TON PUEY
After practicing shotokai karate during his childhood and adolescence, Ton Puey’s interest in the sword led him to historical fencing and the school of the True Skill through the Spanish and Portuguese treaties of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. He has been a founding member of the AGEA (Asociación Galega de Esgrima Antiga), honorary member of the FEEH (Spanish Federation of Historical Fencing), member of the editorial board and vice-president of AGEA editor and member HEMAC. He is recognized as Mestre de Armas by HEMA Portugal and as the first Non-Italian Historical Fencing Master by the Italian Fencing Federation. He is currently technical director and Master of Arms of his latest project, Academia da Espada. In addition to his usual work as an instructor in A Coruña, Galicia, he has taught seminars in France, Austria, Italy, Holland, Ireland, Greece, USA, Australia, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Portugal and Spain
RON LEW
In the early 1960's, Ron Lew’s martial arts journey began with Kung fu with his cousin, Steven Lum, who was a student of T. Y. Wong in San Francisco. The renowned Jimmy Lee was one of the top students there. Ron Lew been guided by several superb masters, including: Sifu Ngok Poy Ng, Shaolin Kung-Fu; Sifu Ted Sotelo, Fi Kuen; Professor Peng-si Yu and Min Ouyang, Qi Gong masters from Shanghai; Sifu Al Dacascos, WHKD; and SGM Cacoy Cañete of Cebu, Philippines, Doce Pares World Federation: Eskrima, Eskrido/Dumog and Pangamot.
JOAQUIN MARCELO
Joaquín Marcelo was the first to introduce the “Original Jeet Kune Do" to Spain.
His martial arts path started when he was 6 years old through Judo, following with the practice of Kenpo Karate. Joaquín has won the National Kenpo Championship 5 times.
He has studied under several well-known personalities of martial arts such as Ed Parker, Dan Inosanto, and other Bruce Lee students like Jerry Poteet, Dan Lee, and Ted Wong.
According to Sifu Wong, Joaquin was his first student admitted outside the USA. He has since been certified as an instructor. He was chosen to play the role of Bruce Lee in the videogame "Dragon Warrior" and is the author of "Jeet Kune Do, the way of simplicity", an extensive book on Bruce Lee's art, which has been translated into four languages. Joaquín is currently considered as one of the most respected JKD instructors at international level.
ANTHONY DE LONGIS
Anthony De Longis is a master of blades and the bullwhip. He has had extensive experience in the movie industry as an actor, stuntman and fight coordinator, having trained Harrison Ford for “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” and having acted alongside Jet Li in “Fearless.” For this Immersion Labs event, Anthony will be doing a demonstration on “The Western Bullwhip.”
PAUL PORTER
Duke Paul of Bellatrix — Paul Porter — has been practicing martial arts since the 1960s. Starting with Judo, Paul discovered a love for using physicality and leverage to hone his mind and body. In the 1970’s he discovered SCA heavy combat, and brought his already considerable knowledge of biomechanics to bear on rattan fighting.
In addition to 8 crown tourney victories, the reach of Paul’s expertise spans continents. He’s taught fighters of all genders, sizes, and skill levels in 28 states (including the District of Columbia), 3 Canadian provinces, and 5 countries.
Constantly refining his existing system and exploring the merits of new techniques, Paul’s contribution to armored martial arts continues to grow as he constantly reviews and modifies new fighting techniques. No technique is incorporated into Paul’s system until it has been proven effective against even the most skilled combatants and is also biomechanically sound to perform.
DR. T.J. DESCH-OBI
Dr. T.J. Desch-Obi is the first outsider to attain mastery rank in the Afro-Colombian martial art of grima, holding an instructor level in five distinct styles and experience in another five. T.J. is an Associate Professor of African and African Diaspora History at the CUNY where he also teaches in the Black and Latino Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and Religion departments. He is the author of Fighting for Honor: The History of African Martial Art Traditions in the Atlantic World. For this Immersion Labs Workshop T.J. will be teaching from both a style that was used against Spanish swordfighters and from a style that was purportedly directly influenced by European sword fighting.
MUSHTAQ ALI AL ANSARI
Mushtaq Ali Al Ansari is a martial arts scholar and adventurer. He has been a martial arts practitioner for over 50 years, and involved in the Filipino Martial Arts for over 40 years. He publicly teaches a system of Pencak Silat from West Java, as well as trains and teaches general swordsmanship and archery.
MAHIPAL LUNIA
Mahipal Lunia has studied and taught martial arts for more than 3 decades. He now serves as the CEO and Explorer-in-Residence at The Immersion Foundation.
DEXTER MIKSCH
Beginning his martial arts journey at the age of 4, Dexter Miksch has traveled the world to study under masters of various systems. Being first and foremost a lifetime student of the martial arts, he has endeavored to find and apply the common principles of various martial arts with teachings from Eastern and Western physical culture. Dexter Miksch has studied under Master at Arms James A. Keating for 12 years, whose teachings and insights regarding the bowie knife and its influences have been a guiding light on his road to master applying fencing techniques to modern bladed combatives.
ADAM MYRIE
Adam Myrie is the Chief Operations Officer of the Historical African Martial Arts Association. His role is to manage the functional infrastructure of the association. With a wide range of experience in various combat arts including Kickboxing, Modern Tahtib, El Matreg, and Filipino Martial Arts (PTK), Adam has been a passionate lover of martial arts history, theory, and practice. A student of Dr Adel Boulad, the founder of the Modern Tahtib movement, he is one of the highest ranking students of this art in North America. Adam has also studied under experts in El Matreg such as Cheikh Belmekki Fatah and Cheikh Chadly Karamane. He currently trains in Pekiti Tirsia Kali with Justin Fernando in the Sabong Kali program at the Kombat Arts Academy in Ontario, Canada. Adam is also the project manager of the Mamluk Project, which is an endeavour to translate Kitab Al Mazkhun Jami AL Funun, a martial arts manual from Mamluk Egypt that was compiled in 1470. As part of his research, he is attempting to reconstruct the martial traditions of medieval North Africa based on his understanding of the relationships between the living arts and his historical research. Adam has an MBA from Ryerson University and speaks 4 languages. One of his favourite fields of study is that of African civilizations and military history. Adam is also a fantasy author, blogger, and voracious reader of poetry.
MICHAEL BELZER
Michael Belzer is a lifelong martial artist trained in Jojutsu, Jujutsu, Kali, Jeet Kun Do, and Pentjak Silak. Michael’s study of martial arts led him to the study of weapons and armor: Hoplology. Introduced to hoplology by the fields founder, Donn Draeger, Michael is one of the foremost experts on the subject. For this Immersion Labs event, Michael will be teaching “Hoplology 101,” sharing the foundations of his scholarship with us.
PUCK CURTIS
Puck Curtis began studying historical fencing in 1992 and is the primary author of From the Page to the Practice - Fundamentals of Spanish Swordplay. He has taught historical fencing for over 20 years with a special focus on Spanish traditions. He received his certification as a fencing master before a traditional board of masters from the San Jose Fencing Master's program in 2008 and expanded the tradition by examining a number of instructors, provosts, and masters. In addition, he has presented seminars at major HEMA events, fought in numerous public exhibitions, and has served as a guest examiner for schools certifying historical fencing instructors. His current project is uniting the rigorous training and pedagogy of the classical Italian school with the theory and practice of the Spanish True School to preserve the tradition, develop new leadership, and share the art with today’s western martial arts community.
TIM RIVERA
Tim Rivera began training in Filipino martial arts in 1995, concentrating on the styles from Laguna since 2001. He began studying 16th century Iberian fencing in 2008, and has since produced several transcriptions and English translations of Spanish fencing treatises from the 16th - 18th century.
DR. MICHEL FARIVAR
Dr. Michel Farivar is a board certified psychiatrist and martial artist, holding a 1st Dan Black Belt in Tae Kwan Do, and a master title in Geijin Ryu, a lesser known art transmitted through families. He is the author of “Ninja Tools and Weapons,” a book clarifying the lesser known origins of some of the tools and weapons used in Ninjutsu and explaining some of Ninjutsu’s tribal origins. For this Immersion Labs Event, Michael will be doing a demonstration on fatal wounds.
JOSE A. TORRES RAMIREZ
Sir Jose Hervas is a lawyer and a direct descendant of Christopher Columbus, Juan Ponce de Leon, Diego de Lepe, Miguel de Toro, Diego de Vargas, and García de Torres. For this Immersion Labs event, he will be doing a presentation on the impact and significance of the Spanish Conquistadors and their usage of the blade arts in their colonization of the New World.