Lowellville police chief, father inducted into U.S. Martial Arts Hall of Fame

By EMMALEE C. TORISK

etorisk@vindy.com

LOWELLVILLE

Ryan Bonacci didn’t think that nominating his late father for induction into the United States Martial Arts Hall of Fame would lead to two congratulatory letters in his mailbox a few weeks later.

As it turned out, the Fayetteville, Ark.-based hall of fame wanted both the 33-year-old Ryan, Lowellville’s police chief, and his father, Joseph Bonacci, who died in September 2009 at age 61, to join the ranks of “the best of the best in their chosen field” of martial arts, as the organization’s website details.

The two were recognized Saturday at this year’s black-tie induction ceremony in St. Louis. Ryan was honored for his work as a defensive tactics instructor, while Joseph was inducted into the hall of fame as a martial arts pioneer.

“It was something very awe-inspiring to be inducted,” Ryan said, “and to be in the same room as some of the best martial artists in the world.”

He added that the already-impressive ceremony was made even more special by the fact that he and his father were being honored at the same time. Even so, Ryan said he initially was somewhat hesitant to accept the award. His father’s accomplishments in the field were many.

For example, Joseph was a highly decorated Vietnam War veteran who received multiple karate championship titles in between combat tours — and was one of the only Americans ever to do so. Joseph, who retired from the Youngstown Police Department, also founded the American Institute of Martial Arts and taught across the world as a state-certified police instructor.

Those accomplishments were also what got Ryan into martial arts in the first place. He was probably 8 years old when he started learning about martial arts from his father, with his older brother, Christopher Bonacci, beside him.

“I’ve got big shoes to fill, and I try to follow in his footsteps as much as possible,” Ryan said. “It’s an honor to be on the same nomination card as my father.”

Ryan said he eventually “went in a different direction,” studying ground fighting and defensive tactics. In Newport News, Va., where Ryan had worked as a police officer before coming to Lowellville a few years ago, he was the defensive tactics instructor for its police department. In Lowellville, Ryan, a 1999 graduate of Ursuline High School, already has offered a couple of self-defense seminars.

Ryan admitted that he’s “a training nut,” and that though self-defense differs from martial arts — for one, self-defense focuses on “what [people] need to survive or get away,” not on bowing to each other — his background in it “has helped tremendously.”

In the week leading up to his induction into the hall of fame, for example, Ryan participated in a krav maga training seminar that centered on the martial art developed for the military in Israel.

It was tough, Ryan said, but he enjoys the accountability and discipline inherent in the martial arts. He likes that it presents practitioners with the choice of when and when not to use acquired skills — something that Ron Latone of Austintown, a former student of Joseph’s, echoed.

When Latone met Joseph more than 30 years ago, he was a self-described “troubled teenager” who had a lot of energy. It took Joseph’s intervention to turn that unbounded energy into a positive, though, Latone said. What Joseph taught him was “for real” and included a lot of “technical things most schools don’t teach.”

He knew what worked and what didn’t work, Latone explained. But he also instilled within everyone, including his children, to “do right,” “to show respect always” and “to help the people that can’t help themselves.” Latone added that his former instructor’s being inducted into the United States Martial Arts Hall of Fame with his youngest son would be a true joy.

“I’m sure [it] would be the highlight of his career and life,” he said.