- Jan 12
- 6 min read
Editor's Note: Did you miss the Spring 2025 issue of Black Belt? Here's a look at one of the stories that ran in the special issue. Even better, you can check out the WHOLE issue with Black Belt Plus!
Have you ever watched a movie or TV show and thought, I could do that? For many martial artists, the dream is to take years of dedication and skill and turn it into a career on the big screen.
Justin Ortiz and Jewelianna Ramos-Ortiz did just that.
After earning NASKA world champion titles, they traveled the globe as two of the most sought-after instructors in the industry and then immersed themselves in the world of Hollywood, learning firsthand what it takes to succeed in action filmmaking.
Now, they’re sharing that knowledge—helping martial artists of all skill levels turn their passion into opportunity.
From bright-eyed beginners throwing their first punch to seasoned competitors shaking up the industry, Justin Ortiz and Jewelianna Ramos-Ortiz stand as both mentors and trailblazers, showing the world that martial arts isn’t just a discipline—it’s a gateway to limitless possibilities.
The Beginning: A Leap of Faith
Justin Ortiz’s martial arts career took off in his early twenties when he realized his passion extended beyond just competing. A pivotal moment came when a life coach, Christina Cooper Foster, recognized his potential and helped him reshape his mindset.
Growing up, Ortiz had never considered the vast opportunities available beyond traditional martial arts instruction. Through her guidance, he learned that success was a matter of choice and strategy.
Jewlianna Ramos-Ortiz, an accomplished martial artist specializing in forms and weapons, shared a similar drive to push beyond traditional competition.
With an extensive background in performance-based martial arts and an unyielding drive in life, she understood the power of combining technique with storytelling, a perspective that would later shape their joint ventures.
Building a Brand: Martial Smart and Expanding Influence
Their passion for expanded reach led to the creation of Martial Smart, a joint venture born from their unique teaching approach—breaking techniques down to their scientific, historical, and psychological components.
The name was inspired by the philosophy of "training smarter," a principle Ortiz’s father instilled in him from a young age.
Through Martial Smart, the two combined their expertise to create a dynamic, comprehensive learning experience. Their seminars gained popularity, and soon, they were involved in developing curriculums for martial arts franchises like Premier Martial Arts.
This expanded their influence from sport karate to broader martial arts business ventures.
Bridging Martial Arts and Film: Action and Stunts
Recognizing a gap in the industry, Justin and Jewelianna saw an opportunity to connect martial artists with the film world.
With their extensive martial arts backgrounds and growing connections on major film sets—including Marvel productions—they launched ACTION!, a program within Martial Smart designed to help martial artists transition into stunt work.
Rather than just position themselves as Hollywood stunt experts, the dynamic pair focus on helping other martial artists leverage their existing skills—such as break falls, acrobatics, and fight choreography—into the world of film.
The program quickly evolved, offering training in wire work, parkour, camera awareness, and even audition preparation, giving martial artists a structured pathway into the stunt industry.
A Smarter Way to Train
At the core of their shared philosophy is the belief that success comes from training smarter, not just harder.
Their approach integrates elements of human psychology, physics, and research to optimize performance. Whether coaching a competitor, designing a curriculum, or mentoring an aspiring stunt performer, they focus on maximizing each individual’s strengths in the most efficient way possible.
Their journey—from young athletes questioning their next step to globally recognized instructors and industry innovators—is a story of success.
They’re living proof that with the right mindset, strategy, and adaptability, martial artists can build lasting careers both in and beyond the dojo.
The Martial Arts Origin Story
Jewelianna Ramos-Ortiz: I started when I was 3 years old. My parents were my instructors. All my uncles had karate schools. I came up in the Jhoon Rhee taekwondo system. And so we had kind of that open flare which took you in a lot of directions.
Now, when I was five years old and got into kindergarten, there was that kindergarten peer pressure where all the kids were like, "Ew, karate's for boys. You can't do karate. You have to do dance and gymnastics and cheerleading and all this other stuff."
And so I did. I stopped doing karate and I started to do all these other things and I was good at them.
Why? Because I had the body awareness that the martial arts had started teaching me already, but I didn't love it. I wasn't passionate about it. When I was eight years old, my dad said that he was going to open up another karate school and [asked] if I wanted to go train with him at my uncle's.
And I remember just jumping for joy and being like, "Yes, yes, yes." And so we went that Saturday morning to class and it was history. I remember that day so vividly. I can remember what it smells like, what it felt like, and getting my first stripe again, starting over and knowing that this was my passion and that I wanted to do it for the rest of my life. And so, fast forward, like there were some life things that happened.
I was in a really bad car accident when I was 14 or 15. I got a severe back injury from it and I was told that I was never going to walk again, that I was going to need back surgery, yada yada yada.
We ended up not going through with the surgery because we found out that we could PT our way around it. And so that made me super hyperfocused on competing. Now I was not just competing for the sake of competing, but I had been revitalized with this passion and purpose of “I'm going to prove them all wrong and do this for me!”
And so that's when I started to really, really go and defend my world titles with fervor. And here we are.
Justin Ortiz: I started similarly, when I was three years old. As soon as I was walking, I started kicking. My first ever lesson was when I hit three years old, my dad gave me a white uniform. He took my leg. He put it on top of a couch. He said, "Hold it there. You stay there until I get back." And I don't know where he went, but he was out of that room.
I just remember, being three years old, that couch felt like the Eiffel Tower to me. And I was just holding it up. I was almost about to cry and then all of a sudden, I hear “don't cry,” and I was like “I won’t!”
As soon as he gets back, he takes my other leg. He puts it back. He's like “hold it there,” and he leaves again. [Laughs]
[Martial arts] has been in our family. All of my siblings were martial artists as well. My father was a really good fighter. He didn't really have the opportunity to take it as far as I did, and that was because, growing up, we were poor and, living in the projects in Boston.
Martial arts was a way to get out, you know. A way to explore the world and see different things that I normally can't see. Being in the streets and, at the same time, getting me away from all of the violence or things that can possibly be in that type of environment.
Competition was huge because it opened a lot of doors for me. I got to travel the world. I got to see many things that I thought would never be possible. And there were a lot of times where, of course, I wanted to quit because it was really hard and growing up poor, we didn't have the funds. I had to raise a lot of funds on my own.
I did the pancake drives.I was selling candy. That was the only thing that I learned from the streets, how to sell. You know what I'm saying? [laugh]
But I was selling the candy and selling anything I can to buy my ticket to my way over to these places and compete. Then when I was like 15, I started being recognized and I won my first world championship at the US Open, ISKA World title, won it in forms, fighting, and continuous fighting.
From there, it just kept going and people started recognizing me and I started getting sponsorships and getting on sponsored teams. One sponsorship led to another. I thank God every day for those sponsorships because without them I wouldn't be able to continue my martial arts career because, again, I didn't have the means to do so.
One thing led to another and then led me to Team Paul Mitchell. Being on Team Paul Mitchell was a dream come true and opened many many doors from there and many opportunities to do different avenues with my martial arts which then led to us doing stunts and acting which also led me to meeting this woman here [gestures to Jewelianna].
We met at the competition. We met at the Diamond Nationals. We were both competing. Everything in my life has been surrounded and engulfed around martial arts and dedicated around martial arts. So martial arts definitely changed my life.
Jewelianna Ramos-Ortiz: It gave us everything.
