hello. my name is kevin. i am 50 years old. i have been studying martial arts since 1969. i currently live in illinois, about 1 1/2 hours south west of chicago, just off interstate 80.
over the years i have trained in numerous arts, including tae kwon do, judo, wrestling, isshin ryu karate, shorei ryu karate, hapkido, kang nei chin kung fu, shao lama chinese boxing, jkd, and various filipino arts. i have a 1st dan in oikiru ryu goshin jitsu under soke rod sachornoski, a 3rd dan in sun do sul under master ed minyard, a red belt/black stripe in itf tae kwon do under master jong moon lee, was an assistant instructor at the shao lama chinese boxing academy in bloomington il, advanced student at the jkd extreme academy, under my friend and instructor, richie carrion, and assistant instructor in jkd as the sdma academy under my friend and instructor, the late edwin pagan. ed was a 2nd gen instructor under richard bustillo in jkd, and held numerous other high ranking titles in martial arts. in 1992, ed gave me permission to teach jkd under his sdma academy, making me a 3rd gen instructor.
in the early 80's i was frustrated with the limitations of individual styles offered in the area i lived in and set about to create a training program for myself and a friend so we could work on what was needed to cover all three fighting ranges, (long,middle,close range) as i knew them from the jkd material i had studied up to that point. i determined that most schools, such as tae kwon do, which i had trained in for many years, lacked the use of close range skills, such as trapping and hitting to the face. and they lacked the weapons training that i personally enjoyed. so i sat down and studied all the materials i could and came up with my own teaching format that i termed, "creative martial arts". by the mid 80's i was teaching classes in rockford il. while i did teach publicly for about a year, i preferred teaching privately.
from the time i was ten till i was eighteen, i collected over 300 books and over 300 magazines on martial arts. sadly, these materials got destroyed in a fire some years ago. my collection now ranges from just over 200 books and about 150 magazines. i also have a large library of video materials as well on various arts. it is my personal opinion that one major lack in the martial arts has always been the study of the history and development of the arts in general. most black belts i have met over the years barely know their own arts, let alone the other arts that exist.
in the past 9 years i have suffered some injuries which have set my training back. in 2000, just after a seminar with tim tackett at the jkd extreme academy in west palm beach fl, i was involved in a car accident which left me with two herniated discs in my neck. i didnt think i would be able to practice martial arts again and had to drop out of classes. three years later i moved here to illinois and by 2004 had developed great pain in my right big toe joint. it was determined to be a bone spur. the doctor gave me options and i elected to have surgery to remove the spur and have my toe fused. at the time i didnt realize what this meant to my training. it eliminated my ability to use my right foot for any impact. and i am right handed. and being primarily a jkd person, my right side is forward. i lost my main kicking tool. determined not to give up i joined an isshin ryu karate class here in town. i trained for several months until the pain in my foot got too bad. and i injured my right shoulder in class during a breakfall exercise. back to the doctor who determined that my toe didnt fuse and the metal plate he put in broke. another surgery and a year later my foot has healed. my shoulder is holding its own and i have started back to my own training, trying to learn what my limitations are now.
i have begun teaching my neighbor who has long been interested in martial arts and i have started working out again with light weights and the ab lounge machine. coming back after so much time out is difficult but worth the time.
the martial arts has always been my first love. i am an artist as well, working in pencil, pen and ink, pen, charcoal, and acrylic paint and airbrush. i prefer to do figure and portrait work but also enjoy learning skills that will help me to do landscapes and animal paintings. i play guitar as a hobby, i write short stories for fun and enjoy the computer. i have way too many hobbies and interests and not enough time of the day to pursue them.
ive spent the past few days reading various posts here on martial talk and think that it is great to have so many different styles of martial arts represented here. i hope to make some new friends here and chat with others and learn more about martial arts, while being able to share something from my background.
i belong to two other forums and would like to say from the beginning that i believe everyone has a right to their own opinion. i think we should be courteous to one another here, as in life, and if i ever accidentally offend anyone with my ideas, please write to me here and i will apologize to you personally and publicly. i dont think it is necessary to belittle others because they dont believe the way i believe.
thank you for your time and i am looking forward to exciting posts and discussions.
over the years i have trained in numerous arts, including tae kwon do, judo, wrestling, isshin ryu karate, shorei ryu karate, hapkido, kang nei chin kung fu, shao lama chinese boxing, jkd, and various filipino arts. i have a 1st dan in oikiru ryu goshin jitsu under soke rod sachornoski, a 3rd dan in sun do sul under master ed minyard, a red belt/black stripe in itf tae kwon do under master jong moon lee, was an assistant instructor at the shao lama chinese boxing academy in bloomington il, advanced student at the jkd extreme academy, under my friend and instructor, richie carrion, and assistant instructor in jkd as the sdma academy under my friend and instructor, the late edwin pagan. ed was a 2nd gen instructor under richard bustillo in jkd, and held numerous other high ranking titles in martial arts. in 1992, ed gave me permission to teach jkd under his sdma academy, making me a 3rd gen instructor.
in the early 80's i was frustrated with the limitations of individual styles offered in the area i lived in and set about to create a training program for myself and a friend so we could work on what was needed to cover all three fighting ranges, (long,middle,close range) as i knew them from the jkd material i had studied up to that point. i determined that most schools, such as tae kwon do, which i had trained in for many years, lacked the use of close range skills, such as trapping and hitting to the face. and they lacked the weapons training that i personally enjoyed. so i sat down and studied all the materials i could and came up with my own teaching format that i termed, "creative martial arts". by the mid 80's i was teaching classes in rockford il. while i did teach publicly for about a year, i preferred teaching privately.
from the time i was ten till i was eighteen, i collected over 300 books and over 300 magazines on martial arts. sadly, these materials got destroyed in a fire some years ago. my collection now ranges from just over 200 books and about 150 magazines. i also have a large library of video materials as well on various arts. it is my personal opinion that one major lack in the martial arts has always been the study of the history and development of the arts in general. most black belts i have met over the years barely know their own arts, let alone the other arts that exist.
in the past 9 years i have suffered some injuries which have set my training back. in 2000, just after a seminar with tim tackett at the jkd extreme academy in west palm beach fl, i was involved in a car accident which left me with two herniated discs in my neck. i didnt think i would be able to practice martial arts again and had to drop out of classes. three years later i moved here to illinois and by 2004 had developed great pain in my right big toe joint. it was determined to be a bone spur. the doctor gave me options and i elected to have surgery to remove the spur and have my toe fused. at the time i didnt realize what this meant to my training. it eliminated my ability to use my right foot for any impact. and i am right handed. and being primarily a jkd person, my right side is forward. i lost my main kicking tool. determined not to give up i joined an isshin ryu karate class here in town. i trained for several months until the pain in my foot got too bad. and i injured my right shoulder in class during a breakfall exercise. back to the doctor who determined that my toe didnt fuse and the metal plate he put in broke. another surgery and a year later my foot has healed. my shoulder is holding its own and i have started back to my own training, trying to learn what my limitations are now.
i have begun teaching my neighbor who has long been interested in martial arts and i have started working out again with light weights and the ab lounge machine. coming back after so much time out is difficult but worth the time.
the martial arts has always been my first love. i am an artist as well, working in pencil, pen and ink, pen, charcoal, and acrylic paint and airbrush. i prefer to do figure and portrait work but also enjoy learning skills that will help me to do landscapes and animal paintings. i play guitar as a hobby, i write short stories for fun and enjoy the computer. i have way too many hobbies and interests and not enough time of the day to pursue them.
ive spent the past few days reading various posts here on martial talk and think that it is great to have so many different styles of martial arts represented here. i hope to make some new friends here and chat with others and learn more about martial arts, while being able to share something from my background.
i belong to two other forums and would like to say from the beginning that i believe everyone has a right to their own opinion. i think we should be courteous to one another here, as in life, and if i ever accidentally offend anyone with my ideas, please write to me here and i will apologize to you personally and publicly. i dont think it is necessary to belittle others because they dont believe the way i believe.
thank you for your time and i am looking forward to exciting posts and discussions.
