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Martial Arts

(1984–1985?) - Shotokan Karate - Miami Dade Community College (1yr)

Shotokan is a traditional style of Japanese Karate. I was about 13 at the time I took these classes and made it to a yellow belt (black stripe!). It helped introduce me to basic kicks, and body coordination. I remember not liking the forms so much and, more generally, the way the whole class was structured (military-style discipline has always rubbed me the wrong way). Nevertheless, I feel it was a good experience.

(1994–1997) - Jeet Kune Do \ Kali \ Jujitsu - Sifu Dwight Woods (3 yrs)

After watching a kung fu movie with a friend, we got excited about the whole idea and decided to look in the yellow pages for a martial arts school. I was extremely lucky to find an ad for Sifu Wood’s JKD school there. We went to try it out and I think the first class was on Jun Fan Kung Fu (or maybe Muay Thai). Either way, I was hooked. I really liked the instructor, the relaxed atmosphere of the class, and the techniques. I spent three great years there and remember them very fondly. Sifu Woods was a long-time student of Dan Inosanto and we learned a great deal of Jeet Kune Do, Jun Fan Kung Fu, Filipino Kali, Western Boxing, and Muay Thai, with some Savate, Wing Chun, and Silat thrown in for good measure. The training environment, quality of instruction, and students there were amazing. I still consider myself first and foremost a student of Sifu Woods.

(1999–2002) Jeet Kune Do \ Kali \ Jujitsu - Sifu Jerry McCleary (3 yrs)

After moving to Nashville, Tenessee for college, I did some Vunak-style JKD with the Vanderbilt JKD club until that disbanded. I then decided to reband the group under Sifu Wood’s style JKD training regimen and came across Sifu Jerry McCleary in Knoxville, TN while doing that. Sifu McCleary is also an excellent instructor and amazingly knowledgeable in a wide variety of styles. He’s also very imposing (especially with his knife) and a really nice guy. Sifu McCleary worked with us primarily through seminars and private instruction. They were very productive for me and really helped expand my understanding of the breadth and depth of martial arts. We trained in Pekiti Tirsia (a system of Kali), Jun Fan Kung Fu, Wing Chun, Jiu Jitsu, Silat, and American Boxing. In particular Sifu McCleary really gave me a deeper perspective and appreciation of American boxing, which is far more sophisticated than perhaps most asian martial artists believe.

(1998–2003) Jeet Kune Do \ Kali \ Jujitsu - Vanderbilt Jeet Kune Do Club (4 yrs)

I put together a JKD training group at Vanderbilt and ran the club for 5 years. It was an enormous amount of work and fun. We had undergraduate and graduate students training three times a week and had seminars by Sifu Woods and Sifu McCleary. It was great, and kept me in shape and really focused me on learning how to teach, train, and learn the martial arts in a more meaningful way.

(2002) Wah Lum Praying Mantis Kung Fu - Sifu Debrah (1 year)

While living in Nashville and preparing to graduate, I came across a group of people in a park. The person leading the training was an older woman who really looked like she knew what she was doing. I inquired about the style and decided to try praying mantis kung fu to see if I liked it. It was a lot of fun, and my first mature exprience learning forms and training my aesthetic, kinesthetic, mimetic abilities. This experience really opened my mind to the artform part of martial arts, and greatly increased my respect for the more art-oriented martial arts.

(2002) Aikido - Nashville Aikikai Dojo (6 months)

Over a summer in Nashville, I decided to try out Aikido because the club at Vanderbilt seemed to have a cult following and the idea of throwing people all over the place and have them just bounce back up, unscathed, was intriguing. It was a great experience, and opened my eyes to the spiritual and graceful aspects of martial arts. The aikikai really emphasized centering, taking the opponent’s balance, and smooth, controlled power. It was very structured, but in a more appealing way than the more militaristic styles.

(2003) Judo - Vanderbilt Judo Club (3 months)

I’ve always like Jujitsu and while there was no Jujitsu club at Vanderbilt, an italian graduate student started a Judo club and I figured I’d try it out. It was great fun, and I really liked refining my throws, chokes, and ground fighting. It was very structured and kind of strange being back in a Gi, but I could only stick around for a few months anyway.

(2004) Aikido - Northeast Aikikai Dojo (3 months)

I once again decided to try aikido when I first moved to Westford, Masachusetts. It was fun, and I really refined my rolling, break falls, and throws.

(2006) Wing Chun Kung Fu - Sifu Stanely Jue (6 months)

When I moved Cambridge, I found a Wing Chun school and had the pleasure of meeting Sifu Stanley Jue. Not only was he a really nice guy, but had a deep understanding of Wing Chun and really reshaped the way I viewed the art. It also changed the way I looked at striking and movement in general, and gave me a deep appreciation of whipping, fast strikes versus destructive, but slower, power strikes. We trained a variety of forms, block and strike excercises, and Chi Sao (sticky hands). I was sad to leave as I really felt I was developing my Wing Chun and trapping skills in a unique way and had a long way to go.

(2006) Pa Kua & Tai Chi - Sifu Jeff Felberbaum (3 months)

The Vanderbilt Pa Kua (aka Baguazhang) club also had a cult following, so when I had a chance to try it I did. Sifu Felberbaum was great, and a very good teacher. While Pa Kua felt a bit alien to my body, I did appreciate the footwork (perhaps from my Kali training) and the amazing power of the spiraling strikes. I wish I had time to train more but school was going to start and I just didn’t have time for it.

(2006) American Boxing - Coach Djata Bumpus (3 months)

I found out about a boxing gym in Northampton, MA just before starting graduate school (again!) and decided to check it out. Coach Bumpus is one of the most unique personalities I’ve ever met. He’s old school, funny, and brilliant. I had a great time training with him, and his workouts put me into the best shape I’ve ever been in. He also increased my depth of understanding of boxing and fixed the many terrible errors I was making with the heavy bag. Once school started, I didn’t have much time for it anymore though, and I also ended on a bad note (a concussion when working with an amature boxer, even with the correct equipment). This aggravated a previous concussion from boxing in college (and two from skiing) and made me decide to stop full-contact boxing, as the damage from these injuries is exponentially cumulative and largely irreversible. Coach Bumpus is a great guy though and it was my own decision to enter the ring. My time with him really illuminated how much is lacking in my rocker shuffle and ring movement footwork.

(2007–2008) Shaolin Eagle Claw Kung Fu - Sifu Lisandro Vega

After recovering from my second concussion boxing, I took a break from martial arts but started feeling lethargic and gaining weight in grad school, so I decided to try out the kung fu school down the street. I was still a bit skeptical of going back to traditional kung fu after so many years of application-at-all-costs martial arts training, but I’m really glad I tried it out because I really enjoy the school and the artistic and athletic merits of the animal style forms. I also really like the teaching atmosphere and collegiality at the school, as well as the amazing work outs. I was quite humbled by over-emphasis on fast-twitch movements and lack of core strength and endurance that traditional training requires. Sifu Lisandro Vega also has impeccable form and shows his depth of traditional learning that he’s gained from his years of training and his visits to China.