Glendora Traditional Martial Arts
GTMA was founded on a simple principle. Share the world of Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate and Okinawan Kobudo with everyone. Our team of instructors specializes in teaching students from all walks of life.Glendora Traditional Martial Arts is a proud member of the Dōshūkan family.Dōshūkan (道修館) is built on sweat, repetition, and the pursuit of self-improvement through the martial way. Our philosophy is in the name: karate-dō is a path to lifelong growth, and mastery is something we always seek but never finish.
Our mission at GTMA is simple...Karate 4 All!
Sensei Robert Wilson
I started in the martial arts at a young age...in Tae Kwon Do!Being of Korean descent, my mother put both myself and my sister into Tae Kwon Do. It was very fun and we were very young. I earned my orange belt; unfortunately, my teacher closed his school and we did not continue.Many years later I met Mr. Anderson in the Boy Scouts. Mr. Anderson was an Assistant Scoutmaster and he trained in Okinawan Goju-Ryu in Glendora, CA. He would regale me with stories of his training and I fell in love.Several years later, I found my way to the School of Hope in Glendora, CA. The very same dojo Mr. Anderson trained at. I walked in the door and met the man who would change my life, Soke Anthony C. Marquez, Sr.Soke Marquez was instrumental in instilling the attributes that have made me the karate-ka I am today. He showed me how to be a leader and how to train to the fullest extent.
A Pause In Training...
When I reached my brown belt...I quit!Many different reasons. All justified in my head...but ultimately not my best decision.A year or two later, I wandered back into the School of Hope and I bumped into Soke Marquez. We sat down in that little office up front and my life; once again, changed.As the old saying goes, he made me an offer I couldn't refuse.I hit the ground running, picking back up where I left off. Soke Marquez then challenged me...show your dedication for the rest of the year and in December, test for Shodan. And dedicate I did.Over the years, I made my way up the ranks ultimately earning my Godan in Okinawan Tanzenbukan Goju-Ryu, my Shodan in Kokusai Ryukyu Kobujutsu Kenkyokai and the title of Shihan from Soke Marquez.
A New Chapter...
July 2023 - The School of Hope closes and Soke Marquez relocates to Port St. Lucie, FL.It was a bittersweet day in July when Soke Marquez held our last class in Glendora. Soke was moving east to Florida to begin again.I made the decision at that time to open Glendora Traditional Martial Arts to give a home to the students who still had the fire inside to continue training. In August of 2023, we held our first official class at the Pay N Play racquetball courts in Glendora, where we still hold weekly classes.The School of Hope dojo is also where I met Sensei Doug Walker. Doug and I have formed a friendship throughout the years and when we opened our own dojos (Glendora and Redlands, CA) we continued the traditions of training and teaching Okinawan Goju-Ryu and Okinawan Kobudo.Sensei Walker is the owner of Redlands Traditional Martial Arts.
Lineage
Sensei Wilson began training under Soke Anthony C. Marquez, Sr. at the honbu dojo of Traditional Martial Arts International in Glendora, California.Soke Marquez is the founder of Traditional Martial Arts International (TMAI), Tanzenbukan Goju-Ryu, and the Kokusai Ryukyu Kobujutsu Kenkyokai.
Roots in Okinawa
Soke Marquez arrived on Okinawa in 1971 as a young U.S. Air Force serviceman. His karate teacher there was Masanobu Shinjo of the Shobukan Goju-Ryu Karate Organization. A close relationship followed that included private lessons and an appointment as Shinjo’s adviser on international affairs. Marquez became the Shobukan representative in the United States upon his return in 1985, and received 6th dan from Shinjo in 1987.His first Okinawan weapons teacher was Masanobu Kina, nephew of the renowned Shosei Kina, with whom he trained for about sixteen months. Through a letter of introduction from Shinjo, he was then accepted into the Jinbukan dojo of Katsuyoshi Kanei, Shinjo’s childhood friend and one of the finest kobudo practitioners of his generation. Marquez received Nidan at the Matayoshi Dojo in 1985, and later 5th dan and Shihan from Kanei, serving as his United States representative.In 1995, Soke Marquez returned to Okinawa in search of Kaishu Isa, a fellow student of Masanobu Kina under Shosei Kina and the third-generation soke of Ufuchiku Kobujutsu. That meeting began a lasting connection: Isa shared his Ufuchiku weapons and karamiti, the old art that predates modern karate, and in 1998 Marquez received a Renshi appointment from him.
Further reading: “Okinawan Journey” by Soke Anthony C. Marquez Sr., originally published in Bugeisha magazine, 1996.
Classes
Class Schedule - Mondays & Wednesdays - 6pm to 9pmSpecial Needs Karate - 6pm to 7pmOkinawan Goju-Ryu Karate - 7pm to 8pmOkinawan Kobudo - 8pm to 9pm
The Team
GTMA Staff
Robert Wilson, Shihan - Founder / Chief Instructor
Ed Doerrl, Kyoshi - Senior Instructor - Kobudo
Winnie Burks, Sensei - Senior Instructor - Special Needs
Location
GTMA is located at
Pay N Play Racquetball Center
155 W Dawson Ave
Glendora, CA 91740
Cell: 626-253-5814