I was born in Havana, Cuba in 1956. In 1962 at the age of 6, because I was being bullied in school, my aunt enrolled me in Judo. I trained and competed as a child for 3 years with Instructor Heriberto Hernandez. In 1966 I immigrated to the United States to live with my aunt. I lived in several different cities before I moved to Tampa, Fl . At the age of 14, I practiced Uechi Ryu, a Okinawan style karate with Tom Alexander.  In 1973 I began practicing a Japanese style of Martial Arts called GoJu Shorei under Sensei Mike Hayashi. In 1976 , after 3 years of hardcore martial arts training, I earned my Black Belt.

Sensei Hayashi’s traditional, intense, and disciplined Japanese training helped me develop a strong traditional martial arts foundation. I was one of the few students who stuck it out and earned my Black Belt. Regretfully, due to unexpected circumstances, Sensei Hayashi had to close the school down.

In 1976, after shopping around and visiting other schools just like you, my wife and I (read her story) enrolled at the Jhoon Rhee Institute of Tae Kwon Do with Master Bill Heimberger.

It took us seven years to earn our Tae Kwon Do Black Belts. We traveled to Washington DC to test directly under World Renowned Grand Master Jhoon Rhee where we were offered a teaching scholarship to become professional martial art instructors.