TORRES GUTIERREZ Ariel

General
KATA OVER KUMITE
He previously competed in both kata and kumite, but chose to focus on kata after picking up injuries in kumite that required lengthy recovery periods. "I've gotten a lot of those, 'With kata you're just punching the air'. Usually people think of the mixed martial arts competitions where they do the kata kind of like Bruce Lee - they just punch and kick air in random patterns, no set thing. But you can do kata with 100% of your physical ability, destroying everything in front of you because no one will get hurt. In kumite you're restricted. There are rules. You can't hurt someone. So in kata, the possibilities, I believe, are completely endless. You do that bow [at the start]. It's a dark room and in that moment I feel like I'm unstoppable. All this weight is taken off, all the chains fall on the ground and I'm able to just let go. I'm able to be free and just destroy everything in front of me in a beautiful graceful way." (teamusa.org, 24 Mar 2021)

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
He used to dress in his karate uniform and stand at traffic lights in Hialeah, FL, United States of America, with his father holding a sign that read 'Donations for Karate Competition'. "I would have a jar and people would just give a dollar, 25 cents, whatever they could. We did that for hours and hours a week, trying to accumulate the money to go to competitions. There were times we couldn't even eat because we were sending all the money towards karate, so it was hard." (teamusa.org, 24 Mar 2021)

HERITAGE
Born in Cuba, he moved with his family to the United States of America at age four, first settling in Newark, New Jersey, and later Miami, Florida. (teamusa.org, 24 Mar 2021)