Welcome to Gaia! ::

My art was founded in 1978 (coincidentally, my birth year). The founder, Will Daniels, was a from Baltimore, Maryland. He studied Chinese Kempo, Wing Chun, Ninjutsu (under Sensei Ronald Duncan of the Way of the Winds Koga-ryu school), Bando (under Doctor Maung Gyi).

Frank Schultz is the current headmaster of our school. He is a Go-dan (fifth degree blackbelt) in Chin-jutsu, and has also studied Aiki-jujutsu and Bando. In the latter art he was a full-contact kickboxer.

Ken Badders, my sensei, is a veteran of the USMC, and has studied Shotokan and Kempo on his way to Chin-jutsu. He holds the rank of Yon-dan (fourth degree black belt). He is also an acupressurist.

I'm a member of only the third generation of artists in my school.

Now for the interesting bits. I put these links in red for ease of reference, since I don't really like the default light blue color that hurts my eyes.

The Association for Renaissance Martial Arts- A society dedicated to the disciplines of the sword found in Europe. Their training methods are incredible, and they are really good for any European people wanting to get in touch with their roots through the martial arts. They also have a good article on the what-ifs of an East-meets-West confrontation (ie- how would a rapier fighter fare against a katana fighter).

The Electronic Journal of Martial Arts and Sciences- An online journal chock full of articles on martial arts.

Weapons of the Pharoah's Military- A nifty article on Egyptian weaponry.

Fighting Arts- Another online journal that has a LOT of articles in it. A lot of them are really good.

Women in the Military throughout History- A site dedicated to women in the military throughout history.

Parts of a Katana- Just like it says. Good for Iai and Ken students.

International Hoplology Institute- The online journal for a society of people looking for martial arts everywhere in the world. Absolutely indispensible to find almost any hard-to-find martial art.

Irish Stick Fighting- Great site about Irish bata (= baton = shillelagh = knobby stick what hurts) fighting.

Physical Training for Martial Arts- A site off of the Electronic Journal for Martial Arts and Sciences, this site has a lot of really good articles on training, as well as some miscellaneous insights.

The World Kuk Sool Won Association- The website for the international association that goes along with the art of Kuk Sool Won. Pretty good resources on history and a comprehensive US schools list (quite a few in Texas).

I'm more than impressed. Silverhalo and Laren both have given us a true wealth of information. Thank you both.

Now that's a combination!

*bows* thanks! blaugh

Here's a bit of info concerning my "family tree".

My first instructor was Virgilio S. Fernandez in the Philippines. He was trained by Latino H. Gonzalez who in turn trained under Katsuya Miyahira.

I now train with my father who also trained under Fernandez, but he made his black belt under Donald Page. Page trained under Frank Hargrove who trained under Shugoro Nakazato.

Nakazato and Miyahira both Trained under Chosin Chibana. Chibana trained under Ankoh Itosu who was a student of Sokon Matsumura the founder of Shorin-ryu.

If anyone has any "ancessors" in common, let me know. 3nodding

I think we're startin to get a nice collection of info in here now, whats peoples views on stickying it?
Also, where's all the stuff on ninjitsu? eek wink we have more than enough people who take it in the guild.
And would one of you karate types like to post a synopsis on the different types of karate? It confuses me, all those ryu's....

I think this should be stickied. This is excellent info. Great things you learn here. Would posting some martial arts books do also?