James Patrick Schafer

Third degree black belt and certified instructor in American Kenpo

The first system I earned a black belt in was American Kenpo and I am continuing that journey every day. Kenpo is only the primary system I use because I like the vehicle and way of delivering and teaching the principles, theories and concepts of martial arts that go along with Kenpo. Other systems I have earned rank or teaching credentials in include: Filipino Kali, Jeet Kune Do, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Capoeira.  

Teaching Philosophy:

Teaching is the modality we pass trials and tribulations in our own personal lives onto someone else without that individual being forced to go through the exact same experiences we went through. Learning and by extension teaching begins at the primitive stage where the building blocks of knowledge are established in a framework defined by our upbringing, culture and history. The eventually goal is to integrate the scholar into a functional citizen and so begins the second phase of learning, the mechanical stage where the understanding of the knowledge learned in the first phase of learning is demonstrated instead of regurgitated. The final stage of learning is the spontaneous stage where the wisdom you have gained in the previous stages allows you to see the similarities instead of the differences in groupings and ideas to create harmony and continuity in the specific subject matter and at life.