LAND O' LAKES, Fla. — “Flip the switch. I’m beast-mode. I’m ready.”
That’s how local martial artist Sebastian “Bash” Reyes describes his mentality when enters competition.
He’s only nine years old, but Reyes says martial arts are his passion.
“This is what I want to do when I grow up,” he said frankly. “I want to go to the Olympics and win a gold medal.”
Martial arts runs in Sebastian’s family. His father and coach, Gabriel, has trained championship-level fighters across the sport. But he admits he still gets a little uneasy when he switches hats from “Coach” to “Dad.”
“I’ve [coached fighters] all the way to the UFC, and I wasn’t nervous then,” Gabriel said before a training session. “But when I have my nine-year-old out there and I’m just hoping he doesn’t stumble, doesn’t fall. But it’s hard to be nervous when you see all the work that he does.”
His relentless work ethic earned Bash a second nickname.
“They like to call me a perfectionist because I want to make everything perfect,” he joked. “Every little move. Just practice it thousands and thousands of times to make it the best one ever.”
U.S. Martial Arts Team coach Tyree’ Wright also trains Bash across multiple disciplines in the sport. He said he realized Bash and Gabe were a successful combination from the moment he saw them training.
“I love to see where they start, where they start to go. And I love for them to start to see the belief in themselves,” Wright said before a practice. “Especially coming off a couple of losses or something like that. I tell them all the time ‘We don’t lose, we learn. Hey what did you learn today?’ So I love to keep that mindset with them, through and through.”
Bash is ranked #1 in the country in Traditional Forms and Weapons (sword is his weapon of choice), and #2 sparring. His family’s living room- which doubles as a dojo- is filled with gold medals and trophies. Gabriel says his son’s success has been shaped by the ups and downs of youth sports.
“He’s learned how to win. He’s learned how to lose. To watch how he handles that is better than anything,” he said proudly. “[Bash] can win three golds in a day, and come back and be just as humble as if he didn’t win one. Everybody knows who he is when he goes to tournaments because he’s friendly to everybody. And I think it’s bringing his personality to the surface even better.”
Win or lose, Bash says he knows his parents, coaches, and teammates always have his back.
“If I do something wrong, I know that all my teammates and my parents are going to support me,” he explained. “So I’m not mad or disappointed at all in myself. I’ll always have another opportunity to get another gold.”
Bash’s resume includes being a standout flag football player, an accomplished piano player and vocalist, and a straight-A student. When asked about his variety of interests he just shrugs his shoulders and says it’s all part of finding balance.
“I know that education is also even more important. So I need to stay well-rounded between my education and my physical athleticism,” Bash said. He’s was also quick to point out the importance of having fun- especially in martial arts. “That’s probably the best part. Is making new friends and being able to get on the mat and sometimes be able to compete with them.”
“He knows now that he can do anything,” Gabe quickly added. “I don’t know if he’s ever going to know there’s limits out there.”
This week, Bash competes at the U.S. Open ISKA World Martial Arts Championships in Orlando.
He’s also gearing up for a trip to Norway for the World Martial Arts Games. There, he’ll represent Team USA against some of the best competition in the world.
His family set up a GoFundMe page to help get him and his father to the world stage.
