Ernie Reyes Sr.

Biography

Ernie Reyes is the son of Filipino immigrants, Ernesto and Valentina, who came to California in the 1920s. He grew up in Salinas, California, working in the fields when he was 12 years old. He studied business administration at San Jose State University, where he met Tony Thompson. In 1966 he began studying martial arts with Tang Soo Do, continuing through his time at SJSU. Following that, he studied Tae Kwon Do. By the early 70s, he was studying other martial arts, incorporating Boxing, Kickboxing, Escrima, knife, and Wu Shu. In the mid-1970s, he was competing in karate. In 1977, he won the US National Tae Kwon Do championship, and went on to win bronze at the 1977 World Taekwondo Championships.

He co-founded the West Coast World Martial Arts Association with Tony Thompson. The association has more than 35 schools, teaching more than seven thousand students. He has led and choreographed the demonstration team from the association, blending modern music and gymnastics with traditional martial arts. The demonstration team has been entertaining and demonstrating martial arts since the early 1980s.

Film

Ernie Reyes choreographed the martial arts for the films Surf Ninjas and The Last Dragon. During the filming of a fight for The Last Dragon, one of the stuntmen was injured. Even though he was new to the film industry, Ernie Reyes recommended to the director that only martial artists who were familiar with working together should be fighting each other on screen. The director agreed, removing some of the other stunt men and letting Ernie's black belts take over. Ernie Reyes also choreographed the martial arts for the TV show Sidekicks, using his own West Coast black belts for the fight scenes with his son. He had a role on screen in Surf Ninjas.

Family

Ernie Reyes has five children: Ernie Jr., Lee, Destiny, Espirit, and Ki.