test our progress. Kudo Sensei was honored with the Yon Dan Grade, and I was honored with the San Dan Grade. Kudo Sensei had emptied his cup by realizing that there was so much to learn in this new strategy of karate that he did not mind receiving a lower rank. I followed suit, he was my teacher.

I had joined the US Air Force Reserve in 1984 and in 1988 they offered me a full time position as a recruiting supervisor, and again I was on active duty. I was transferred to San Antonio Texas and opened a small dojo with a select group of students training and teaching three days a week. That same year Shihan Ninomiya had formed Enshin Karate and we followed him. I continued in San Antonio for three years when luck came my way when I was transferred to Denver Colorado where the newly established Enshin karate Honbu (Headquarters) is located. For the next three years I had Shihan on my doorstep and I made full use of this opportunity by training, questioning and learning as much as I could of Enshin karate. In 1994, someone got the bright idea of transferring me to Homestead Air Force Base, Florida. Hurricane Andrew had destroyed the base and my assignment was to resurrect the recruiting program. Making use of the local base gymnasium, I ran a small dojo. Finally in 1998. I retired from the U S Air Force.

Two years before my retirement, I had put Enshin Karate aside. I continued to train and teach on my own trying to figure out what to do with myself and what direction I needed to go. In February of 2000, along comes Hoosain Narker, whom I had met and trained with years earlier. During that time period, we had corresponded on an ad-hoc basis and when I saw what he was doing for Ashihara Karate, I offered my immediate assistance. At age 50, now in the third part of my life, I realize this is the direction I need to go. A new challenge faces me!

I will be applying my expertise in whatever fields needed for the further advancement of Ashihara Karate International.