JRE MMA Show #173 with Benny "The Jet" Urquidez & William "Blinky" Rodriguez

Joe's Early Training at Jet Center00:01

Joe Rogan began training at the Jet Center in Los Angeles in 1994, one of two essential places alongside the Comedy Store. He trained there before the 1994 Northridge earthquake caused roof damage and closure. He took kickboxing classes with gang members due to Benny Urquidez and William "Blinky" Rodriguez's outreach program helping young gang members. Joe sparred with gang members. After closure, he briefly trained at the reopened North Hollywood location, then moved to Musashi Gym in the Valley. He calls them legends and true pioneers in martial arts.

Benny is humbled Joe remembers his son, which started the outreach.

Blinky's Son's Death and Anti-Violence Outreach01:01

Blinky's son was killed in a drive-by shooting while learning to drive a stick shift in a valley with two million people. This sparked his calling to fight generational gang violence. Communities normalized it, but Blinky rejected that. He collaborated with churches for peace marches. 36 years later, he runs a nonprofit with lived experience and degreed professionals addressing violence directly. "It's over when we say it's over."

Forgiveness from God led him to the neighborhood that killed his son for a huge park meeting, resulting in a peace treaty: "No mother's crying, no babies dying." Continues with integrated service delivery focused on violence prevention.

Joe praises bringing them to Jet Center for discipline, fighting skills, confidence, martial arts mentality from legends like Benny.