Here is a brief background of my involvement with the systems I am authorized to teach.
· My training began in 1973 with Dao Dan Pai, a traditional southern Chinese Daoist system which I learned under Share K. Lew from China. The training included not just the traditional Gung-Fu, but a very potent series of "internal exercises" for health, which also served as the basis for the healing system Master Lew taught.
· Jun Fan - Jeet Kune Do. I studied under Dan Inosanto for thirteen non-stop years (1979 to 1992) and became the primary substitute at his academy from '85 to '90 when he had to be away. To say it is fascinating to study Jeet Kune Do and other systems under Sifu Inosanto would be an understatement; he constantly experiments with various curriculums, bringing in new material, editing out material, showing constant curiosity and openness. He is truly inspirational in the way he always pushes his knowledge forward. During the time I was helping with the Academy teaching, he would train with as many as seven different teachers a week to expand his knowledge, but always with an eye towards "absorbing what is useful and rejecting what is useless".
· Inosanto Kali, a combination of twenty five Filipino systems including the highly effective LaCoste-Inosanto empty hand methods which was taught at Guro Inosanto's academies. I assisted and was substitute instructor for these classes as well.
· Lameco Eskrima. I was extremely fortunate to study privately with the founder of the system, Punong Guro Edgar Sulite from 1990 until his untimely death in 1997. Although I had enjoyed taking his seminars when at the Inosanto Academy, I didn't start training one-to-one until Guro Inosanto treated me to a private lesson from Punong Guro Sulite at Dan's house, and at that point realized what fine personal teaching technique he had. I was flattered that he felt I eventually understood his system well enough to have me direct a number of his videos. Master Sulite and I developed a friendship over those years and besides his extreme skills, his warm open-heartedness and humor are greatly missed.
In September 2000, I was honored to have been inducted as a Master Instructor of the Year for the International Martial Arts Hall of Fame, sponsored by the World Head of Family Sokeship Council.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
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Glad your still in the game Steve. It's Thomas Rodriguez. I studied under you back in the mid 80's. It's been a while since I regularly trained but you've taught me some good habits which have never left.
ReplyDeleteI recently found your site and training dvds and I purchased the Hubud Lubud Drills version. I am very impressed and plan on adopting your material into my, and my students', practice.
ReplyDeleteI eventually plan on purchasing your entire series and hopefully one day I will get the opportunity to train with you in person.
Detective John M. Landry, Ph.D.
Modern American Combatives, LLC
National Institute of Martial Arts Scholars, LLC