My Story… “As a child… and into my late teens, I was never a natural athlete. I was rarely into extra curricular activities until I joined the local Tae Kwon Do school in 1982. After 6 years I received my 1st degree black belt. In 1988 I got married and moved north where I met a Jeet Kune Do – Kali teacher and have been studying the Martial Arts ever since.

In 1994 I was teaching at a Martial Arts school in Buffalo Grove where I had a large impact on the quality of Martial Arts and the schools overall enrollment. Around this time…about 1996…My father-in-law came to me and asked if I could run a school on my own. With my Father-in-laws assistance, The Northshore Academy of Martial Arts opened its doors in 1997.

Although my father-in-law has passed away since, I will be forever grateful to him for the once in a lifetime opportunity that he afforded me.

The dream of owning my own Martial Arts Academy finally came true and I began to teach my own students with nothing more than a card table, zero carpeting and only 1500 square feet of space. Shortly thereafter, the success that students were having was really showing… and in 2000… we moved into a much larger 4000 square foot facility. In 2008 we moved to our current location of 6000 square feet where I can honestly say that I still have the best Martial Arts team in the Chicagoland area.

I have made many friends over the years and could go on for days about them… But it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t mention those individuals that effected me the most over the last 30+ years…

Putting up with the endless hours it takes to run a Martial Arts School, I cannot thank My wife enough… as she has always been my biggest supporter.

In 1998 I met Hock Hochheim… never met anyone like him… His unique teaching style was second to none. In 2004 I started training with Guro Rick Faye… truly a selfless individual who helped me grow in the Martial Arts even more. In 2009, Thanks to Guro Dan Inosanto, I met Grandmaster Atillo. Today I am a honored to be a successor to his families art of Balintawak.

My biggest influence throughout the years has been Ron Balicki. We met in 1998 and He took me under his wing and showed me the potential I had inside. I had been training with Guro Dan Inosanto since 1990, but with Ron Balicki’s help, I trained even harder, and received my first Inosanto certification in 2001.

Another dream come true.

Martial arts has changed my life. I would not be the man I am today without it. At age 50, I feel great for my age… and I am defiantly more active. I am blessed, extremely thankful and will always be honored to be a part of all my Martial Arts family.”

Ranking and Accolades include:

• Senior Associate Level 5 Instructor under Guro Dan Inosanto in Jun Fan-Jeet Kune Do
• Senior Associate Level 5 Instructor under Guro Dan Inosanto in Filipino Kali
• Associate Level 3 Instructor under Guro Ron Balicki/Diane Inosanto in Jeet Kune Do
• Associate Level 3 Instructor under Guro Ron Balicki/Diane Inosanto in Kali
• Instructor Level 2 under Guro Rick Faye in Filipino Kali/Jun Fan-Jeet Kune Do
• Instructor / Eskrimador Atillo Balintawak under Legendary Grandmaster Atillo
• Author of “The 10 Levels of Panantukan-Silat Combatives” Instructional Series
• Midwest Representative and Certified Spikey Israeli Defense Instructor
• Member of The International Law Enforcement Educator & Trainers Association
• 98 World Eskrima Kali-Arnis Federation Mid-Western Regionals- 1st place
• 98 World Eskrima Kali-Arnis Federation Mid-Western Nationals- 2nd place
• 6th Degree Black Belt in Hand to Hand Combat under Guro Hock Hochheim
• 6th Degree Black Belt in Archipelago Combatives under Guro Hock Hochheim
• 3rd Degree Black Belt from Degerberg Academy International
• 2nd Degree Black Belt in American Bu Kyoku Ryu Karate
• 1st Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do
• Master Knife Instructor under Guro Hock Hochheim
• Certified Instructor under Sifu Pete Hetrick