Grandmaster Bob Golden was born on a farm in the country near Shawneetown, Illinois (Extreme Southern Illinois). His first interest in life was learning to play a guitar that his father had bought for him and his three brothers when he was just eight years old. By the time he was twelve, he was playing guitar for a local band on both radio and television. This event he recalls as his first nervous experience.
As a young man he played guitar with different bands through the Rock and Roll 50's, playing in the different nightclubs scattered throughout Southern Illinois. At the tender age of eighteen he was playing music for a living in Chicago, IL. and later moving on to play in Southern California.
In 1959 he was drafted into the Army. After basic training he was sent to Ft. Belvoir, Virginia where he played every weekend off-post in the area nightclubs.
He met his wife, the former Linda Knight and married in 1983. In 1984 the two of them moved to Joliet, IL. where he got a job at Caterpillar Tractor. In 1998, he retired and he and Linda moved to sunny Florida.
Martial Arts History:
Grandmaster Bob Golden's interest in the art of Karate began in the early 1970's. His first Karate class was with Sensei Bob Gans, a 4th Degree Balck Belt in Kempo-Do Karate. When that school closed, he began training in Dean Bergman's class in Wilmington, IL. under Grandmaster Ozzie Mitchell of Joliet, IL. where he earned the rank of 3rd Degree Black Belt.
Later, he went on his own and joined the International Martial Arts Federation and trained under Jujitsu Master Sato from Japan. In 1986 he bagan training with Grandmaster George Dillman in Ryukyu Kempo, Professor Wally Jay in Small Circle Jujitsu, and Remy Presas in Modern Arnis. Additionally he spent several years training under the Healing Tao Master, Mantak Chia, from Thailand.
The superb training from the above Martial Arts Masters has allowed Grandmaster Golden to teach many seminars. By combining the strengths of his learned arts Bob Golden is able to teach practical and effective self defense techniques to hundreds of martial artists.
Sensei ceased actively teaching in 1998 when he retired. He now trains several days a week. He strives to perfect his Kata techniques and Pressure Point strikes on his Body Opponent Bag named Bad Bob.
Grandmaster Golden not only believes in physical fitness, but also in proper nutritional habits. He routinely eats fruits and vegetables and strays from red meat and almost all dairy products. His healthy life has brought him peace which he shares with any person he meets. He states "It is very important to establish a good, positive attitude in life; always looking for that Silver Lining in each cloud in an attempt to make the other person's day as pleasant as possible."