Welcome To My Journey

I'm here to welcome myself to the on-line world of martial artists and JKD enthusiasts in particular. Like most martial artists, I've learned so much that has benefitted my life through my study of the martial arts. And my two key instructors have been pivitol in my growth as a martial artist and as a human being. My goal since I became an instructor in Jeet Kune Do has been to give back through the vehicle of martial arts.

I didn't grow up on any mean streets. I didn't have to fight my way home from school everyday. I've never consigned myself to a life of meditation and pine nuts and learning fortune cookie quotes. I haven't even trained in the snow and ice until my feet bled. I grew up on a relatively tame street in Boise, Idaho. My last serious fight was in 8th grade in which I got put in Juvenile Detention for about a week for it and told that if I got in anymore fights I'd go back for at least 6 months. After that, if somebody wanted to fight I would only do it with gloves so I could claim it was sparring. I've never been to the Orient, though I did live and train in Australia for 2 years.

My interest in the martial arts began when I was very young, probably inspired by an instinctive defensive mechanism I was born with called being the youngest of 8 kids who for the most part were all fairly rowdy and not strangers to our police system. So I had to know something for survival in a family that, as one friend put it, "put the 'fun' in dysfunctional."

After a couple of years of mimicking books and imitating The Karate Kid my mother finally consented to enrolling me in Shotokan Karate under Sensie Joe Shuter when I was probably around 10. I trained 5 days a week--every day he was open. He was a phenomenal instructor who cared a lot about his students. His classes were small and half the time it was just him and I. He was very traditional in his approach to training. I still remember us spending an entire 2 1/2 hour class deep in our front stance throwing the reverse punch--hundreds of them! And he insisted on full power in every one. At one point he walked off and went outside. I thought, "What a punk. Just 'cause he's older he gets to leave me here tired as hell while he takes a break." Only later did I find out that he went outside to puke. We also sparred a lot on those days when it was just him and I. I think in all the years we trained together I hit him a handful of times. He hit me a handful of times at will. Those were fun times.

When Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story came out my brother in law ordered it on pay-per-view for me. I think it was less a loving gesture and more an easy babysitter. Nevertheless, I was hooked. My life became obsessed with Bruce Lee. I even remember praying that my mother would move us to California so I could train with one of the amazing instructors there (I was a kid, okay). My first book I ever saved up for and bought was Jeet Kune Do: The Textbook. Which, ironically, was written by the man who eventually became my Sifu. One day someone told me that the former Linda Lee actually lived in Boise, Idaho. So I looked her up and got in contact with her--not as creepy sounding when you're a kid. She told me that Chris Kent was moving down to Boise and would be opening a school here. Of course, I was at the very first class.

My official Jeet Kune Do training began when I was 13. I came to every class just as I had with Shotokan. I trained 5 hours a day, 5-6 days a week. I even continued training when I broke my wrist and I felt Sifu always admired that dedication, which is probably why him and I developed a very close bond. When I was as young as 16 he had me teaching classes when he went on seminars and he later had me take over his kid's class. These were very stretching experiences for me. There were people in some of the classes who could throw me around like a doll, so it was a very daunting experience to lead them in classes. Fortunately, Sifu had done an amazing job at creating a very familial feel to his classes and everybody was nothing but supportive. He also began sending private students to me, which really put me on the spot and sent me looking deeper into breaking down techniques and their application in order to avoid embarrassment in case a private student asked me anything about a technique.

This push into teaching private lessons probably brought most of the fire to my passion for studying and understanding martial arts, especially JKD, on a much deeper level. I started reading and analyzing on my own. This is probably also the beginning of my own path as an instructor. At 19 I moved to Australia and began teaching my roommates. I also trained with some fantastic instructors their, one in particular.

I returned at 21 and started teaching privately in Utah at 22. I found it very discouraging at times and finally gave up and moved to Austin, Texas. By this point my passion for teaching martial arts had started to wain and I found other interests. Until I met a girl named Mayra. She relit the fire under my butt and inspired me to try again at getting a group together. So that's what I did. Slowly but surely the group has grown and become a very capable, close-knit family. I've also taken up reading veraciously and exploring once again and doing everything I can to expand my understanding of the martial arts.

I'm currently back in Boise spending time with the family and working on some career ideas with my martial arts teaching, my two instructors helping me when needed. One thing that I've been wanting to contribute to the world of martial arts is a free on-line training series for those who, like I had when I was younger, may be left to books, videos, and themselves for instruction and training. I also want to explore with people the deeper, life-changing, aspects of martial arts training, for, as Bruce Lee said, "Jeet Kune Do is a technique for acquiring liberty; it is a work of enlightenment." (Tao of Jeet Kune Do)