Pat's Excellent Martial Arts Adventure, Part 2: the 1980-84
 

For the 1980-81 year I transferred from Towson State University to University of Maryland, College Park as a junior (what can I say...I got bored easily in my youth). I Fall of 1981 I was given permission by Professor Collins to start a Martial Arts/Bando Club at UMCP. The University of Maryland Martial Arts Club met twice a week in the basement of the old armory. We trained in Burmese Boxing and Middle-Style Bando.

In early 1982, with the encouragement and guidance of Professor Collins, I supplemented my Bando education by training with Master Fred Ocampo in Pikiti Tirsia Arnis. I had had an interest in the Filipino Arts from years before and thanks to Professor Collins' network, was able to locate Master Ocampo's Arnis class.

In the summer of 1982, as a result of an increasing desire to further explore the Filipino martial arts, I decided to spend the summer training at what I felt was perhaps the foremost school of its day, the Filipino Kali Academy in Torrance, California run by the legendary martial arts teachers, Dan Inosanto and Richard Bustillo. The decision to go to Cali to train was based partly on my desire to study at a more advanced level and partly due to opportunity, since my brother who had recently graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy had been stationed in Long Beach, and so I had a free place to stay.

However, since I was not sure if I would be able to just walk in and begin training, I had Dr. Gyi and Professor Collins draft formal letters of introduction. With these as well as a signed copy of Dr. Gyi's book on Burmese Boxing in hand, I found my way to the Kali Academy.

It was overwhelming for a young college senior, to say the least. Here was a place and people who I had only read about. I was both touched and amazed at how readily I was welcomed into the school and accepted for training by Dan Inosanto himself. In addition to Dan's kindness, many other whom I met there were equally kind and helpful to me. Just a few of these included Richard Bustillo, Paul Vunak, and Ted Lucay Lucay. I am grateful to all of the old timers from the Kali Academy who helped make my time initial there such a positive experience, and for setting the stage for what would be a lifetime adventure with Guro Dan.
 

Guro Dan was amazingly sharing with me during that summer. He allowed me to sit in on the JKD classes and he invited me to accompany him on some of his visits to other teachers. He also took me with him to the California Martial Arts Academy (a rather extensive martial arts summer camp with many instructors teaching their various arts, a descendent of the Aspen Academy of Martial Arts camps in Colorado). It was there that he introduced me to such renowned teachers as Larry Hartsell, William Cheung, and Tim Tackett.

Back at the academy, Guro Dan introduced me to Francis Fong, one of the top Wing Chun teachers in the U.S. Lucky for me Sifu Francis was teaching classes at the Kali Academy for part of the time I was training at there. Beginning that summer, Sifu Francis would help to improve and increase my technical knowledge and theoretical understanding of Wing Chun. For that I am truly thankful.

At the suggestion of Guro Dan, I also began to study and train in Bruce Lee's art of Jeet Kune Do while at the Kali Academy. Another outcome of my time at the Kali Academy was my development of a keen interest in the arts of Bruce Lee, especially the process by which he developed it.

During most of the 80s and through the late-90s, I would continue train with Guro Dan in L.A. several times a year on top of the seminars that I attended.

Once back in Maryland, I practiced intensely and extensively everything I had learned at the Kali Academy. I began to include some of the basics I learned there in the training at the University of Maryland Martial Arts Club.

I also continued my  training in Burmese Boxing, Naban, and Bando under Professor Collins and Dr. Maung Gyi. In 1983 I was presented with my First Level Black Belt by Professor Jon Collins and Dr. Maung Gyi. That year was also the year I began learning Tai Chi through the auspices of Master Bow Sim Mark. First learning the Simplified or Beijing Short Form, I then went on to learn the traditional Sun Style long form.

During the spring of 1983, Guro Dan was giving a seminar not too far from UMCP. I was in the process of graduating and so was unable to attend the seminar. I was able to get out there at the end of the second day of the seminar to pay my respects. I also asked Guro Dan if he know where I might purchase his newly released book, Martial Arts Training with Equipment". He said he would send me order information. A week later, I received a signed copy of the book, care of Guro Dan. The man's generosity has never ceased to impress me.

In March of 1984, a guy named Charlie Walker hosted Guro Dan in Baltimore. I and several of my students attended. During the seminar, Guro Dan requested that I act as his assistant, since I had previous experience with his methods. At other times during the seminar, my student, Steve Braun, would function as Guro Dan's assistant. It was at this seminar that Guro Dan asked invited me to become an instructor under his new program.  I became one of about twelve apprentice instructors being trained by Guro Dan himself to teach both JKD and FMA. As a young 24-year old man, I felt privileged to not only be given such a chance, but to also have the opportunity to further train with Guro Dan both at his school and privately.

     
 

 

That summer I  attended Tuhon Leo Gaje's Instructor Training Camp. Not so much for the the Pekiti Tirsia training, but because Guro Dan, as the guest instructor, had personally invited me to attend and said that he and I would have some private training time during the course of the camp. It was at this camp that I would also meet a pair of individuals who would become like brothers to me, Don Garon (second from the right) and Bill "Sarge" Edwards (far left, dec).
 

While at the camp, I had the honor of serving as Guro Dan's assistant during his training sessions (which were never long enough). Guro Dan focused on JKD so as not to compete with what Tuhon was offering. I also had the opportunity throughout the week to go off with Guro Dan for quite a bit of private training in both JKD and Kali (as he had said we would).

In the middle of the week, Guro Dan was requested, along with Tuhon Gaje and several other Camp instructors, to conduct a demonstration in the neighboring city (Washington, PA.). I was honored (and more than a little surprised) to be asked by Guro Dan to serve as his demo instructor. I don't think it was because of my abilities, I think I was the only one there that had any knowledge of his FMA. We were taken to a ten course Chinese dinner afterward the demo, and I got to sit and listen to these Masters as they discussed their training methods and fighting strategies. Quite a memorable experience for me, to say the least.
 

Also while at the camp, I was also introduced to the training method and sport of full-contact stick fighting. It was great fun and as soon as I got back to Maryland, I began including fulI-contact stick fighting in our training at the UM Martial Arts Club.

In the Fall of 1984, I was requested by the Filipino Student Association at GWU to start a martial arts club teaching both JKD and FMA. I did so, which now meant I was running two clubs and teaching four nights a week.

 

Pat's Excellent Martial Arts Adventure, Part 3: the 1985-89