Page 47 - Martial Science Magazine 2019 JUL Cover DIG

INTERVIEW

Osvaldo George Rodríguez

How were its beginnings:

In 1991 I started my martial arts training with a self-defen-
se course taught by the sensei Alejandro Fernández San-
tos who is a renowned black karate belt in the province of
Holguin, at the end of that same year I started my foray
into karate Yjoshimon Shorin Ryu style under the guidan-
ce of sensei Ramón Velázquez and who trained the style in
a traditional way and combined with kumite training with
the sensei Jorge Luis de Góngora, already in 1994 with the
brown belt degree I started my own dojo with friends of the
Polytechnic where I studied. In 1996, on September 20 I
was given the black belt in Yjoshimon Shorin Ryu karate
where I have to emphasize that the promotion of it was pos-
sible thanks to the sensei Héctor “Tersi” Pupo Morales who
was one of my trainers at this stage and to the intervention
Timely of the senseis: Franco and Tito from Santiago de
Cuba who were under examination which was chaired by
Maestro Raúl Rizo and who were decisive in recognizing
my technical level.

From a martial art to contact sports:

In the month of October of that same year 1996 and in the
interest of the direction of the Federation of Karate Do and
Related Martial Arts of the province I travel to Havana in
search of Full Contact Karate and since that date has been
the development of the same in the country . I begin to ex-
pand the Kick Boxing as a modality that brings together
all the disciplines of feet and fists and in which since 2010
I have the 4th black belt level given by the Cuban associa-
tion and recognized by the Father of the Kick Boxing in
Cuba the Master and several times World Champion Joxe
Vicente Eguzkiza, in addition to training Full Contact in
all its variants and Kick Boxing I also practice Muay Thai