Joshua Ryer

Personal History

Joshua Ryer was born and raised just south of York, Pennsylvania in the small town of New Freedom.  As a child, Josh always had a love for the martial arts, but it was not until the age of ten that he would have an opportunity to formally train.  On his tenth birthday Josh was enrolled into a Taekwondo program at the local Y.M.C.A.  His training in Taekwondo was short lived.  About one year later, Josh's family had decided to relocate to Coral Springs, Florida which led Josh to enroll at Greg Silva's renowned East West Karate.  It was during this time at East West that Josh was introduced to Ed Parker's American Kenpo Karate.  However it was not long before Josh's family moved back to Pennsylvania.

In April of 1994 Josh commenced his training in Ed Parker's American Kenpo Karate under Associate Master Gary Ronemus in York, Pennsylvania.  It was under the watchful eye of Mr. Ronemus that Josh was given the opportunity to test for the rank of Black Belt on June 27th, 1997.  Josh passed the test and was promoted the following day at a belt ceremony in front of the school's student body.

In the summer of 2000, Josh relocated to western Pennsylvania to attain his Undergraduate Degree in Business at the University of Pittsburgh.  With his commitment to the University and the realization that there were no American Kenpo Karate schools in the area at the time; Josh and his close friend Salvador "Alex" Dorsey founded the United Parker's Kenpo Karate Club at the University of Pittsburgh in September of 2000.

Through the establishment of the club; Josh and Alex were not only given the opportunity to teach American Kenpo Karate, but also the opportunity to host and train with many top masters.  Due to these opportunities, Josh had the honor to be accepted as a direct student in American Kenpo Karate under Grandmaster Richard "Huk" Planas and Professor Zach Whitson in July 2003.

As the club became more successful; Josh took the next step in his commitment to teach the martial arts by establishing a full-time martial arts academy in March 2004 in Pittsburgh's east end community of Shadyside.  Since the establishment of the Ryer Martial Arts Academy, it has steadily grown and expanded offering several martial arts and fitness programs for people of all ages.

Understanding that the growth of his students' knowledge depends on the depth of his own knowledge; Josh remains a student in the martial arts.  In addition to training in American Kenpo Karate, Josh actively studies and is ranked in several other martial arts.

In April of 2007, Josh became the first student under CTS Founder and Professor Zach Whitson to receive the rank of Black Belt in the Counterpoint Tactical System.  The Counterpoint Tactical System is a hybrid martial art that combines tactics from several other disciplines from around the world though it holds the Filipino martial arts as its substantial base.  Because of this significant Filipino martial arts influence, Josh has had the opportunity and honor to train under Doce Pares Grandmaster Ciriaco "Cacoy" Canete and in August 2007 Josh was awarded the rank of First Class Brown Belt in Eskrima and Eskrido directly from Grandmaster Canete.

To this day, Josh continues to be steadfast in his martial arts training and confidently looks towards the future to perpetuate the martial arts in many ways; to further the growth of his instructors and his students; and to lead his martial arts academy to new heights.

To contact Mr. Joshua Ryer by phone please call (412) 621-5425 or to contact him by e-mail, please click here.

Certifications

June 1997 - First Degree Black Belt in Ed Parker's American Kenpo Karate from Associate Master Gary Ronemus

February 1998 - Second Degree Black Belt in Ed Parker's American Kenpo Karate from Associate Master Gary Ronemus

February 2002 - Third Degree Black Belt in Ed Parker's American Kenpo Karate from Associate Master Gary Ronemus

July 2003 - Grand champion at Ed Parker's International Karate Championships held in Boston, Massachusetts

July 2003 - Officially accepted as a personal student of Ed Parker's American Kenpo Karate Grandmaster Richard "Huk" Planas and Professor Zach Whitson

October 2005 - Fourth Degree Black Belt in Ed Parker's American Kenpo Karate from Grandmaster Richard "Huk" Planas and Professor Zach Whitson

April 2007 - First student to receive the rank of First Degree Black Belt in Zach Whitson's Counterpoint Tactical System from Founder Zach Whitson

August 2007 - First Class Brown Belt in Cacoy Doce Pares Eskrima and Eskrido from Grandmaster Ciriaco "Cacoy" Canete