NOTE: This is the second interview in a Jiayo series of interviews with wushu athletes past and present. This installment is with Rory Bratter. I heard about Rory before I ever met him. Someone had mentioned a wushu kid from New York who I should check out at the next wushu competition. I think I first saw him compete at the 1999 US Team Trials in Texas (or was it the 1998 USAWKF nationals in Baltimore?). He was young back then but definitely had some skills. Fast forward a few years and he’s performing in Ka in Las Vegas! Y Chan ran the interview and got the low down on Rory’s view on wushu today and girls with bad breath. – Brandon
Alright Rory, you’ve got an interesting and unique story. You were on the tournament scene with old-schoolers in the 90s, made the U.S. Wushu Team, and worked with Cirque du Soleil: Ka– all that before most Wushu’ers even hit their prime. Now, before we touch on any of that, how did you get started doing martial arts and how’d you find your way to Wushu?
Where to start! I started training in martial arts when I was 5, basically because of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Yes, to this day I still think I’m Donatello! I began training in Okinawan Kempo, then moved onto Traditional Shaolin, and then I began my training in Wushu with a JaVonne Holmes. Since training in Wushu, I’ve also studied Sport Karate and Jujitsu, which I now teach at Premier Martial Arts in New Rochelle, NY. I’ve also dabbled with Wing Chun, Capoeira, Shoin Ryu Karate, Brazilian JuJitsu, Arnis, Tae Kwon Do and Shotokan Karate.
That’s awesome that you were able to get that exposure to martial arts. Because you started at such an early age, was there someone who kept you on your path?
My Dad was the one who pushed me. ‘Til this day he’s still a major preparation freak, so he never missed a beat when it came to my training or my life in general. He did a great job keeping me focused and ready for any challenge. He was a pain sometimes because when I was younger I wanted to be with my friends, and there I am swinging a broadsword around in the fields of Long Island. He’s still the same way though, always reminding me of what I need to do or focus on. Even if I know what has to be done, he still likes to let me know again personally. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be half the athlete I’ve become, so I can never thank him enough for that. Love ya pop!
How would you describe how Wushu has changed since you began, both in China and in the U.S.?
Oh my… well from the videos I’ve watched I’m going to say this: The level of Wushu in America is much higher than it was when I was competing. The guys nowadays are cleaner, faster, and they jump higher– it’s truly amazing. And the girls… should compete with the boys!
Major props to Miss Tiffany Reyes. I had the opportunity to train together with her in California when I was 18, and the amount of improvement from her is incredible. Keep it up girl!
Now lets talk about China… I’m not really liking the new format, where you can start on one side of the floor facing one direction and then finish on the opposite side facing the other direction– it’s kinda crazy to me. I feel like it takes away from some of the tradition. But, hey, it’s not my call. I honestly think the level in China has remained stagnant. I’m actually a little upset with China Wushu because I feel like it’s going a li’l NASKA on me. The beauty of martial arts is in the technique and how you perform that technique. I think martial arts as a whole, not just Wushu, is just turning into a gymnastics competition. Don’t get me wrong, I love to jump and do all of the crazy moves, but when it comes down to it, there’s not much application in most of these acrobatic techniques. I miss the Young Jet Li’s and Yuen Wen Qing’s Of the world.
Obviously, because of your early start and scope of martial arts experience, you’ve trained with some of the top athletes/artists in different circles. Can you tell us a bit of what you’ve learned from your main influences?
Wow, I could actually go on all day about this. One day I’m going to take the time out and write a book about this question in particular!
Over the past 19 years, I’ve been blessed to work and compete with and against some of the best martial artists in the world. All of these martial artists have had a major part of my life and have influenced me in more ways then one. I’m going to say my major influences in martial arts are Moses Arrocho, JaVonne Holmes, Chris Columbo, Chen Ying, Hejing De, And Jian Zeng Jiao.
Moses Arrocho was my Shaolin instructor, and he taught me how to overcome odds no matter what was in front of me. He taught me how to use my strengths to get past all odds, especially with fighting.
JaVonne Holmes was my first Wushu instructor, and he influenced me by teaching me the value of preparation through physical conditioning, as well as mental toughness.
Chen Ying influenced me, majorly because he always pushed me to my limits and showed me what China-style Wushu was really supposed to look like! There’s a major difference between watching videos of the China Nationals and actually seeing it in person. Regardless, it’s breathtaking, but it’s always better in my opinion so see it in person.
He Jing De taught me my furocity and speed. He took my level far and beyond where I ever thought it would end up.
Jian Zeng Jiao taught me how to be more creative and different than everyone else. I definitely bit a lot of his moves from him while we worked with cirque!
I must say the one instructor who has had the biggest influence on my life has been Kyoshi Chris Columbo. I met Coach Columbo when I was 8 and I started competing on Team Karate International, which he was the main coach of, on the NBL Circuit. He gave me my heart and my will to win. I was actually a very shy kid and working with him really brought me out of that shell and really made me into the athlete I’ve become. Thanks Coach!
You were able to get to a place that most elite Wushu competitors only dream about: making a living through your craft. In what ways did Wushu prepare you for that and how did you acquire the other skills that you needed?
Well Wushu is a very grueling sport and I’m sure all Wushu practitioners are smiling and nodding right now. Wushu is very demanding on the body aerobically and anaerobically. So Wushu definitely made me a stronger, faster, more flexible and mainly a more durable athlete.
So we know where you came from and who influenced you. Give us a glimpse of what your mindset is when obtaining new skills
I’ve been a martial arts buff my whole life, and I’m also quite the adrenaline junkie. So usually when I come across something new, the first thing in my mind is overcoming the fear of getting hurt. It’s OK to respect something, but fear only gets you hurt.
Then, I commit 100 percent to what it is I’m doing. I don’t second guess anything, I just give it my all. Anything you do with your body takes body control. You really have to understand what it is that your trying to do before you try it and how to control what your body does while your the the process of executing that skill. It’s mainly about having the guts to try it, understanding it in your head, and being able to control your body enough to pull it off. That’s usually my mindset when it comes to new things.
Ka was such a success and involved artists from around the world. What was that experience was like?
Oh my god! Cirque was a blast, a crazy experience for me, especially because of the timing that Cirque came along in my life. I had just graduated high school, expecting to go to college and… BAM! I was offered a job as an artist for Cirque. Yes, the idea of making a living doing what I love to do was priceless, especially after hearing my dad tell me all these years, “Raw ya gotta figure out what you love to do, and then you gotta figure out how to make money doing it”.
The first thing that happened was I went to Montreal, Canada, for about 8 months to create the Ka show. So I was living in a dorm across the street from Cirque headquarters. Imagine eating lunch everyday with a clown juggling next to you, a mime walking around, or people with chalk all over there hands from acrobatics training! The Cirque Headquarters was like a huge playground for me. I got paid to do crazy stuff everyday! It was like a dream come true.
After those eight months, I moved on to Las Vegas where we trained on the actual stage which was yet another crazy experience. If you haven’t seen the show, please, go see it and you’ll understand what I mean when I say it’s a crazy experience. You’d actually believe that the stage was an acrobat too!
The thing I liked about Cirque was that they’d take a martial artist and try to mold you into a free-runner, or they’d take a Olympic gymnast and try and teach them Wushu. They were very open-minded with that kind of stuff. I worked with some of the best athletes I’ve ever seen in all respects: gymnastics, Capoeira, dance, it was truly amazing.
I also met a lot of cool people like Tom Cruise, and Janet Jackson. I was able to walk Pam Anderson down the red carpet at the premiere of the show. All and all, a very cool experience. I’m telling you I gotta write a book!
When you were in Montreal, what was the creative process like and who had what input?
The creative process was a really cool experience. Ultimately, the input came from the director of the show and the coaches. I was very young in Montreal and had plenty of ideas, however, if we were to actually perform the ideas I had on stage every night I think there would have been a much higher injury rate. At 18 years old I’m thinking “Man, I’ve got probably the best two Wushu guys in the world next to me, we should be doing crazier stuff!”. But, when I had to perform it twice a night, 5 days a week, that’s when I understood why we weren’t trying to doing 720 butterfly twist splits every night!
It must have been crazy with all these different personalities, disciplines, cultures, etc. what was the chemistry like between all these different artists?
It was awesome, pretty much everybody got along. My best friends at Cirque were the Capoeira guys from Brazil. We ended up being roommates and we are still great friends. All and all ,everybody got along and looked out for one another, which you had to because it’s a very dangerous job. I met a lot of great people while I was there, and I’ve got friends that I will have for the rest of my life from the Cirque experience.
How much work per week were you performing/practicing, and what was life like when you weren’t performing/practicing?
We practiced everyday for about an hour and a half then we did two shows at night, and we did that 5 nights a week.
The whole experience was, no doubt, amazing. So, what’s your favorite story from it?
I’m gonna go with the high falls training. That’s when they take you on a scissor lift and take you up 20, 30, 40, 50, 60ft in the air to check to see if you suffer from any vertigo and it was the entire Wushu troop on the lift.
So we hit 20ft and they’d ask “Are you scared?”, and if you were, you jumped into an airbag that was on top of a net (that was for a really soft landing). It was really funny because that’s when you saw who had the biggest ego. And I’m definitely not scared of heights at all, but the higher we went, the tighter HJD and JZJ held onto the side railings. It was totally Kungfu grip! But we all jumped off safely.
OK, so we’ve talked a bit about how you got to where you are. What do the next 5 years look like for you?
Ahhh, next five years… Well, at the moment I’m managing Premier Martial Arts in New Rochelle, N.Y.. I’m planing on staying in NY for a while and spending some quality time with my family. Also, I’m hoping to do some more stunt work in the NYC area or wherever it may take me.
If Wushu became an Olympic sport I’d definitely consider competing again. I want to go to college for business sometime in the future, but as it stands today I want to give back the the younger generations of martial artists and pass them the knowledge that all my coaches gave to me.
I love to teach, I love to train, I love to be challenged and I’ll be a martial artist ’til the day I die–but winning the NYC Lottery Mega millions wouldn’t be so bad either!
I’m hoping to get married sometime soon and start a family of my own, so watch out for Rory Bratter Jr in a few years!
Can you tell us who you are at a core level, what your thought process is like, your beliefs, and how you interact with other people?
I’m a pretty down to earth kind of guy and very family-orientated. I do train everyday, as well as cross train. I play flag football in a league on Long Island. I enjoy spending time with my friends. I like to cook. I’m a huge Yankees fan as well as a huge Giants fan.
As far as thought process: I still believe I’m very young and can still take my level even higher and farther if I put my mind to it. I still have a lot of dreams that I want to fulfill.
If I had to give advice to a up and coming athlete, I’d let them know that hard work beats talent 9 out of 10 times.
I’m not shy anymore so I interact with people quite a bit. I’ll pretty much talk to anybody; family, friends, complete stranger– I’ll talk to ya. I’m very friendly and usually have a big smile on my face. I love being an uncle to four children and can’t wait to have my own kids someday.
I feel like the harder I work the farther I’m gonna go, so I’m gonna do what I’ve always done and give 150% every time I train and see where this roller-coaster takes me next.
…And now, the lightning round!
All-time favorite wushu athlete: Yuen Wen Qing… Hands down. The guy was a beast.
Favorite movie: Bad Boys 2
Last meal on Earth: I’m undecided between Surf And Turf or a major selection of sushi!
Ideal date: Hahahaha, I love to eat… so I’m going to have to say dinner and cocktails somewhere nice in Manhattan, or I’d cook at my house.
5 songs in your workout playlist: I listen to everything. but lets start with Public Servic Announcement – Jay Z, Step Into My World – KRS-1, Victory – Biggie, Puffy and Busta Rhymes, Ante Up – Busta Rhymes and MOP, and X Gonna Give It to Ya – DMX
Bigger turn-off: bad breath or busted feet? Man I’ll tell you what, I don’t like feet but my girlfriend actually has perfect feet, so I don’t mind her feet. But, bad breath is a major turnoff for me.
You’re the man, Rory. Thanks a lot for taking the time for this interview and best of luck!
Anytime Guys, Stay Healthy and Keep Training… Thank You!