Interview with DEATH PROMISE star Charles Bonet

New York-based writer Nigel Clarke continues his exploration of New York City’s martial arts film scene of the late 1970s and early ’80s by speaking to Hanshi Charles Bonet, a 6th dan in Shorin-ryu karate and the founder of the Shorin Kai International organization. Bonet is also a veteran of martial arts film with prominent roles in Ron Van Clief’s BLACK DRAGON’S REVENGE and DEATH PROMISE.

A few weeks ago, when I first watched DEATH PROMISE, some of the scenes and action had evoked a few laughs. The retro dialog and the campy plot were at times, very comical.

My view of the movie changed when I spoke to the star of the movie, Sensei Charles Bonet. During our conversation, I got a sense of how competitive the New York City martial arts scene was during the ’70s. In a sense, it was a warring city of dojos. Bonet, was a product of that period and he survived the streets, due to his focus and dedication to the arts.

Bonet first appeared in the documentary, SUPERWEAPON, in 1976. This documentary showcased the talents of Bonet and many of the premier martial arts fighters in New York City at that time. Madison Film Company was impressed with Bonet and asked him to star in DEATH PROMISE, shortly thereafter.

Although Bonet was introduced to the martial arts world as “The White Dragon,” he is actually a native of Puerto Rico, who migrated with his parents to the Bronx, at the age of two. Although he is not acknowledged, as such, Charles was one of the first Latino martial arts stars.

Even though he has been living in Arizona for the past ten years, Charles still sounds like a pure New Yorker, a voice you’d come across back in the day.

Charles started studying martial arts in 1960 as a teenager. I asked him if movies and television shows had motivated him to train he said, “Back then, Bruce Lee was unheard of. I couldn’t afford to train at a school, so I found training were I could, training for free at places like the YMCA. We had classes in the parks, centers and even rooftops.”

Charles spent his childhood between the Bronx, Manhattan’s upper West Side and Spanish Harlem. When I asked him to describe the scene and the zeitgeist of the streets at the time, he ushered in, “Drug infested, if not for martial arts, I may have gone another route in my life. So many of my friends died because of drugs or drug-related incidents.”

You could get a sense that Charles was truly focused, when I asked him about fighting in the streets he said,”Nah… I was too busy studying and training, I didn’t have time for anything else.”

Charles used martial arts as an escape that provided him direction through the problems of the streets and he would continue his training abroad, when he joined the military in 1967. During the four years he spent in the service, Charles trained other marines and worked on his skills as well. When he returned home, the martial arts explosion had taken place. New York was a city of warring dojos.

Charles would participate in tournaments and because of bad officiating he had to change his performance. “The officiating was bad, you’d have biased judges… my agenda, was to hurt my opponent. Back then I could not leave anything up to the judges!”

Right then and there, I realized the Charles was a no-nonsense fighter. He appreciates the art and teaching but he is clear about the type of person you become when you study the arts saying, “you become this special type of person in the world, this special type of weapon.”

He then shared an experience of being at a tournament with one of his students. He student was facing an old friend of Charles and the student considered holding back because of his sensei’s friendship. Charles readjusted his student’s way of thinking “I had to tell him, forget that, you have to have the attitude that this guy has now right to be in front of you!”

I had to admit, I was taken aback by his comments. Not because I thought they were inappropriate, but because I realized the seriousness of him as a fighter and competitor.

I turned my attention back toward DEATH PROMISE. I told him that I felt that a few writers had co-opted scenes from the movie and tried to pass it off on their own.

“Yeah… I’ve noticed some similarities in some of the movies, but it’s okay, it’s all in fun. As long as people are having fun, I don’t mind.”

I thought Charles had a good outlook about his experiences in film. After DEATH PROMISE he would go on to work with Ron Van Clief in BLACK DRAGON and several films there after.

Charles appreciates martial arts cinema himself. He recalls, “Yeah, Ronnie (Ron Van Clief) and I would hang out, train and then catch the latest movie. I was into everything Bruce Lee. I loved the ZATOICHI movies as well!”

The long hours of training and the dedication to the bushido code, were acknowledged earlier this year when he received his Judan certificate and Red obi.

Charles then spoke about martial arts from an economic standpoint saying, “Martial Arts has become such a business. It’s now more about making money and selling ranks and less about hard work!”

Then Charles readjusted my thinking concerning martial arts training, with a profound statement, saying “When you get your black belt, you’re just beginning. Just because you have a black belt, doesn’t mean that you’re prepared to be a teacher. You have to learn how to talk and interact with students.”

Charles created the Shorin-Kai International system, not only to insure that those under him were skilled in martial arts, but also as teachers first and foremost. There is a development program that enables black belts in the system to become successful educators, enabling them to train the students properly.

When I asked about the benefits of the arts, Charles replied, “There are tremendous benefits, for instance, I have a young son who is a brown belt, this has provided him with focus and discipline.”

I got a sense that the man I was talking to was a great guy, but who was a serious warrior who understood and appreciated the seriousness of hard work and wanted to convey that message to his students.

He currently has private training seminars for students who wish to train with him. He was very excited when he discussed the atmosphere and environment during the seminars saying, “Those interested will have a great time. We have private quarters for men and women. We train during the day, and then at night we hang out, grab pizzas and watch movies”

I’m pretty sure that a few ZATOICHI movies work there way into the rotation from time to time.