3145 S. Pennsylvania Ave. Lansing, MI. 48910
Phone: 517-348-2507 / Email: KskMartialArts@gmail.com
From T. Kent Nelson, directly to the reader….
At our school we offer many classes, but there are three main areas of learning that make up the KSK Martial Arts concept:
1. Armas-Kali:
This is our own combined weapons curriculum, drawing from several Filipino Martial Arts, as well as some influence from Thailand & Okinawa.
2. Kai-Shin Jeet June Do (MMA-JKD):
This is our own combined empty hand curriculum. We draw from many sources such as MMA & JKD, as well as BJJ, CSW, Muay Thai, Wing Chun, Panantukan & Silat.
3. Thinking Skills:
This is our thinking process & guiding philosophies. These help a student to grow as a person, grow as a leader, grow as a member of the group, become a good training partner to others, and help us define a responsible use of the things we are taught. We take the time to actively teach these skills as part of our classes.
“The most defining feature of Armas-Kali & Kai-Shin Jeet Kune Do is the logical teaching order of the curriculum(s), designed to seamlessly blend the techniques and concepts of the styles they draw from. The main focus of these systems is to start a student with the most simple, functional and application-based movements & techniques. Once this is established, the curriculum builds on that knowledge into more attribute-based development, this means techniques which, although still very effective, may require the student a longer amount of time and a deeper lever of understanding to master. Essentially… function first, then fancy follows.
These two physical curriculums are the personal processes resulting from my own training and learning, and placed in the order that I feel they are best taught. This process is based on my own beliefs, the experiences I have with my own students and researching with others.
The material in the curriculums come from things I have been both taught by my own teachers, as well as things we have found on our own though regular play and experimentation. We do not claim to “Create or Invent” anything (since there is truly nothing new under the sun), but we do “Discover & Find” those techniques that have been hiding there from time to time, as you are prone to do with any kind of persistent dedicated study.
There are many teachers I either currently or formally train with, but the biggest influence of them all has been my teacher & mentor Guro Dan Inosanto, who I feel has truly set the example for continual growth as martial artist and a human being. I have been blessed enough to train with him through seminars, Instructor Camps, and in his regular classes at his academy in Marina Del Ray, CA. He sets the bar for me every time I see him. I am grateful for his teaching, his guidance. I am very proud to be a Student & Instructor under him.
I am hugely influenced by those teachers who I have had, and/or still get to have personal, regular, hands-on experience with. Such as Sifu David Hatch, Simo Lynda Hatch, Coach Shawn Kitzman, Professor Chet Schemahorn, Barent Bradt, Sensei Tadashi Yamashita, Sensei David Hayes, Robert Verdel, Todd Jones, and Shihan Charles Peterson,
I am also very grateful for those whom I have only had the experience of training with through seminars, whether it be annually, semi-annually, or even maybe just one time. Some of them I have had the opportunity to train in their regular classes while visiting their schools, and others I have had the opportunity to take only a few hours of private lessons with. Although I may not have countless hours of training logged in with all of these instructors, they have passed onto me things to take home and work on with my regular teachers, as well as experiment with my training partners and students. Some of these amazing teachers have been Sensei Erik Paulson, Sifu Francis Fong, Ajarn Chai Sirisute, Ajarn Greg Nelson, Sifu Paul Vunak, Professor Royce Gracie, Professor Ryron Gracie, Professor Jean-Jack Machado, Professor Carlos Caique, Sifu/Sensei Yori Nakamura, Sifu Rick Faye, Guro Harley Elmore, Dan Severn, James Lee, Tuhon Bill McGrath, Dr. Gyi and Taika Seiyu Oyata.
Of course without my training partners all of this training, research, and/or discovery could not have happened. Good training partners are hard to find, and I have had many, but none have been as valuable or more dedicated than my longest training student and best friend, Guro Brett Eckhart.
When someone asks, “What’s KSK Martial Arts all about?”, I tell them its about learning, self improvement, and cultivating positive relationships between people.”