MY EARLY YEARS IN TRADITIONAL STYLES
In 1988 at the age of 5 I was introduced to the martial arts through a friend of mine named Scott Dennis Jr. His father the late Scott Dennis Sr. had learned Kenpo Karate during the 1970's whille he was stationed in Hawaii with the Navy and passed it on to Scott Jr. I used to get picked on by bullies so they started teaching me and I rose to the rank of blue belt in 1990, but in 1991 they were transfered to Germany. Kenpo was a wonderful art.
Then in March of 1992 I decided to expand my training by taking a home-study course in the art of Aikido. I enjoyed it because it didn't take that much strength to learn it and it was mostly joint-locks. Aikido taught me how to redirect an attacker's force and how to use it against them. It is a very effective art and I love it, but in 1998 I quit because I wanted to explore other methods.
During my Freshman year in High School I met and became friends with Jeff Benett. Jeff�s Father had taught him Ninjitsu, the art of Japanese sword fighting called Kendo and several other arts that he passed on to me. I trained with Jeff extensively for about 6 months. During that time I learned how to use other weapons including Shirukens, Kamas, Sais, and Nunchuckus. I also learned a few pressure points and became skilled in Archery as well as several meditation techniques too. However there were a few things I could not do in Ninjitsu because of the limitations of my disability. To compensate I studied and adapted the espionage training of the ninja and I became skilled in that area as well.
THE BIRTH OF A WARRIOR
I�ve had an interest in Law Enforcement and Covert Operations since I was a small child. While other kids played Cowboys and Indians I was playing undercover cop and Navy Seals. I also began studying the history and tactics of special operations at a young age as well. In late 1998 I discovered that a close friend was being stalked so I decided to turn the tables on the stalker by using my extensive knowledge. The exact tactics I employed are classified to protect the stalker�s victims. After that I began doing work as a Crime Prevention Consultant, it enabled me to use my unique skills to help those in need.
MY EVOLUTION
During that same time I began taking private lessons in Bruce Lee's fighting art Jeet Kune Do under Sifu Bill Price and he�s been a very big influence on me. He teaches Bruce Lee's fighting method which is refered to as the Jun Fan Martial Arts. Jun Fan Gung Fu has the mix of Wing Chun that is what was taught in Seattle. Next entry was Jun Fan Kick Boxing in Oakland and the last phase was the Original Jun Fan Jeet Kune do and JKD was an entry of its own no fixed positions no pre arranged drills and all out full contact sparring. Sifu Price studied Jeet Kune Do and All of the Jun Fan Martial arts in the Original Bruce Lee Teachings. He is certified in the Seattle, Oakland and Los Angeles method of Jun Fan Martial Arts by World Renowned Sifus like Taky Kimura, Jesse Glover, and Doug Palmer from the Seattle school, as well as Ted Wong, Allen Joe, Bob Bremer, Steve Golden, and Gary Dill from the Oakland school, and Pete Jacobes, and Tim Tacket, from the Los Angeles school. Sifu Price�s school is the only CERTIFIED Original Bruce Lee School in the South east US.
He is also the only certified Kali Escrima and Arnis teacher through a certified group. He is now the South Eastern director of the Bruce Lee Foundation / Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do Foundation and Learning Center. Sifu Price also served 2 tours in Vietnam. He was on 22 combat missions and received the silverstar, bronze star, as well as the purple heart in combat as a member of the elite Green Berets. Sifu Price taught me several hand-to-hand combat techniques, grappling, submission holds and JKD was also my introduction to Kali/Escrima. JKD also taught me how to neutrualize armed and multiple attackers.
IRON MAN
As I continued to train with Sifu Price I also concentrated heavily on free-style boxing with my friends Tony Henson and Tim Kirby . Tony had fought in several matches and almost went pro before an injury forced him to quit. He and I met and actually became good friends my Freshman year at Cartersville High School in Chorus, but we didn�t start training until my Sophomore year when we had weight training class together. Tim Kirby and I started sparring around that same time too. He has trained in Tae Kwon Do and Muay Thai so I asked him to train me and he agreed. Tony and Tim would spar with me every time we had a break in Weight Training for a year.
MY TURNING POINT
After I graduated from Cartersville High School in May of 2002, like every teenager I began to wonder what I was going to do with my life. In August of that same year I left town to attend The Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation in Warm Springs GA. All the students down there have disabilities in some way, shape or form. I noticed that several students were being picked on by their peers, so I decided to do something to even the odds.
THE BIRTH OF BLACK TALON
During my time at the institute I developed a self-defense system called Black Talon Gung Fu and secretly began training a few students. Black Talon uses several techniques taken from system that predominately use hand techniques. Black Talon also uses the Joint manipulations, pressure points, and evasion tactics. I also added several strikes and taught students how to use improvised weapons such as walking canes, belts, umbrellas etc.
MY HOMECOMING
I graduated from the institute with a certificate as a Customer Service Specialist on March 21, 2003, but I wanted to use all my skills, but the customer service work that others had in mind for me wasn�t my cup of tea because it wasn�t the path I had chosen for myself. After resting at home for about two weeks I knew it was time to resume my training, but I was told that Sifu Price went out of business so I found another instructor.
KOO SELF DEFENSE
I began training with Master Roger Koo at Koo Self Defense International (KSDI) on March 31, 2003. Master Koo's program is absolutely amazing and it just blows my mind from a health and fitness standpoint. Cerebral Palsy limits what I can do, but d studied KSD I've pushed myself beyond those "limits" healthwise.It is a wonderful art for physical therapy, fitness and so forth.
The students at KSDI are taught countless combinations and Master Koo changes those combinations just when you think you've got it. I was having to constantly think in our training sessions because he's constantly changing the combinations on me. A real fight can flow or break it's NOT in a fixed pattern like other styles teach. Master Koo taught me different combinations time after time because that's exactly how it goes in a real fight. The combinations that Master Koo taught me changed at any given moment and your mind MUST be ready to adapt to ANY and ALL situations. However after a few months it became a fixed routine of movements like those of other styles, which isn�t good in the real world.
Monday July, 28, 2003 is a day I will NEVER forget! I was doing my workout like normal and Master Koo asked another student (Mr. Welby Archer) to demostrate a punch so that I could feel the power as I held the focus mitt. I said a prayer and braced myself for it or so I thought! When Mr. Archer hit the mitt the impact felt like a freight-train and Master Koo said he was holding back! I remember thinking to myself "Oh lord if he's holding back I'd hate to see what the full power of it!" Several weeks later I found out that Mr. Archer had been in Toughman Tournament before training at KSDI.
On Monday August 25 2003 I did Master Koo's Non-Stop 1800 hit training drill for 30 minutes! This drill wasn't just punching it was a rapid burst of different striking movements which include palm strikes and countless others! It really challenges a student's endurance and mental capacity. I was tired after just 60 hits, but I couldn't give up because it's not in my nature! The idea of doing 1800 hits seemed impossible to me but I've learned do the impossible all my life! When I got to 720 hits I could feel myself start giving out but instead I pushed myself harder and harder untill I was done. I stopped training with Master Koo in March of 2004 because he doesn�t believe it sparring and I feel sparring is the ONLY WAY to truly learn what works in combat. However I have a great deal of respect for him because he taught me the benefits of health and fitness in self-defense.
HARRIS, ERIC HARRIS
I became a Private Investigator specializing in Investigative Research on November 26 2003. Most of my work is doing research on the internet. However in today's violent world I never know when I might face a dangerous situation myself. Violent criminals don't have to follow any rules when they attack anyone, but police officers have to follow specific steps when they must use force against a criminal. If that criminal has three strikes or is high on drugs they will do anything not to go to jail, even kill! Defensive Tactics and many other streetfighting systems are still deeply rooted in traditional styles like Judo. It works in theory, but not in a real world situation!
I had learned the traditional ways to disarm an attacker in my previous years of training in the other martial arts, but JKD approaches disarming someone with a gun from a common-sense level, realistic and most importantly the most practical that I have ever come across!
NINE RINGS COLLECTIVE
In my eyes, fighting is very much mental, as it is physical. Any effort where a struggle is involved -- whether it�s fighting stress, depression, hunger, pain, illness, or a human adversary -- is all part of fighting. It all comes down to one simple thing in the end�SURVIVAL.
Sensei Michael J. Stimmler
I met Sensei Michael J Stimmler shortly after leaving Master Koo�s school and I began training with him via the internet through a distance learning course because his dojo is out of my state and he has been another huge influence on my life.
Sensei Stimmler was born in Montgomery County, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1977. Like many people, he faced many challenges growing up: a broken family, poverty, hunger, stress, depression, self-esteem problems, academic problems at school, and getting into fights. Street fights. He ran with gangs, going down into a dark and lonely hole of destruction, with death surely waiting for him at the end. But he changed all of that through the martial arts. Sensei Stimmler�s unique experiences on the streets combined with all his years training in traditional as well as non-traditional arts provided him with the knowledge to created a fighting method and philosophy known as the Nine Rings Collective.
Sensei Stimmler kept up his training while writing Art Of Survival, a book that describes in detail his own personal style which combines the nine styles of Martial arts as well as street fighting techniques -- everything that he has learned over the years. In 2003 He moved to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and opened his dojo, the Nine Rings Collective, on August 1, 2003.
Sensei Stimmler is also a certified Jeet Kune Do instructor so in a way it�s a return to my combative roots. He was certified to teach JKD by Professor Carter Hargrave, The President of The World Jeet Kune Do Federation.
Professor Hargrave, a native Oklahoman, received martial arts training from instructors located throughout the United States. In 1993 he received the Instructor of the Year award for his teaching in the art of Jeet Kune Do, he was also inducted into the World Martial Arts Hall of Fame. In 1995 Mr. Hargrave was the youngest person to be promoted to Professor of martial arts and he received the Instructor of the Year award for his teaching in Karate. In 1996 he received the award for Best Martial Arts School in the United States, and was recognized by the U.S. Congress and the United States Senate for this achievement. Professor Hargrave holds instructor / black belt rankings in Kenpo Karate, Kung Fu, Goshin Jutsu, Jeet Kune Do, Aiki Jitsu, Tae Kwon Do, and is the author of two martial arts books. He also developed a system adapted for training by the United States Marines.
I�ve been training with Sensei Stimmler for a month as of April 9, 2004 and I love every minute of it! Sensei adapted his training to fit my situation. The first level of my Nine Rings Collective program consists of wheelchair mobility training, upper body movements, strikes, punches, parries, and evasions. The 2nd level consisted of knife fighting and close quarters combat tactics. Level 3 focuses on arm breaks, joint-locks, trapping and chokes. Level 4 is comprised of all the previous levels. I tested over Levels 1-4 on June 10, 2004 and passed with ease.
THE WINGTSUN CONNECTION
In Late June of 2004 I also began taking lessons in the system of Wing Tsun Kung Fu as taught by Grandmaster Leung Ting at Adairsville WingTsun in Adairsville Georgia. My instructor is Sihing Eric Tutterow. Sihing Tutterow is a direct student of Sifu Jeff Webb (4th level), a senior instructor for Grandmaster Leung Ting's International WingTsun Association - North American Section. The Wing Tsun workout they have designed for me is made up of The Sin Num Tao form, Wheelchair Mobility drills, Hand-Eye Coordination drills, Physical Therapy, and Self-Defense techniques. In December I received my 1st student grade from Sifu Webb and there�s more to come!
THE DATU
Datu Kelly S. Worden, proclaimed by Professor Remy Presas as the First American Datu and Senior Blademaster of Modern Arnis, is one of the most sought after martial arts instructors worldwide.
He has over 30 years martial arts experience and the author of over 20 internationally acclaimed instructional videos. Datu Worden's curriculum covers single stick Modern Arnis, close-quarter Kali, double stick Escrima, Kuntao - trapping, Combat Knife, double knife, Staff - Sibat, Defensive Tactics, Renegade Jeet Kune Do, and much, much, more. As the former weapon's editor for Full Contact and Fighting Knives magazines, Datu Worden has been the author of numerous articles on reality based self-defense and weapons training
I also sought out the guidance of Self-Defense expert Datu Kelly S. Worden and he has also been a great influence to me. He and I have corresponded several times and he�s sent me a few training videos to help me further my studies of the Philippine Arts. His training methods are very straight forward and he also possesses a valuable knowledge of the streets. He also teaches a lot of U.S. Special Forces operators who are working in the world�s most dangerous areas such as Iraq and Afghanistan Datu Worden has helped me a great deal with my training by guiding me, but he�s also taught me seek my own path!
A NEW DAWN
As I�ve stated before when I was away in Warm Springs I developed the Black Talon Gung Fu tactics. I am now teach the system privately to all those who have a true desire to learn simple self-defense. Black Talon Gung Fu is a system that that teaches and sharpens ones instincts and movements so that he or she can survive if or when a dangerous situation comes their way. The system is specifically tailored to help everyone learn operate safely and calmly in high risk situations regardless of size, age, gender or physical challenge etc. I�ve taken all my years of training and combined it with the knowledge that I�ve gained from personal experiences growing up as a bullied �disabled� kid and now as a crime prevention consultant to form Black Talon Gung Fu. This system built specifically to fit everyone�s personal defense needs and skill level.
