Allie Alberigo an only child was born and raised in West Islip, N.Y. and began his martial arts quest at the age of three years old. Since then he has studied for nearly four decades and attributes the undying love for the martial arts to his parents. His father a retired Nassau County, N.Y. motorcycle police officer and his mother a very dedicated parent and seamstress helped forge the many moral values he lives his life by but the martial arts certainly added his very unique Eastern mentality.
People may wonder what is really in the mind of this 21st century warrior. To explain this would take more pages then this magazine has to offer but the reality is – there have been many events, ideas, and theories that led him to this point right now. Before we go any further let’s talk a little about his background in the martial arts. Having studied for as long as he has he experienced more than many have in a lifetime and his resume speaks for itself. Beginning his training under Jerome Mackey one of the first martial arts franchised school in Judo, Jutsu and Karate attaining a junior black belt and becoming one of the youngest in that school to achieve this status at the age of 8 years old. During this time he also trained with his cousin who was a prominent martial artist in the N.Y. area and stuntman appearing in movies with Sony Chiba. He went on to earn a black belt in Aikido. Moving on he dabbled in Kung Fu and various other arts settling into Shotokan Karate earning his Brown belt but grew very disheartened by the lack of discipline and antics of the teacher. He stumbled on a school close to his home that was teaching a style at the time that was virtually unheard of; it was called Kali/Arnis under Tuhon Christopher Sayoc. Allie later went on to gain the rank of Second Degree Black Belt in this system running a school at the age of 16 years old.
A chain of events happened during this time leading him to where he is now. Going to a local martial arts tournament with his students he met a man by the name of Shihan Felix Vaquez and was amazed. Allie being so interested in the martial art of Ninjutsu became his student and went on to become one of the highest-ranking students ever to train under him. Shihan Vazquez was known for his brutal approach to his instruction. For years Allie dedicated his time to traveling around the world with Shihan Vazquez and was a member of his world renowned International Ninjutsu Demo team, performing hundreds of times around the world. The chain was connected when Shihan Vazquez and his team attended a seminar by Grand Master Shoto Tanemura of Saitama Japan in 1986. After pursuing Tanemura Soke for nearly 5 years, training in seminars and continually asking to be accepted as a student Tanemura Soke granted him the permission to join his organization and travel to Japan. Again, due to sheer dedication Kyoshi Allie then traveled to Japan 15 times over the next decade and became one of four high-ranking teachers within the U.S. becoming Tanemura Soke’s Dai Dojo Cho, the largest school in Genbukan for the duration of his training. During that time Allie acted as an advisor to many Genbukan School owners as well as the Grandmaster hosting many seminars and special events as well as advising him on sound business practices.
The ranks attained over the next 15 years were many including Godan – Kokusai Ju Jutsu Renmei, Godan – Genbukan Ninpo Bugei, The title of Renshi, Rokudan – Ju Jutsu/ Ninjutsu from Ninma, Shoden – Asayama Ichiden Ryu, Shokyu – Kushin Ryu Bo Jutsu, Biken Jutsu – shodan. Other ranks attained are Yondan – Circle of One System American Ninjutsu, Nidan – Chinese Hawaiin Kempo, Nidan – Sayoc Kali – Sayoc Fighting systems, Shodan – Aikido and Honorary ranks of Shihan from Soke Hilton in Kempo and various other Karate organizations in the world. Even though he has been awarded the rank of Shihan he still chooses to hold the rank of Kyoshi.
With all this being said there are still many people that would want to and do discredit his training and consider what Kyoshi Allie does as non-traditional and in quotes “A McDojo.” Kyoshi Allie has been quoted “The reality is, no matter what your history, your ranking, your experience in the martial arts or how good you are there are always going to be uneducated people that want to say negative things and discredit what you do, out of ignorance or sheer jealousy. My only concern is my students, organization and establishing L.I. Ninjutsu Centers as one of the best all around martial arts educations available a pure life-skills institute. I don’t pay much attention to the people who speak negatively, usually the majority of them train less time in a year then I do in one month. I know that for some reason some one will always find something to say, my goal is that my students are happy and a great quality of martial artist.”
In the last 17 years since the beginning of his martial arts school Allie has taught thousands of students and traveled all over the world teaching this blend of martial arts in places such as Thailand, Japan, England, Bermuda, Costa Rica, Panama, Puerto Rico, to name a few. He has established and assisted in helping grow schools in places such as these as well. He is a world-renowned public speaker in the martial arts industry helping martial arts school owners of all styles develop their schools so they can attain their goal while helping professionalize the industry. He has founded and developed a company called www.takingittothenextlevel.com to assist school owners in achieving their dreams.
What is a typical training day like at the L.I. Ninjutsu Centers? All students are respectful and believe wholeheartedly in the family atmosphere that is taught at L.I.N.C. All students train rigorously performing a large amount of cardio vascular activities combined with traditional martial arts training in Ninjutsu/Ninpo as well as Ju Jutsu and various weapon arts. The largest benefit is they also experience the philosophies that culminated over 39 years of martial training. The modern day application of the movements and techniques, both physically and spiritually are what a student can expect regularly. If you were to ask a student what tradition and ryu ha they actually study at L.I.N.Centers you could easily say Genbukan, Kokusai and a wide variety of techniques he learned from Tanemura Soke, as well as American Ninjutsu from Shihan Felix Vazquez, but the only accurate description is- it has evolved into its own art form considered L.I. Ninjutsu Centers - 21st Century Ninjutsu.
Kyoshi is a person that works hard at practicing what he preaches on a daily basis, having been a vegetarian and Buddhist for over 12 years and father of a soon to be 8 years old daughter, he encompasses the ideals of love and compassion on a daily basis while working hard to make the world a better place one day at a time. In fact the slogan at the school is “It’s not just kicking and punching - it’s martial arts and beyond – Gain the power to change your life forever.” This is quite evident if you ever walked through the doors of any of the five L.I. Ninjutsu Centers located in Long Island and Bermuda. For all the non – believers it is recommended to actually step foot in a school under his guidance and see what the hype is about or check it out on the web at www.Lininja.com. For school owners you can check out www.takingitothenextlevel.com as well. One thing that is stressed in his school is the concept of adaptability, no one system, style or martial art is better then the next, the real truth is the style is only as good as its instructor. Rather then finding a teacher and training, search for the correct teacher and once you have found that person dedicate yourself to the training.
In closing Allie has been practicing and sharing the martial arts and all of his life lessons with anyone that is interested in learning. The quote that rings truest within his school and mindset is “Be the change in the world that you want.” You can contact Kyoshi Allie directly at 631 321-5432 or renshilininja@aol.com.
