Gregory Giovaniello was born on May 25, 1977 in the Bronx New York to Sal and Angela Giovaniello; he has an older brother Darren. In the fifth grade Gregory was put into public school in the Bronx as was picked on regularly.  In March of 1991 he enrolled into the Bronx American Goju Ryu School at the New York Turners club.  After four years of training he was promoted to second degree black belt, Greg was  also trained for three years in Tae Kwon Do while in high school. Greg  In 1995 Gregory joined the United States Air Force and was stationed at Davis Mountain Air Force Base, Tucson Arizona. Once there he inquired as to what martial arts programs were being offered in the area. He found an American Goju Ryu Dojo (school) who would accept his rank as second degree black belt, but upon learning that Kyokushinkai karate was being taught he decided to join the class knowing he would have to  start as a white belt under Sensei (now Kancho) Idris Clymer.

 

Gregory trained under Kancho Clymer for four years and tested for shodan (first degree black) under Shihan Hamamoto on July 9, 1999 in Los Angeles California. In 2000 Gregory started teaching Kyokushin at New York’s Maritime University in the Bronx and in 2001 competed in the America’s cup Karate championships and Hunter College. Though he didn’t do very well at the tournament he considers it to have been a great learning experience. In 2002 he moved back to Tucson AZ and began teaching at the Air Force base. After he returned home to NY in 2004 he felt he needed to become a student again and started training at Kyokushin Karate New York under Shihan Gorai. In 2004 he traveled to Japan and trained at the Kyokushin Hombu (headquarters) which he considers one of the best experiences of his life.

 

In 2008 Gregory left Kyokushin Karate New York and began training in a rented basement in the Bronx which he still trains at to this day.  In July 2011 he was married to Sharon Hoffman. “I’ve learned to control my fears of opponents in the ring as well as the street, yet I still haven’t gotten over my fears of my wife.” In the spring of 2013 Gregory made the switch to Kaihuku Keri Shin under Kancho Clymer. Though the name has changed, we still train in the original spirit of Mas Oyama.  OSU!