JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. –
Morning greetings are exchanged on the route to and from the dimly lit room where she retrieves six anxiously awaiting trainees on a crucial processing stop before they are shipped to Basic Military Training.
She projects a commanding, consistent tone with the attentive group while delivering precise directions before guiding them to their next destination for processing.
Her disciplined demeanor and comfort with providing succinct direction is a testament to one of her greatest passions in life as an instructor and student in the martial art forms Nisei Goju Ryu and Chinese Goju.
During the day, Tonya Jones serves as a human resources technician with the 514th Force Support Squadron handling administrative work pertaining to basic military trainees, prior service members, promotions and demotions, passports and other vital administrative duties for wing reservists.
Off the clock, Jones is a prominent figure within the competitive martial arts world holding a jaw-dropping line of accolades and accomplishments both locally and internationally. However, unassuming and within the confines of a personalized and distinctly colorful corner desk, she exudes a humble demeanor tinged with poise and grace.
For more than 43 years, Jones has dedicated countless hours to studying Nisei Goju Ryu, the second generation of a traditional form of Okinawan Japanese martial arts, and Chinese Goju, a unification of Japanese and Chinese style Goju Ryu. She has competed in local and international tournaments, but most notably, spends a majority of her time investing in the next generation of martial artists by teaching classes to more than 50 students at classes in Philadelphia and Camden, NJ.
Currently holding a sixth and seventh degree black belt in Nisei Goju Ryu and Chinese Goju, respectively, Jones is currently the highest ranking woman in the tri-state area, only three degrees shy of the highest rank in the hierarchy of mastery, she said.
As one of the most gifted and fierce martial artists in the country, Jones has earned the title of Kyoshi, meaning an instructor of masters, but she still retains a commitment to perfecting her artistry by regularly taking classes under her instructor, Hanshi A.D. Lingo, she said.
"The title isn't based solely on your mastery of skills," she said. "It encompasses everything about you. I engage in the community, conduct seminars for the elderly, and continuously train with other black belts and those of higher ranks. I also have success stories with my students and respect amongst my fellow instructors."
Her passion for the art forms coupled with her innate even-temperament and strong sense of spirituality has helped her to excel, steering clear of any major incidents in the highly competitive, often cut-throat world, she said.
At 11 years old she was introduced to the martial arts world when she wandered into a karate school in her hometown of New Haven, CT. There, she was drawn and inspired by a female black belt performer and in only a short five years, she would garner the same belt.
During her formative years, Jones simultaneously spent 15 years studying the elegant art of dance with the Bowen Peters School of Dance in Connecticut, the antithesis to the aggressive martial arts techniques she also enjoyed. She now uses those skills to choreograph performances with the dance troupe Children of Thunder during Black History Month here, she said.
She continued her training in both art forms while conforming to a transitory lifestyle as the wife of a retired active-duty service member. Her travels have allowed her to interface with world-renown instructors and constantly adapt her teaching style based on her experiences, she said.
Her family was stationed at Yakota Air Force Base, Japan on an extended tour for 11 years, Wright-Patterson AFB, Mountain Home AFB, and lastly here before they settled in New Jersey after her husband, Mark, retired from active-duty service, she said.
The perpetual movement has also propelled her career to international status - having been recognized in countries such as Japan and Panama for her work.
"I'm an anomaly," she said. "I'm accommodated and treated with such respect because you don't see many women who've reached my rank. There's a great disparity between women and men in the top tiers of martial artistry, but I'm glad I'm able to break some of those barriers."
However, her illustrious career has included an overabundance of cuts and bruises and a busted groin, along with more tournament disqualifications than "victories".
Jones said her early training centered on the purposeful application of learned skills - a mission to compete to fight rather than win trophies.
"Winning didn't mean as much as being disqualified," she said. "Everyone was target practice. Our instructors told us to go in there, practice our craft and see if our newly acquired skills were effective. We didn't compete to play tag for the sake of a trophy."
Despite her formative years and lack of documented wins, Jones said her maturity as both a student and instructor has evolved and she holistically trains students to fine-tune their craft and maintain a competitive spirit in the tournament ring.
Along with training skilled warriors, she also demands high standards of academic performance and works diligently to instill and exemplify virtuous character traits as a means of all-encompassing success. Students are required to show their report cards, and if unsatisfactory, can hinder their rate of promotion, she said.
"I teach students how to empower themselves," she said. "It builds your character. Positive energy is projected onto other people and they feel your energy. I want people to feel my positive energy. I want my students to excel and get involved in school. I want them to help other students with bullying. My goal is that when you leave me you've learned at least two things that are going to save your life - those are the things that matter, not the wins."
She encourages her students to be lifelong learners but also learn to teach and share their talents and expertise to other students--an ideal she has exemplified throughout her 43-year career.
"I can't be a good instructor if I don't continue to be taught," she said. "My cup is always half-full - new information has to be constantly flowing in so I can filter out information."
On top of her hectic schedule, Jones frequently conducts a seminar in Camden, NJ entitled "Have no fear the cane is here," teaching self-defense techniques to the elderly, she said.
If not handling paperwork for reservists or demonstrating breathing techniques to her students, she focuses her time on honing her ability to speak and write fluently in Arabic, Spanish and Japanese, she said.
"My world is huge outside of this installation," she proclaimed. "I'm a wife, mother, instructor, student, healer, linguist, and the list goes on. But I love what I do here, too."
Invigorated by her future possibilities, she embraces her midlife transition and said she vows to continue teaching and studying Nisei Goju Ryu and Chinese Goju until her body can no longer sustain the physicality of the movements.
Consequently, her studies have expanded to incorporate Qigong, a healing art that focuses on aligning breath, movement, and awareness for exercise, healing, and meditation, to her collection of talents, she said.
Ultimately, her main goal is to continue to use her talents to help people in her community through physical and spiritual healing, she said.
"If I'm in a nursing home, I'm going to be teaching them cleansing spirit and mind," she said. "I'll be doing this until the lord is done with me because I don't belong to myself, I belong to everyone else and I will continue to be used as a vessel for others."