Shihan Pablo Ramo

Shihan Pablo Ramos with 50 years of experience in the martial arts. He holds a 6th Degree Black Belt in Dai Jutsu Do Jujutsu, a 5th Degree Black Belt in Kodokan Judo, a 4th Degree Black Belt in Submission Arts Wrestling, a 2nd Degree Black Belt in San Ten Karate, a Certified Instructor in Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do & Filipino Kali, a Certified Instructor in Gracie Self Defense and even trained in Wing Chun concepts and applications under world-renowned Master Ip Chun (Sha Tin, China).

Organizational achievements

Shihan Ramos was the former Puerto Rico Sport Jujitsu Association Director, the Founder and Head Coach of the U.S. Navy Sport Jujitsu Team, and is currently the Puerto Rico International Director for the American Submission Arts Wrestling Federation.

Early life and Martial Arts beginnings

Shihan Ramos was born in Monterey, California, and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where at an early age he discovered his passion for martial arts through television programs like the T.V. series Kung Fu in the 1970s, but it was Bruce Lee in the movie "Enter the Dragon” that catapulted him into what would end up being his life’s mission.

Despite the social view of martial arts as esoteric and unpractical, coming from a poor family who offered zero support for a dream that could not, in their eyes, offer any financial contribution and overall lack of quality martial arts resources and instruction available at that time on the island, he persevered in his quest to achieve what he set out to do by submerging himself in endless pursuit of knowledge wherever he could find it.

From an early age and due to his thin frame and weak physical constitution, Shihan Ramos had to fight regularly to prove himself worthy of playing in the schoolyard or be able to go to the corner store to get some bread, in a time when bullying was not recognized as such, and government agencies cared less about protecting children’s wellbeing.

At the age of 12, he started boxing, Isshin Ryu Karate, and attended Judo classes with the little money he could muster from selling fruits on the street corner and cleaning windows at local stores.  

His avid interest in learning everything he could, made him an avid reader, in an era when the internet did not exist and the only sources available to quench his thirst for knowledge were the local newsstand’s magazines and the sporadic, if any, book he would learn to speed read at the local bookstore.

Having no gear or sophisticated equipment to practice on, he found a solution in banana trees as heavy bags and peeled mango trees for a makiwara, just like we can see still being used by Muay Thai fighters in Thailand. Add that to his frequent visits to a sports shop where he could squeeze a few reps out of the weightlifting barbells or dumbbells before the owner would kick him out.  

It was this insatiable desire to be better, take no for an answer, and learn anything he could attitude, from any source available or self-made, which planted the seeds for his future successes.

Military career

Joining the U.S. Marine Corps in 1979, Ramos's martial arts skills proved valuable during basic training and later being a part of the Boxing team at his duty station. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1985 where he worked as a Dental Technician, later as a Hospital Corpsman, and finally retired as an Independent Duty Optician aboard the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk CV-63, where he founded and became the Head Coach for the U.S. Navy Sport Jujitsu Team.

Public eye and media presence

Shihan Ramos has appeared in a series of newspapers, magazines, and T.V. programs such as:

• The Booster (Military Newspaper)^[1]
• Stars and Stripes (Military Newspaper)^[2]
• Efficient Warrior Journal^[3]
• Aikido Today Magazine
• Gongkakatougi Magazine (Japan’s premier martial arts magazine)^[4]
• Yorktown Virginia Channel 3 (Television News)
• U.S. Navy / U.S. Marine Corps (Worldwide Television News Channel)^[5]

Legacy and current role

As Shihan Ramos enters a new phase of his life with marriage, retirement, teaching and coaching opportunities on the horizon, his impact on the world of martial arts remains profound. Since then, he has established the American Submission Arts Wrestling Federation as its Puerto Rico International Director.

To this day, his indomitable spirit finds him still trying to positively shape the martial arts landscape, leaving a lasting legacy as a skilled practitioner, dedicated coach, influential leader, and prolific writer, having written published articles for martial arts journals and magazines such as: Aikido Today Magazine and the Efficient Warrior Journal.

References