My Life as a Martial Artist and a Warrior
I always find it interesting how people talk about lineage
when it comes to martial arts. Who was
your teacher? Who was your teacher’s
teacher? I have read many articles and
books with people listing off multiple generations of teachers and have absolutely
no idea who they are talking about. I
think it is kind of cool but really does it matter?
Great martial artists come from many places. Some have pedigrees and some do not. To me it is more important who the artist is
himself, not who he studied with and even less so who someone studied with
generations ago. That however is my
personal opinion.
Having said all of that I am going to name some great people
and teachers I have had the pleasure of meeting and training with over the
years.
You may recognize some of the names and you may not, it
doesn’t really matter but it is fun to think about.
I started my martial arts studies with Murray Parsons in
Calgary, Alberta. He was a student of
Pat Gallagher from Winnipeg , Manitoba who had studied in China with numerous
teachers who I do not recall. The system
was Tiger Claw Kung Fu. It is a modern
system incorporating Wing Chun, Hung Gar, Tai Chi and Ba Gua. To me it was one of the best martial arts I
have ever been exposed to. I still go
back to this training, 30 years later. After several years of study I received my
Black Sash in 1985.
I took a break due to the rigors of College life and joining
the Canadian Army where I went through officer training and was awarded the
rank of 1st Lieutenant in the Medical Corp. After serving my time in the military I
became a Police Officer with the Metropolitan Toronto Police Service.
During my training I met several martial artists and police
instructors who were involved in Jiu Jitsu, the Japanese kind, not
Brazilian. When I finished the Police
College and was assigned to my first Division I started practicing Jiu Jitsu
with my fellow officers. This was a
wonderful experience and I learned a great deal. I had the pleasure of meeting and studying
with some amazing teachers from all over the world.
These include:
Soke Michael Lamonica – Hakko Ryu Jiu Jitsu - USA
Professor Richard Morris – England
Alain Sailly –
Goshindo Jiu Jitsu –France
Other teachers from Germany, Greece and Italy were also
included in this distinguished group.
I also started studying Japanese Karate when I moved to
Toronto. I met Ron Yamanaka who was the
Head Instructor for Yodansha Kubojitsu Karate Do Federation. I studied Shotokan and Goju Ryu Karate with
him receiving my Black Belt in 1989.
I moved shortly after that and lived near Lake Ontario right
downtown Toronto in a neighborhood that was populated with a lot of
Filipinos. At a nearby gym a man named
Rudy Cosico was teaching Escrima and Arnis.
I attended a class one Sunday afternoon and was amazed to watch him and
his students. This was something new and
impressive so I joined up and studied with Rudy for about two years. He was from Manila and had been taught by his
father, who was taught by his grandfather .
Living in a big city has it’s benefits. I attended martial arts seminars on a regular
basis and had the honor of training with some martial arts greats such as Joe
Lewis and Bill “Superfoot” Wallace. Talk
about funny. These guys put on a seminar
with Joe teaching hand skills and Bill teaching kicking. You could tell they really enjoyed each other
as they teased and tormented each other throughout the day bringing laughter
and relief to our grueling training. It
was fun and very educational.
Another seminar that
really affected me was something new to North America, Systema, Russian Martial Arts. The teacher had recently moved to Toronto and
was establishing a martial arts school.
No one really knew what he was teaching at the time but it sounded interesting. I attended the workshop at the Police College
and was blown away. We did knife defense
and other skills that were very different from the classical Asian martial
arts. I really liked it, it was
practical, combat oriented and easy to learn.
This instructor, who was relatively unknown at the time, is Vladimir
Vasiliev. Vladimir is very well known
now and Systema is known around the world.
During all this I was also working as a Police Officer and
training in Defensive Tactics. I went
back to the Police College to complete my instructor training and became
certified as a Police Defensive Tactics Instructor. I also became a Firearms Range officer,
Aerosol Weapons Instructor and completed programs in Conflict Management,
Crisis Resolution and other related programs.
I attended a four week SWAT training course that was an eye
opener as well. Right around this time I
was given a choice. Join the SWAT Team,
called the Emergency Task Force, or go to the Provincial Police College as an
Instructor. I choose the College, was
promoted to Acting Sergeant, and went off to teach recruits how to survive on
the street. When I completed my time at
the college I went back to working the streets and brought my policing career
to an end at 42 Division in the east end of Toronto.
I moved to California, lived on a mountain and focused on
internal martial arts. I practiced Tai
Chi daily and really decompressed and connected with nature. I continued with my circle walking from Ba
Gua and studied with Scott Mc Laughlin, who was a student of Gin Soon Chu, a
master of Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan, from Boston. I read books by Yang Jwing Ming and practiced
several different Chi Kung sets. My body
relaxed, my mind opened and I went into a place deep within.
After 18 months on the mountain I returned to Toronto. I opened my first martial arts school based
on wisdom that I received while living in California. The school is called Spirit Warriors Martial
Arts. The system is called Black Tiger
Kung Fu. It is an Internal/External
System focused on practical combatives and personal development. We emphasize real life combat scenarios and
practical skills that are effective in our modern world. We use Ba Gua, Tai Chi and Chi Kung to
strengthen our body and develop internal power.
We study anatomy, biomechanics and physics to understand angels,
leverage and how to utilize our own body and our opponent’s body to gain
advantage and win in a violent confrontation.
In April 2000 I moved again, this time to Santa Fe, New Mexico
. After settling in I opened another
school just north of the city. I
continued with my own studies and teaching classes twice a week. I wanted to try something different so I
looked at schools around town. I started
attending classes in Kenpo with Tony Potter, and really enjoyed the people and
learning something different. This
created an opportunity to meet and train with another well-known martial
artist, Jeff Speakman. If you don’t know
who Jeff is, watch the movie Lethal Weapon, its great.
At the Kenpo school there was a man teaching Brazilian Jiu
Jitsu. I realized that with all my
martial arts experience my main weakness was ground fighting. I started studying with Kevin Bankens and
worked through my fear of being pinned on the ground and not knowing what to
do.
I continue to challenge myself and expand my knowledge. My school is now located in Santa Fe. We have classes for adults twice a week. I continue to study as I will
always be a student. Martial Arts for me
are a way of life. I have had many
wonderful experiences and met amazing people.
I hope to continue to do so for many years to come.
To all of my teachers and students, THANK YOU, you are in my
heart and I will always remember.
