This entry was posted on Tuesday, 1st November 2005 at 3:45 pm and is filed under News by Mark Stewart. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

15 Comments On “Al Ramirez Memorial”

I am deeply saddened by news of Al Ramirez’s passing. He was a great example to us all of generosity, devotion, and incredible thoughtfulness. Although I didn’t have the chance to teach him for very long, he would always remember
me during the holidays and my birthday. He always had gentle words of advice and sincere words of encouragement for me in life, in relationships, and in martial arts. In no small part because of him, I had the fortune to meet, train with, and host Sifu Randy Williams, who made the biggest impact on my understanding of Wing Chun. Al will always have my love, respect, and gratitude.

I hope that everyone he touched can make the simple effort to regularly show the same love that Al showed us to his son, Christopher, as he grows into adulthood. He and his loved ones will be in my prayers.

Hope you are doing well.

Thanks,
Mark Cheng, L.Ac.
Director / Sifu: Chung Hua Institute
Contributing Editor : Black Belt Magazine

All I can say is that I will never be able to take a swig of TsingTao beer without thinking of Big Al. After our bruttal training sessions at the Chinatown it was always nice to end the day with a beer at Hop Louie’s! I have fond memories of Al - his humorous stories and of course his distinctive radio voice!

Al was always a tireless training partner that, as a young “grasshopper” helped me grasp our great art of Temujin Kali/JKD! He hit me damn hard!!! I am sure that Al will be up there with Guro Lucky and Guro Ted banging away once again!

Godspeed to you Big Al, you will be missed and always remembered!

Tom Corpuz

I feel really bad about Big Al. I hope his family is able to care for his son.

Al was a wonderful father. He lived for his son. I think it was the greatest thing that happened to him. He was a marathoner and a swimmer as well as a martial artist. He loved music. I’m sure he talked at length with you about
his music collection and his meeting famous musicians. He also these big dogs that he loved to death. I remember Al always showed up, not matter how he felt, he always showed up. One time during sparring, Big Steve (well
over 200lbs) dug his knee straight into Al’s gut. Al is about 160lbs. Al collapsed and rolled on the ground. He took a round off and took deep breaths. The next round, he put his mouthpeice back on, and laced up his gloves and finished the sparring session. Al, like most of us, was far from
being a master, but I would want him backing me up in a fight.

Cesar Chaparro

When I first started my Kali/JKD lessons at the boxer rebellion gym in chinatown Al was the first guy I would drill with. He was the first student whom introduced himself to me and made me feel welcome. He had a friendly demeanor and a laid back smile.

My first impression of him I must admit was that he was a bit awkward and uncoordinated in his movements. All of that thinking went out the door once we got to sparring and he clocked my jaw several times, leaving a bell ringing in my head for the duration of my ride home.

I remember thinking that in addition to being a cool guy, he was a real scrapper as well. I remember his school shirts would have cut off sleeves, proudly displaying his Jeet Kune Do tattoo on his arm.

During Chinese new year Al would always be the one who would uphold the tradition of lighting firecrackers to ward off evil spirits. Often he would light them unannounced and in close proximity to peoples ears which would cause a wide variety of jerking humorous responses. I think Al enjoyed that part of Chinese New Years very much.

But most of all, I remember the times after class when we would sit around the gym and just chat about stuff. Bruce Lee, martial arts, life….everything. Throwing back a few Tsing Tao’s at Hop Louies after class was one of my fondest memories of those times.

Al had a gift for storytelling and a wit that would keep you laughing for as long as he’d keep going.

I’m really going to miss ‘Big Al’. I feel my life was enriched by having known and trained with him.

Blessings,

Paul

I met Al when I first joined Boxer Rebellion back in Aug 96. First thing I noticed was his sleeveless t-shirt and his JKD tattoo. I was 25 when I first started martial arts. Al was one of my first training partners. He showed me the basics and helped improve my self confidence and skill level.

But I will always remember Al for his kindness, laughter and sense of humor. Al was Always Happy and had a Smile on his face.

Last time I saw Al was at Mark’s baby shower back in 2/05. Al and his son came dressed as twins. He had alot of love for his son.

Al was one of my first Gung Fu brother’s…

I’m gonna miss you man, you left us too soon…

Peace Out,
Paul

Chinatown will always remember Al’s sincere, unselfish community service,patrolling Chinatown with Sifu Mark and the Chinatown Public Safety Patrol, to deter and report crime while being eyes and ears for the LAPD. As a founding member, his role model legacy still lives on through the Patrol to this day. We’ll all miss Al.

Henry Leong, Chinatown Public Safety Patrol and Chinese Chamber of Commerce

Al Ramirez was one of the first people to give of his time and put on the Green Shirt, patrolling the streets of Chinatown with Henry Leong and a couple of others to establish the Chinatown Public Safety Patrol. Because of his efforts early on, Chinatown is a better place today. We have lost a good man and a good friend.

While best known as a radio personality on KLOS, Al was also an active member of the Central City Police Boosters and taught martial arts to the officers of Central Division and others.

Al died Sunday of natural causes. He is survived by his son Christopher, age 7. Memorial arrangements are pending at this time.

I met Al at The New Chinatown Gung Fu Club under the Instruction of Sifu Randy Williams, when Sifu Randy Left to Singapore I lost track of him for a couple of years re-encounter him on 1992 when Sifu Mark Stewart inagurated his first Chinatown School on Figueroa st I will allways remember his loud but sweet Voice and his great sense of humor he will allways had a laught and shared with everybody God Bless Him Allways, I now Belong to an Aztec Danze Group and this friday November 4 we will have a Day of the Death Ceremony I will have Al’s Picture in our Altar to honor him My Danzes will be dedicated to his Memory Our Warrior Al will never be Forgaten.

I just found out about Al’s passing and I am saddened by the loss of a good friend. I’ve have know Al since 1977, when he took the time to befriend a young 17 year old kid who wanted to be a radio disc jockey. Over the years, I have known of Al’s devotion of the martial arts. It is nice to read the stories from his friends and community. My sincere condolences to Al’s family and friends. All blessings to you Al. You will be missed by all who you have touched.

I have just found out Al death through a friend I bump into. I was completely shock of Al death. I known Al through training with Mark Stewart in the early 90s and Al is a very happy goer kind of guy you want to hang around. He is very passionate a bout JKD and martial art in general. Although, I have known Al for a short period of time, I felt like I have known Al forever. I am saddened to lost a great friend with a great heart. I would like to send my condolence to Al family and to all the many friends he has touched. God bless you Al.

Mr. Khou, I appreciate your candor and heartfelt comments. You are diffinitely right on the money. And also thank you for your generous contribution to the longshoreman’s association.
Keep up the good work and keep the money coming!!!!!
Mr. Dragna also expresses his thanks for your discipline and hard work. Your boundless energy and passion is always welcome at the longshoreman’s association.

Thank you very much.
Head of Operations Frank Borgia

Al and I were orginal boxer rebellion students of Sifu
Mark Stewart at the Alpine Rec center then Chinatown and
Figueroa St.I will never forget the times we had when
Mark open the schools in Chinatown and Figueroa St.We
cleaned painted and trained together.We had great seminars
with Guro Ted,Erik Paulson,Sifu Mark Cheng.Al was easy
going and could really take a punch.Although I lost track
of Al he was always a topic of conversation at my family
gathering.Al will be missed but his memory will never
fade.
Hey Al “ALL TOOLS… ALL TARGETS”

HI! I love this place!

I knew Al back in the early 80’s. My friend George Wong and I was the youngest member of The New Chinatown Gung Fu Club, under Sifu Randy Williams. We didn’t alot money back in the days, so Al would let clean his house to earn extra cash.

I remember all those dinners at Hop Li, after a long workout. Al Ramirez will be miss by all who came in contact with him.

We love Al!

All my blessings go out to everyone who knew Al and was touched by him in one way or another. I grew up with Al in El Sereno. One of the things I can say about Al was that he was truly the nicest and kindest person. He had the biggest heart and was a true friend. He would give you the shirt off of his back, granted the shirt might not have sleeves, but he was always willing to give of himself. I have many fond memories of Al and I’ll always cherish them. I just now found out about his passing from another friend who kept in touch with Al. I left California years ago and lost touch with Al. I always thought that he would be around forever, he was that kind of individual. He was smart, energetic, and always kept himself fit and healthy. Al was always in my prayers, and I’ll continue to pray for his spirit. By the many comments I can see that Al made an impact on many lives on many levels, he was that kind of man. A real mans man. I was always proud to know that he was a friend and that I could count on him for anything.
Al you’ll be missed, but not forgotten…Aho brother Washte