INSTRUCTOR
Vincent Benitez
I started martial arts in 2005, specifically in Long Fist Kung Fu under World Kickboxing Champion, Master Karl Romain. I trained at his school for a year and half and made it to purple sash. Unfortunately, I injured myself during training and could not continue. After a long road to recovery, I started to look for a martial art that did not have any forms (katas) and was strictly self-defense based.
My research led me to Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do. I read into its history and how the man himself, Bruce Lee, was at one time injured and gradually became a better martial artist than he ever was. I looked into who Bruce’s students were and one student caught my eye, a man named Ted Wong. Ted Wong was known for being Bruce’s last student but was widely recognized of how he moved like the man himself. Unfortunately, Ted Wong resided in California and I had no funds to travel back and forth.
I did further research and found a list of Ted Wong’s students. Luckily, there was one student and certified instructor by Ted Wong, located in New York state named Richard Torres. I come to find out that his Jeet Kune Do school was 63 miles away from where I was located. Nevertheless, I emailed him and made my first appointment. I still have that email. Did I drive those 63 miles to train with Richard Torres? You bet!
Since August 2007, I have been a student of Sifu Richard Torres. In December 2014, I was promoted to Instructor and in May of 2016, I was given permission to teach on my own.
ROOTS
Bruce Lee
Bruce left Hong Kong at the age of 18, came to the United States and made his way to Seattle, Washington where he worked in the restaurant of a family friend. He soon enrolled in the University of Washington where he pursued a degree in philosophy. Bruce began to teach gung fu in Seattle and soon opened his first school, the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute. Two more schools followed in Oakland and Los Angeles. Concurrently Bruce married his wife, Linda and had his two children, Brandon and Shannon. In the mid sixties, Bruce was discovered while doing an exhibition at the Long Beach Internationals and a role as Kato in the tv series The Green Hornet soon followed. During this time, Bruce was also developing his own martial art, which he ultimately named Jeet Kune Do (translated: the way of the intercepting fist).
Ted Wong
Wong's first encounter with Bruce Lee was in 1967, in Los Angeles, California, where Lee was giving a Gung Fu seminar. Wong had no martial arts training, and was interested in western boxing and some martial arts. He was so impressed by Lee, however, that he decided to study at Lee's kwoon, the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute in Los Angeles. Shortly after beginning his studies, Lee accepted Wong as a private student. Wong became Lee's sparring partner and close friend. Wong was present as Lee developed Jun Fan Gung Fu into Jeet Kune Do. He was present to see Lee train other martial artists, including Karate Champion Joe Lewis and basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Wong was one of only a few people to receive rank in the art of Jeet Kune Do by Bruce Lee. Wong never learned another martial art besides what Lee had taught him, thus he never taught anything other than what he learned
Richard Torres
Richard Torres, Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do Instructor, studied martial arts at a young age in 1971. His studies brought him to train in various martial arts such as Japanese Karate, Jiu Jitsu (under his father, Pat Torres), and Chinese Kung Fu. It wasn't until the passing of Bruce Lee in 1973 where Richard Torres started to look into the philosophy and science of Jeet Kune Do. To further his education in Jeet Kune Do, Richard Torres regularly attended seminars hosted by JKD martial artist such as Paul Vunak (student of Dan Inosanto), Richard Bustillo (first generation Bruce Lee Student), and Dan Inosanto (first generation Bruce Lee Student and Bruce Lee's assistant instructor). In June of 1993, Richard Torres started training under Bruce Lee's last private student and friend, Ted Wong. It wasn't long before Richard received a 2nd Rank Level from Ted Wong and later, an Instructor Certification by Ted Wong to teach Jeet Kune Do.
