Episode 576 - Sensei Greg Williams
Sensei Greg Williams is a Martial Arts practitioner and instructor at the Kaze Dojo in New Hampshire
Kids’ classes are typically on Saturday morning and I would show up a little bit hungover. But, these kids would look at me as somebody really special. Eventually, these kids would give me the self-worth that I didn’t give myself. That changed my life forever.
Sensei Greg Williams - Episode 576
With only 50 bucks and nowhere to go in New Zealand, the concern of getting harassed by gangs turned him to train Martial Arts. Sensei Greg Williams, a self-confessed Wally Jay fan, trained in Jiujitsu in 1988 made a complete turnaround from a life of alcohol and drugs. When Sensei Williams’ teacher asked him to teach kids at that time, it would change his life forever. Listen as Sensei Greg Williams tells us how his life changed from being an apple picker in New Zealand to being a teacher and an MMA fighter.
Show Notes
In this episode, we mentioned Benny “The Jet” Urquidez, Bill “Superfoot” Wallace, and Wally Jay
Show Transcript
You can read the transcript below.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Welcome you're listening to whistle kick martial arts radio Episode 576. Today, I'm joined by my guest. Sensei Greg Williams. I'm Jeremy Lesniak; I'm your host here from martial arts radio. I'm the founder of whistle kick. I'm a passionate traditional martial artist and that's why everything that we're doing at whistle kick is in support of the traditional arts. If you want to see all the stuff that we've got going on, go to whistlekick.com. We are constantly updating and improving that site and all the things that we have happening. It's been a while, make sure you check it out. If you want to check out stuff for this show, go to whistlekickmartialartsradio.com, that's where we're gonna put all the episodes all the transcripts all the photos links videos all the other stuff that's gonna help you get the most out of each and every episode we've ever done. They are all available for you for free on that website. If you want to support our work here at whistle kick you can buy something at whistlekick.com using the code podcast 15. You could also support our Patreon by a book, leave a review. There's a lot of different ways that you can help us out. And to those of you who do so thank you we really do appreciate you. To those of you who have not yet. Doesn't have to be big, doesn't have to be financial, just to know that when you help us out. It helps spread our message, it helps spread the work that we're doing, and it's important, so please consider doing so if you have not already. Our goal at whistle kick, of course, with this show is to connect, educate and entertain the traditional martial artists of the world. And that's probably why you listen. Today's guest comes in as a referral and we had a wonderful conversation, we had some great chats, before and after the show stuff that unfortunately you're not going to get to hear. But I can tell you that what happened in the middle was nothing short of wonderful. When I get the opportunity to find some common ground with the guest be that training or people or geographic area. And in this case we've got all three. I get to have a really interesting and sometimes powerful conversation that's what happened today. So here's my conversation with Sensei Greg. Hey Sensei Greg, welcome to whistle kick martial arts radio.
Greg Williams:
Hey Jeremy. How you doing? It’s great to meet virtually.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah. Great to meet you as well thanks for doing this.
Greg Williams:
Oh my pleasure, absolute pleasure. I like listening to the show, Andrew Adams turned me on to it. I listen to a number of episodes and definitely enjoy it. Thanks.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Thank you. Appreciate that. Yeah, Andrew has been a tremendous asset to the show. If I had known how much more fun I would have doing Thursday episodes with him, I would have started doing them with him years ago.
Greg Williams:
Don't let him hear that too much though. Now I get to say 02:49
Jeremy Lesniak:
Might be too late. He's a good guy.
Greg Williams:
He is. He's a good guy.
Jeremy Lesniak:
I appreciate him. How do you know Andrew?
Greg Williams:
I know Andrews through. Well, when I started teaching started in martial arts in 1988 but about 2006, I started teaching MMA as a way to connect with people up here.
Jeremy Lesniak:
That's early.
Greg Williams:
What's that?
Jeremy Lesniak:
That's early for MMA.
Greg Williams:
Yeah. Well, I actually, I mean, we'll get into probably the history of how I got there but yeah I started teaching an MMA student, who had, it was part of Andrew's dojo I believe. So they were connected and eventually I get to know those group of people and Andrew was one of them. We just clicked and became good friends.
Jeremy Lesniak:
He's a good guy. We were chatting, you and I just before the show and I mentioned an instructor of mine. You mentioned a style, I mentioned a person I trained with. And you know that name and that's one of the interesting things to me about martial arts, especially in Northern New England, that you know, there are only so many of us. And when you talk about something that just inherently requires other people, you know, here we are. 2021, early 2021, pandemic still going I think we all see how challenging doing martial arts in kind of a bubble can be, you know, we need those that engagement with other people and you know that leads to knowing a lot of people which is fun.
Greg Williams:
Yeah, I think, for me, a large part of martial arts is community and the community aspect of it is really something that I charge more than most parts of the martial arts. You know the brotherhood, the community, building communities is probably my one of my greatest assets and probably one of my best gifts is to bring people into a community of a loving environment and community of martial arts.
Jeremy Lesniak:
That's not something that I think everyone at least consciously values. Is it something that you've always recognized as being important?
Greg Williams:
Well, I think I've got to go back to the beginning. How I started.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Here we go. The first time I ever don't ask that question right off the bat. And we have, see, for any listeners are like why does Jeremy always ask that question, see we have to go there, even if I try not to. We're gonna end up there, so go ahead.
Greg Williams:
Yeah and I figured we'd get there but I didn't know I'd be the one initiating it or whatever. Here we go.
Jeremy Lesniak:
It’s your episode.
Greg Williams:
Right on then. So, I'll tell you real like right now my work in the community is I do prevention work and that's Northern Grafton across County. I work for an organization that's the Public Health Network and it's, I do the drug prevention for food in Northern 30 in the state. So, if you go back to my roots when I started martial arts I was not very young, I was 26 when I started. And to be honest I was struggling with drugs and alcohol a little bit before. Before starting martial arts, I always wanted to do it. My brother did it. By the time he did it and quit. Then my parents didn't want to pay for it so I really being a middle child. I really didn't get to. I didn't really, they didn't take me to martial arts but I always loved it. I always loved fighting. I always loved martial arts. I wasn't a big fighter as a kid, but I did. The only time I have a fraud I was either standing up against bullies, or standing up for myself. So, you know, I did a couple of scraps growing up on Long Island. When I was a young kid, but went to college and when the time I got out of college, I was drifting around a little bit, it really didn't have any purpose. I graduated with a degree in art and it was no real clear pathway for me to, you know, start building large scale metal sculptures with no money and, you know, no pathway to go there so kind of floated around a little like I did odd jobs and I struggle with drugs and alcohol little bit.
And finally, yeah I took a trip after graduating I went to New Zealand. And I went with virtually no money in my pocket and I think I landed in New Zealand with 50 bucks in my pocket and traveled around and round up getting a job and, you know, picking apples on an apple orchard and living really good time I mean I lived in the apple orchard. They take me into town I'd load up the fruits and vegetables from Auckland, go to Auckland, drive an hour up north and then they'd sell the fruits and vegetables at a vegetable stand. So I was there for about a month or so and I traveled around maybe made a little bit of money so I could travel around and go to Australia and I put myself in some pretty interesting situations where, you know, I've always been a big guy and I've always been athletic. And people don't normally pick on me but I was in situations where, you know, there were gangs, there were groups of people and I was on the street just kind of bumming around and I really decided I said when I get back to New York, I get back to Long Island I'm going to start studying Jiu Jitsu and one of my friends had been bugging me to go to this class with Sensei Tom Renner, my first sense, still my Sensei right now. So, came back to New York I started studying, training, I fell in love with Jiu Jitsu. This was 1988, and I was still partying, I was still going out drinking and still living a single life and enjoying myself.
And what happened. I was getting good, my teacher used to put me in front of the kids and have them teach the kids class, I would have me teach the kids class. So kids’ class was typically on Saturday morning, and I would show up a little bit hung over. But these kids would look at me, as somebody really special. So, you know, they would they would kind of adore me if you will, they would look at me and said oh Sensei Greg's teaching that's great, you know, these little kids would look at me. And eventually, they would give me the self-worth that I didn't give myself. And that changed my life forever.
I cleaned up from drugs and alcohol I and when I say drugs I mean I was probably smoking a little bit of weed and drinking and partying too much, but I decided at that point to stop and not to be a hypocrite, because these kids looked at me like I was special and I realized, you know I had something to give. So, they changed my life. And from that point on, I've always taught kids, and I will always teach kids, and try to bring them into a community that helps them see the value in themselves. So that's where I get a sense of community from.
Well, that's the work I do now to do. You know I always look, I always believe in youth and always will. That they are obviously they're our future, but I believe we have an obligation even as martial artists to build them up as best we can.
Jeremy Lesniak:
I agree. Now I've a theory and this theory is played out. I don't think it's 100% of the time I think we've had, I've had a couple strikes as I've swung with this question but I'm gonna ask it again here. When you talk about your upbringing, you're talking about going to New Zealand with 50 bucks in your pocket. You know that tells me you were avoiding something, leaving something. And drugs and alcohol partying. I think most of us would agree there's some kind of coping mechanism for most people when they're indulging in those things. And the way you described it, these children now validating your self-worth and that being enough that you could set these other things down. So the question for me then is, what was missing that you were trying to plug those holes with these other things?
Greg Williams:
That's a good question. That's a great question. I don't know, I come from a really good family. my brothers and sisters are, you know, I was never a bad person, but they never struggled with things that I did. So you know wasn't like grew up in, you know, in poverty my next door neighbor was a professional baseball player and a legend in New York. We lived in a great neighborhood; we had every everything we needed. But, I don't know, it's a good question. I don't know what was missing. I know that when I went to New Zealand. I think I was searching for myself. I was thinking I was searching within to, you know, to find my purpose. I didn't have any purpose in the world. And I think that's really the truth is, you know, maybe I was awake enough to know that life has some kind of purpose it's getting a little philosophical so excuse me if I go run with it, you know, well think of think of today even, you know, why are we on the planet at 20 something years old, I felt the need to go to New Zealand when I landed in New Zealand. I felt more at home than I did in Long Island, New York. I don't know why that was but I just I felt that so I had, I was kind of in tune with things but I didn't have any purpose. I mean, what was I going to do, I had opportunities. I think I was think I'm a fairly intelligent person had opportunities to make a lot of money but that didn't interest me, and a lot of my friends were, you know going to brokerage firms and then starting careers and doing that and I just, I didn't see the purpose than just trying to earn money for the sake of earning money, and have a life. I needed more purpose. I really needed purpose, and what those kids showed me not only self-worth. But they validated me as a teacher and I cherish that that role. And I've always seen that as my purpose now to be a teacher. So that was. I found my purpose in life and that was teaching. Yeah.
Jeremy Lesniak:
So you started working with those kids. It changed your life I mean I don't think there's a better phrase you know as cliché as it is. Those children changed your life. So what, what did the next few, you know, steps down the path look like for you?
Greg Williams:
The next path I was at dead end jobs right. So this is 1988. I needed to move into, so I needed to move into a better situation, kind of better living situation. So, my brother was out in California. And now we're talking ADA probably 90 couple years go by him a brown belt. My brother's living, I'm getting ready to test my black belt, my brothers living in California and in Palmdale, and he's working down in the valley. And he says, you should come out here I'm training at Benny the Jets get the jet center the world famous Jet Center. And I had two jobs but they were both like dead end jobs. They were just, I was working in a bar as a bouncer and a bartender and I was working at a sandwich shop so they weren't like nobody was really gonna miss me if I left, I didn't really have much, but I said yeah go out to California. I would love to go train. You know what am I gonna get this opportunity again, you know. So go out to the, so I decided to move to California and live with my brother, and he was generous enough to just come to me, he was single, so we were hanging out. I'll never forget, I started going down to the jet center. And, you know, it's down there in 15:51 and I go down there and pick up a donut and coffee on the way down or my brother worked at MetLife right across the street from this donut shop, yum yum donuts. And I'm in there one day. It's just me and the guy behind the counter and walks Bill Wallace 16:11. And I'm like, Bill Wallace, he's like yeah, how you doing? I'm great. How are you? I'm doing great. What are you doing? So I'm heading down to the jet center. I said me too. I'll see you down there. I get to know Bill Wallace, who I looked at, you know, I've only seen him in magazines and movies, you know like the octagon, stuff like that and that was pretty typical of what was the follow. I mean I went down trained to jet center and I met so many incredible people, martial artists, actors, it was, you know, I was in California, I was in the Mecca. So that was my next step to go there.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Was there, and this is coming from someone who has also had the chance to meet and hang out with Bill Wallace a bit. There's a surreal element. You know when you see someone who is doing the thing that you're doing but they're doing it at such a high level.
Greg Williams:
Oh my God.
Jeremy Lesniak:
You know this this and it could be, you know, the same thing being, you know someone who picks up a guitar and you bump into you know a Eric Clapton, you know, you're like, whoa, you know, that guy knows what he's doing with this thing, way better than I do. You know, what was it like being around those people and having that I don't know that I want to use the term role model but a examples of what hard work could yield.
Greg Williams:
Yeah. Again, I gotta go back because you touched on something, the example of what hard work yields. That's a great way to describe the grind. And I've been fortunate when I was a yellow belt, before I even left for California to meet Wally J. And I made a video with him in 1988. I think where he's kind of using me as a new kid and he talked about a guy who has put the time. I mean this I met Wally J when he was 75, years old. They've been doing martial arts probably since 1920. Trump in the 20s, as he was born in 1914, and, you know, passed away when he was ninety four and ninety five I think and did martial arts his whole life. And to be in the presence of somebody who is has that much commitment. Does that had a really profound effect on me as well. I mean, when I saw what, how, not only how we moved. But, again, communities, when I saw how he accepted people, and treated me a yellow belt like I was a 10th degree black belt, that stuck with me forever too. He treated me like I was an equal. And I was in awe, but, you know, that stuck with me and at that point I almost, something registered me and I said I want to do. I don't want to just do this for a few years, I want to do this for a lifetime. Because I want to be that type of a person who can affect people the way he affected me. And Bill Wallace, Benny19:37 so many people that I've met there. Hagen Machado, Bridget Riley, Danny Lopez, these people, and my teacher, Tom Renner, has been doing it. I've been, I feel like an old man doing it for 30 years, these guys been doing it for 40, 50 years or more. So it's incredible to be around that and it's inspiring. And it shows you the opportunities that you have and showed you what the grind can do, and I gotta say Jeremy. I don't know how many episodes you've recorded but you're one of my heroes too because you've grinded out so many episodes, hundreds and hundreds, almost 1000s of episodes. So, I have tremendous respect for people that embrace the grind. So I hope that answered the question.
Jeremy Lesniak:
It does and it feels appropriate because I made the musical reference and I can't help but bring this quote up not that I ever get it exactly right. But there's a quote from Dave Grohl formerly 20:45 now, Foo fighters. Dave Grohl, I mean he stands on his own at the same time talking about how do you become a famous musician you get some friends and you go in the garage and you're terrible for years. And then 20 years later after being terrible you just kind of wake up one day and you're like wow. Hey, now I'm pretty good.
Greg Williams:
I don't suck so much.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Exactly, exactly. And that's and it's something that I think is. I think that that quote resonates for me and for a lot of martial artists because we see it very clearly in hindsight, because there's so many different little bits that go into being a martial artist, and, you know, you could even within a single style forget that there's different things you can learn from different people but from the same instructor, you can dig into stances and and punches and kicks, and blocks and forums and all these different things and you're never going to be constantly progressing at all them because there's too much.
And so that iterative process of getting better at not just martial arts but anything. You know, I think that's why we've been able to do this show for years and achieve what we have, because I brought a martial arts mindset to it when I taught you know in my day to day life, you know, sometimes I'm talking about work. It's not martial arts related to non-martial artists which I know that's weird and I don't really I don't always love it. But I can still bring in that iterative test, repeats; improve 1% better, whatever you want to call it, philosophy, that's so inherent to martial arts and those to us as martial artists.
Greg Williams:
Without a doubt, without a doubt, I think you have tremendous respect for somebody, I call a friend I don't know if he considers me a friend but I've known him for quite a while and he just bought this past weekend, Calvin, Calvin cater. I don't know if it's MMA. Well he owns an organization that we paid for he had an MMA fight where he got battered and beaten for five rounds. It was kind of ugly but you know he said something you can't stop a guy who won't quit. He'll be back, he'll keep going. So, you know, if you've got quit even one of my acting friends. Thomas Ryan says one of his favorite quotes is, you know, what do you tell to a beginning actor? If there's something that's gonna derail you, then you can quit right now. Because if you're going to let something defeat you, then let it happen right now and stop. Don't waste your time. But if you put it in your head that you're just going to succeed. You just don't stop. You know, and it can be difficult at times but you know that's what the common denominator I think between so many great people. And all that anything stopping, it's plenty of times I'm sure you would rather be doing something than the podcast or things come up and you're like, no, you're committed. Yes, I always say I'm committed and sometimes I think I should be committed, so fine line between the two.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Right. And I think that's an important line I think it's an important distinction. Because if what you were doing in anything, make sense to everyone. And you're probably not pushing the envelope. And I was having a conversation with somebody yesterday and twisted that a little bit to say if everybody's happy with what you're doing. You're not creating any change.
Greg Williams:
Right. I totally agree, totally agree. And I mean, you know my area because we're not we're not that far apart. And I've owned a successful martial arts school up here for 20 years. Imagine the perseverance that would take. It's not easy, it's a rural area and there's just not a lot of people but I've had I've been very fortunate. I've had great students and great support from not only my student base but my community has really supported this because they see the benefit of it.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Right. And that's one of the things that I think is really interesting about Martial Arts in New England and you know listeners know I'm going to speak to New England because it's where I've grown up I've certainly traveled but I don't know other areas away I know New England. When we look in New England, we see some small schools that are very occasional part time they've got, you know, a couple dozen students and that's great and they love that the students are happy, instructors are happy, they've got another job, works great, but then you've also got schools that are full time schools with multiple employees in towns of 1500, 2000 people. Yeah, we've had them on the show, people who have invested in their community for literally decades and the community has responded there's that word that you brought up at the top of the episode community. And it is a gateway to so many things.
Greg Williams:
It is, you know, when I started here. I started in the town of Whitefield population. I think 800. I'm sorry, not 800. 1500 and I had 80 or 90 students and like to thank God if I was in Manhattan and I had that ratio.
Jeremy Lesniak:
You'd need a multi storey, you'll need a skyscraper.
Greg Williams:
I know, I know.
Jeremy Lesniak:
26:19 starting every five minutes.
Greg Williams:
Unfortunately I was the only teacher you know that did teach. I mean, think about that like how many. The ratio up here was, of course, is not a lot to do so when you open something up people checking it out. You know I've been really fortunate. And one of the things I do is I try and I try to give students what they need. You know, I think that's part of part of the success that I've had up here is giving students what they need, not what I've learned and then, not just what I want to give them but in a way really getting adept at listening to them. Connecting with them in a way that I can sense what they want to get out of martial arts, you know.
Jeremy Lesniak:
How do you do that? Talk about that I've got I've got my suspicions. But, this sounds like something we should unpack.
Greg Williams:
Well, I mean, obviously, you tell by this podcast, but I'm a talker. So I love talking to people. I love it, I love talking, I love talking to you it's just like the highlight of my day. So, by talking number one but also by I guess I've developed a series of, you know, my system is kind of well rounded, very well rounded I think, so I'm able to find what any student does well. Right, so the kids really good at clicking but he can't roll to a forward roll. I build them up on the kicking and I learned how to kind of highlight and promote and like get them feeling so good about that. There's a little bit of the rolling and teaching that doesn't isn't so painful, so I really do try positive reinforcement is tremendous and I've learned over the years. You know, there's this system in schools where it's positive youth development or positive reinforcement there's like this, scientific formula for praising somebody like 78% of the time and when you criticize them in a way you don't really criticize you. You just correct in a way that's not hurtful. You know what I'm saying.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Constructive criticism, is that what you're saying?
Greg Williams:
Constructive criticism and like overload on the praise and I am somebody explained this to me and I said, but that's what I figured out years ago that's how I teach. You know and I think a lot of martial arts teachers figure that out early, you know, how do you get the most out of your students. And it's not even about retention. I mean, it is and it isn't. Because we want to retain students so we want to give them. You know what they're looking for. So we want to praise them and make them believe that they're doing well, we want to build them up, and we don't want to tear them down. So, the positive reinforcement and kind of navigating through that. Recognizing that and adjusting to it is really, I think it's an art form. And it takes experience, it takes time, because you get all types of, you get all types of individuals, so you have, you know, when we go through my system, run through the class. I'm sure it's we're never doing one thing over and over again I keep, I like to bounce around that like to, you know, that will help each student find something they can click on to, hopefully, and then recognizing that and building them up. And, you know, going forward from there. I think that's how that's how I've had a lot of success.
Jeremy Lesniak:
I think there is something valuable inherently in the variety that martial arts brings if we think about the way traditional martial arts is usually put forward. You know, we've got forms, we've got sparring, we've got self-defense, we've got basics and different personality types, you're going to gravitate towards different aspects, and maybe you don't like everything when I was a kid, I didn't like sparring. It scared me. I wasn't good at it, I was small, but I really found a lot of passion and doing forms and had it not been for forms. I don't know that I would have stuck around, right, because that was the thing it was a thing I could figuratively hang my hat on and say, I am seeing my development here, I enjoy this. And the rest of it is my admittance fee to doing this.
Greg Williams:
Right. I think that's a good way to that. That's what I see a lot. I always gravitated towards throwing, like the Judo arts, and judo throwing arts, and also ground grappling and boxing Western boxing, the striking. So, you made me a natural fit for for MMA because I studied all of those kind of in depth, so many different ranges.
Jeremy Lesniak:
We talked about Jiu Jitsu and, but was Judo in there too get it today. Did you say it I missed it? But did you just sneak it in there just now,
Greg Williams:
I studied Judo. For sure, I competed in judo. I competed in, and I didn't want to. I really didn't want to. I see I never really was into competition in California. But my teacher was really, I sent it to Antelope Valley Judo Club. So, it was an English guy Steve Bell and we didn't really get along too good, but there wasn't, there was the only Judo club in town. I love Judo so I went there. And, you know, he wanted me to compete, because I was proficient and I used to. Yeah, I don't know if you know but Judo is really it's a throwing art but it's half on the ground as well, right. So, yeah, you know, are you familiar, do you like Judo? Are you familiar?
Jeremy Lesniak:
I did a little bit of Judo, I was lucky. The class was poorly attended I had at a summer long. Once a week, ended up being one on one.
Greg Williams:
So you know that there's a growing Naga and there's me 32:51 the ground tech. So I had my Jiu Jitsu that I learned even from Wally J. Well Wally J was a very highly decorated Judo player. And he introduced me to coach, and he introduced me to Willie Kale through some. And I actually used to go up and train with Willie Kale and he was Olympic Judo coach and he was up in San Bruno near San Francisco. So, I had some experienced in my Judo coach in the Antelope Valley in Palmdale he didn't. We didn't get along too good. I think I used to use different types of techniques that he didn't really like, but he was kind of he was kind of a opinionated guy I'll just say that. And he made me compete in order to go up and rank, so I did compete and I did fairly well competing. I love Judo. I love it. Unfortunately, my back doesn't love Judo the way I love Judo. I learned a lot from Wally J, learned a lot about Judo from Wally J.
Jeremy Lesniak:
And that's something that I think people forget is that, you know, back in the, my understanding of it you know this is certainly not experiential, but my understanding of grappling arts in the 60s 70s 80s, is that the lines were really blurry, there was a lot more cross training in those disciplines back then than there were in striking discipline.
Greg Williams:
Yeah, I believe so. You talk, what are you talking about 70s 80s?
Jeremy Lesniak:
Yeah. Anytime I hear about somebody who practice or played Judo back then. It seems like they were doing some Jiu Jitsu as well and vice versa. And then quite often, you know, I'll find out about Aikido and Haikido in that mix too, but you know it seems like people who are grappling like give me everything that's grappling whereas strikers were in that same area era were far less prone to say oh well you know I'm doing this flavor of Karate I'm also going to go do that Karate and Taekwondo and this and that.
Greg Williams:
Yeah, yeah, or even like Muay Thai, opposed to American kickboxing you know you're either one or the other. Yeah, I think on the west coast. I mean they really blew it up, blending the ground siding into a lot of systems, obviously, with the Grizzlies, and the emergence of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu back then but I never really, I don't know, there was an attitude that came along with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu back in the day that I love the techniques but you know I didn't really necessarily wasn't in a very welcoming atmosphere until he broke in,
Jeremy Lesniak:
What do you mean by that? I think I know what you mean.
Greg Williams:
I've been to a couple of gym, you know, the exception would be. I think the Hagen Machado. So I met him in an acting class where I was in what they called was the toughest acting class in LA, because there was guys like I don't know if you know who Roger Yuan is. Rogers a stuntman, but a great martial artist and commitment to jet center. I made the. I was on Benny's stunt team, and did a few movies with the stunt team. Benny Akitas had a team that he choreographed a bunch of movies, and he had a team, it was like Roger Yuan, Bridget Riley the boxer, Hagen Machado came in, 36:35 Danny Lopez the boxer. And, yeah, when I met Hagen Machado I just thought it was like, really nice guy and I know his newest credential so I went and trained with him and it was a really accepting environment but when I went to other some other Brazilian Jiu Jitsu clubs, it always seemed like there was a chip on the shoulder and this was back in the day, you know this is back in. You know the early 90s, even in my Judo club there was a guy who was kind of a charlatan, I'm not gonna mention his name, but he passed himself off as resilient, I don't even think he was and he would act on, he would act macho. He always had this really bad attitude and he was just, he was not a good person and I remember you know. He did so he uses dirty, just dirty nasty and then. Yeah, I remember one time he put me in a. He went to put me in an arm bar and he just kicked me in the nose just to get my head out of the way. He was like, Okay, well see we're playing prison rooms. Okay. You know, the attitude was just there, you know like, guys. I had a guy come into my gym dojo in California one of my own teammates, he was studying on the side. He came into my gym one day and he says, you want to roll yeah let's roll so you know we're doing a light roll and all of a sudden, he gets my arm and he pops it, he pops my arm. And I was like, okay, you know, I never I didn't forget it, he came back again, and okay this time, guess what happened. I put him in an arm bar he didn't want to tap right away I popped his arm. You know, I wouldn't do it back to him if he didn't do it to me. It was just like I think guys got a kick out of going into other dojos yeah I owned a Jiu Jitsu studio in 1996 in Southern California. So, you know, BJJ was coming up and they would guys would come into my gym just to, you know, to try and hurt me.
And this guy tried to hurt me so he, he popped my arm. And, you know, he was going harder than I thought we should have been, you know, rolling and all of a sudden, you know, I get ready to tap and he goes quick and he pops back. Okay, great, came back, like I said he came back the next time but I did it to him he didn't really like it that much so I remember rolling, you know, they never do yeah they never do so I remember running into him I saw him at his work or something I go hey how you doing you know we've kind of a slight grin on my arm still hurts okay yeah mine too. So what else do you get to complain to me but you're arm hurting after what you tried yeah I mean we get over it. I think he might have held a grudge because we were rolling one day in in Judo. We're doing judo and we were rolling and he didn't get his fingers out and I rolled him over I think I broke four of his fingers, but that was an accident that wasn't on purpose, you know, his fingers get caught on the mat. Stuff happens.
Jeremy Lesniak:
What we do, I mean to be perfectly honest I'm surprised more of us don't get hurt more often.
Greg Williams:
Yeah, that true.
Jeremy Lesniak:
There's a presence of mind that comes from training. You've got to be there, you've got to be in the moment, and even when you are things are going to go wrong.
Greg Williams:
Yeah. And you also know I mean if you've been doing it a little while you know when somebody's trying to hurt you and when somebody does it by accident. You can really feel it, when you connect with people, even when you're fine, that's a great thing about martial arts, you know, the community gets built around trust that they won't hurt you, you know, like, a small circle Jiu Jitsu and joint locks. You know, you're putting your wrist and your livelihood in somebody's hands, and then they're gonna put it back in your hands. So you build that, that's a great trust that builds there, and you know when somebody's trying to hurt you.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Absolutely. How did you get back over here? I mean we've talked about you being out on the West Coast but you're in New Hampshire now. How did that transpire?
Greg Williams:
Well, I met my wife. When I was teaching out there, I was working. I was working and teaching and my wife. We got together. She had a three year old three year old daughter at the time and 2000. About 2000, my wife got pregnant with my youngest daughter, 9/11, it just happened. And I was living in a really nice place in a place called Stevenson Ranch California, and it was really nice. It was beautiful, was the quintessential utopia, suburban utopia. But to be honest, I didn't feel comfortable living there. My wife and I both, we felt out of place. So we came to visit her mother, who lives in little Tim, still does. And we looked at, just kind of joking, we looked at some property and for the same price that I had out there. The same price I was paying for 10 feet on each side and 25 feet in the backyard. I came out here and pretty much place look like the golf course. I have 75 acres of view of Mount Washington the views incredible. Nice big home and it was the same exact price so we decided to just make the move, just do it. And we decided to just leave our life there. Come out and start our life here, because my daughters at the time were one and five. So, figured she'd be starting school and that's be honest I haven't regretted one day of moving out here. It's a total culture shock. Everybody asked, why did you move out here and my standard answer is witness protection program because who would come looking for you in New Hampshire, they would give it wouldn't even do it.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Although, if they got it within you know probably a 20 or 30 mile radius, and they showed your picture to someone. They would at least recognize you that's there's no anonymity, this isn't the woods.
Greg Williams:
That's right, well, not to boast. But I think if you showed my picture to radius probably goes more than 20 miles.
Jeremy Lesniak:
I bet it does. Now when you moved back, when you moved out here, when you move back east. Did you start teaching martial arts right away?
Greg Williams:
No, actually, that's a great question. So I work at the Mount Washington hotel.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Okay and beautiful spot. If anybody listening has never seen that hotel look it up. Then will you will think I'm making this up and look up the history on it. It's the darkness is from World War One designer.
Greg Williams:
It's great. Yeah, it's a wonderful place and I got a job. I got a job working at this at this ski shop across the street, and the guy who runs the ski shop, become the mayor of Bretton Woods, he said, Jimmy Drummond great guy. He was the service manager of the hotel so he should, because of my love for people again. They put me at the front door doing ballet so I was running every day. I was in great shape and running for cars and making good money. And I did that for about four or five years. And as I talk a lot again, you know I like to talk so I tell people what I did and where I was from and I got a group of people that said, If you open up a school I come, but I realized. Alright, I'll give it a go. Then I started, and I haven't looked back since that was 2005. So, 16 years. 16 years of doing it and enjoying it was great. It's been great, and still going.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Is it your full time gig?
Greg Williams:
No prevention is my full time gig now.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Okay, you did said that.
Greg Williams:
I worked as prevention specialist.
Jeremy Lesniak:
You've used some of the same language talking about teaching martial arts to children as that work. So I'm guessing there's a story in there and how all that happened. Probably some synergy too.
Greg Williams:
Yeah, well, I think, you know, I'm an artist. I'm a martial artist. I'm a teacher. That's kind of how I define myself, you know, I think. Like I told you earlier and earlier in this in this conversation that I found my true calling of teaching, so I was teaching full time, I was only teaching, but it wasn't really working now I've been very fortunate to not have to work too hard and can be around my kids a lot but as my kids got older, and my bank account dwindled, it was late, it was known it was being told to me by my wife, that I needed to get a job, another job to supplement. And of course she did it very tactfully. But 46:12 you know we should probably probably get a job. And, yeah, you're right I probably I have time and I'm teaching you know I'm not teaching every day for hours. I got a job working for the North Country charter Academy. It's a charter school for disadvantaged and adverse kids that can't navigate through high school, and I love it, I love it. I get to connect with a lot of different kids that really needed help, I was able to have some success in some prevention programs that the school that I initiated a prevention program called the up conference, and it was centered around youth, making a difference to other youth, and having the adult support them. so youth directed adult guided is kind of the term we used.
So I realized that I can't tell kids tell young adults how to act. They don't hear like my own daughter doesn't hear it from me but if somebody else says it, it becomes a revelation, you know the things that I've been saying for for two hours, don't resonate but then somebody else says you know what they said, yeah, I know I've been saying that, so youth to youth positive, positive youth to youth messaging is really the theme, and with that success that a habit that I was offered a job as a prevention coordinator for the region. So it went from teaching to have a little more of an administrative position of higher up. So yeah, but it is still, and always will be about building communities, about making making people better through connection and community because addiction lies in loneliness, and dark spaces but when we connect with each other and kind of fill fill those voids voids with community, whether it be martial arts, the arts, music, whatever it is, if you're in a community, you have something to keep you. You got to keep you connected to people and that kind of keeps addiction at bay. If that does makes sense.
Jeremy Lesniak:
It does. I've always viewed addiction as an attempt to plug a hole. Yeah, there's something missing.
Greg Williams:
Right. And a lot of times it's the connection. It's connections that are missing. Yeah, I think the more we can build communities. And that's why this is such a tough time right now, because we're not able to really go and interact socially so much anymore so there's I think there's a great need to find ways, creative ways to build those connections.
Jeremy Lesniak:
I agree. So, what are you doing? What's your school doing? Cleary community is so critical to you. I can't imagine that you're just hanging back on oh you know whatever.
Greg Williams:
Yeah, we're open your time. We invested in a little bit of internet connection so I can do online classes if I need to. but right now we're open classes are small and then as long as they stay somewhat small I'll keep doing them. Because of the importance of these. I have more students than ever, right now, and the class is intertwined with, you know, we're trying to separate the classes so they can be smaller and so people aren't crowding each other, and I have a large, I have a pretty large space. And I'm fortunate to have a large space that we can spread out.
Jeremy Lesniak:
And what do you teach? You've mentioned so many things done. Are you teaching all of them?
Greg Williams:
Not so I teach, my adult class is basically Jiu Jitsu self-defense. It's based in 50:14 but you know small circle emphasis, no doubt. Scroll my influences from Wally J. So it's throwing rocks throws at teaching all different ranges, we punch, we kick, we throw, you know, Wally J always said well if you get in a fight the phone booth. You know, you may be able to defend yourself from all different ranges and I've always tried to become a well rounded, well rounded school so, but we teach Jiu Jitsu pretty well, Jiu Jitsu class as a Jiu Jitsu instructor, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu instructor, Ian Milligan one of my guys who started with my regular class and you know has a passion and a tremendous love for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. So he's been taking that on and let him teach it without we work together and I want him to to do as much as he can small up here so he's teaching that class. I have people that have been around for a while, with young kid who started with me when he was like 70s 21. I think tomorrow, or pretty soon turns 21 in his name's Giuliana Rossi. He teaches some of my boxing and MMA classes so we offer that I teach kids class on Saturdays, and teach peewees five to seven year olds, I teach eight to 12 year olds after that, we have an advanced class. And yeah that's that's kind of about it. So some boxing, kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but the base is Jiu Jitsu.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Sounds like it's a busy place.
Greg Williams:
Yeah, yeah, it's good. I'm fortunate, I'm very fortunate, and we're in the process of becoming a 52:02 athletic league. So, we can do some more, so we can do some effect more kids in the community through wrestling programs and boxing 52:10.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Oh wow, I'm not familiar with this. What is offering is it is a New Hampshire thing?
Greg Williams:
There's not too many New Hampshire, it's only one, there's one in Manchester and there's one in Nashville so Manchester Police athletic League and the one in Nashville. So, we've. It was up here before the passion, the person in charge, who left the police force so it kind of died with him. And the new police chief has been around for a couple years, or two police and Lancaster's approached me and wanted to become, but wanted to get it started back up again because of the positive impact it has on the community so we were starting to back up.
Jeremy Lesniak:
And what is this program?
Greg Williams:
Well, people boxing and wrestling and it'd be an after school program where I think it'd be free to kids and sponsored by pretty much sponsored by donations in the town. Grants as well.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Why isn't this bigger?
Greg Williams:
It's good question. Why isn't it?
Jeremy Lesniak:
Sounds like a no brainer.
Greg Williams:
Yeah I know, outside of here I think it is pretty good. We stopped politically I know when I was younger, I started in basketball. My Love was basketball, and I was 16, I was. I've always been kind of a wise guy. Smart Alex. I was kind of bad, not bad but I was kind of like blacklisted from my basketball team in high school, but I was, I had a voracious appetite for basketball so I played.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Are we gonna get that story?
Greg Williams:
I don't think it's suitable.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Okay fair enough. We'll just we'll have to wonder.
Greg Williams:
I called the coach out in a matter of digging a shovel to shovel the ball, he turned his back at halftime, and I, and the more he turned his back, the quicker I went and he caught me doing it, and everybody was laughing. It was kind of a tense moment but I think that was the last straw again, because he made a promise that everybody would play, he get everybody in, and then he broke the promise. So, I was looking out for like everybody on the team, especially me because I wasn't the starter, but anyway. So through basketball, what was I getting at Jeremy?
Jeremy Lesniak:
Was basketball was your first love? 54:33
Greg Williams:
So not making my team, I played in a PAL league, police athletically league. And I was good. So, I was one of. I was the only person from my team but I was one of like we represented Long Island, down in Florida on an all-expense paid trip to Florida, and probably when I was 16, so probably like 1979, and it's pretty funny because I cherished this picture I was the only white guy on the team, and I don't think I even saw a white person in the crowd. And I learned a lot from that I learned that, you know, the guys that I bonded with on my team, they had they made me the captain I think they really felt for me because I was a minority, and they really looked after me too. They really, you know, like other people, other people would come up and start to mess with me because of the color of my skin and I had guys stand up, be like I was one of their brothers, a great experience with Police athletic league. Yeah.
Jeremy Lesniak:
All right, so let's flip the clock let's look into the future. Yeah, you know, when we have people on we talked about where they're at, we talked about where they've come from so the question is Where are you headed?
Greg Williams:
Where am I headed? Good question. I think I'm gonna be doing this for a really long time. I'm just trying to set up some sustainability so that they can. I've used my body, quite a bit and you know through doing some stunt work in LA and years and years of martial arts and I just want I want this to continue for a long time so it's right now it's about building a sustainable model that two people that learn to make can continue or even one. There's a guy, one of my top students, my top student up here was a second degree. He just opened a school in Littleton, So that makes me very happy. You know the fact that I can keep the arc going, keep this going. Keep building the communities going. That's really next for me. Keep it moving along, even though I'm not around, keep spreading the word. Yeah.
Jeremy Lesniak:
If people want to get a hold of you, you know websites or social media or any of that, where would they go?
Greg Williams:
Oh kazejujitsu.com, that's my website. Can always hold me, My phone is embedded in my ear. So, always on it constantly.
Jeremy Lesniak:
Very west coast of you.
Greg Williams:
Yeah, west coast.
Jeremy Lesniak:
I get it, and of course if anybody didn't get that website we'll put it in the show notes at whistlekickmartialartsradio.com. Well, this has been fun. I really appreciate you coming on and, you know, you've listened to the show before so you know what's coming next, and that is, you know, how do you want to close up. What what are your final words for the people listening?
Greg Williams:
Well, I think I go back to say. Reach out to somebody if you know they're struggling, you know the connection and community is probably the most important thing. And the important thing we have as human beings in these times right now. I'll tell you, I don't want to get preachy but people are struggling and, and we need to we really need to reach out to each other and be there. Martial arts community is showing me a love and respect that has changed my life forever from the first class I took and being part of that group to right now. Leading a group, and being a part of it. There's nothing like it. So, you know, if you get an opportunity to create a group of people, like-minded people no matter what, whether it's martial arts or any other kind of art or endeavor. Start a group, connect with people. Share your passion, and don't be afraid, and we all we all think alike. We all have our. We all have our anxiety about what people think. And it's easy to say, I don't care what people think we all care what people think. But people are thinking the same thing you are so stick around those people that applaud you. And disregard the people that don't want to don't get in, you know, don't waste time on them. That's all. That's what I'd have to say.
Jeremy Lesniak:
What a fun conversation. And, you know, here we go yet another person that I just want to drop everything and go train with and have a good time. One of my favorite things about the show as I'm sure you all know I've had the opportunity to train with quite a few people and given the distance, which is not very great in this case, I've got a really good feeling that some training will happen in the future with some tech Greg and I maybe there will even be some video of it, and you can all say, sir. Thank you for coming on the show. Thank you for your time, your stories. And I hope we do get to talk and connect soon. If you want more go to whistlekickmartialartsradio.com, check out the website this is Episode 576 to find a bunch of stuff over there for this episode as well as all the other episodes that we've done. And if you want to support us, you can use that code Podcast 15 at whistlekick.com. You can share stuff, review stuff. Patreon, stuff, there's a ton out there. You've listened to the intro; you know what you can do to help us out. And those of you do, thank you. Really means a lot to me. If you have feedback, guest or 1:00:25 suggestions, email at jeremy@whistlekick.com. Our social media is @whistlekick. And until next time, train hard, smile and have a great day.