View all Associates and Friends

A native of Puerto Rico, he began studying Goju Ryu Karate in 1966. In 1967 he joined Sensei Roberto T. Rios and Mas Oyama's International Karate Organization, the Kyokushinkai Kan. Velez was concerned about karate tournaments and the judging in the island and was instrumental in bringing the AAU Karate program to Puerto Rico. He was appointed Chairman of the program in 1982. During his presidency, Puerto Rico's first AAU Karate Referee's clinic and AAU Karate tournament were held.

Velez also lived in Canyon, Texas, where he served as Mas Oyama's representative and as an instructor at the West Texas State University Kyokushin Karate Association. The student government and the P.E. Department approved this association. Then, he was under Shihan Bobby Lowe.

Velez was exposed to Martial Arts Journalism for the first time in 1975 with K-Arte Marcial Karate magazine, in Puerto Rico. In the last twenty-seven years his articles, as a free-lance writer, have been read in all kinds of Martial Arts publications in the USA, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. He currently writes for Florida's The Karate Voice, New York's Action Martial Arts News and Puerto Rico's Artes Marciales en Acción.

He has been the object of many awards and appointments through the years. He is a three-time Journalism Award Hall of Fame recipient.