Guru Bryan’s KidPersist

07/20/2021

48 years ago today, we lost Bruce Lee. Today, I wrote the following article in gratitude:

https://bryanstoopsmartialarts.medium.com/today-48-years-ago-faa47f950ce8?sk=e3df49309d476bf1ad9e755dfbc3a451

On this day, July 20th, 1973, the world lost Bruce Lee. That was just under five years before I was born. I grew up reading Bruce Lee’s…

04/11/2021

There are a few hours left until I open up registration for my Virtual Jeet Kune Do Phase I Trainer Certification Weekend.

Visit virtualjkdtrainer.com right now & put in your info on that page.

When registration opens in a few hours, you will be approached first with a special option. Only those indicating their interest will receive this option.

In June of 2020, I taught the Filipino Martial Arts version of the same offering, and we had a blast! The JKD Weekend will be held May 22nd and May 23rd; come and join our group for an amazing training experience.

04/03/2021

After digging around a little, I recently found my first draft of my martial arts student manual. I wrote this sometime around 2011 when I opened up my first semi-pro academy in Chino Hills, California. I recently held my Zoom, training event, Decade, to celebrate the opening of that academy 10 years ago.

That first draft is interesting because all of the arts are together at every level. We did a lot of good training in that garage. Today, I have attached some pictures from that garage academy, and I have posted the rules from my student manual below.

I'm going to be really honest; there is no one way to get through the Pandemic. It's only worth grinding away at some goal if doing so is NOT going to erode your will. Some people are barely getting by. If you are doing okay (whatever that means), then yeah, it may be time to try to (safely) go after some of the goals you had for yourself before this 13+ month long episode of Black Mirror through which we're all living started.

I have over 100 hours of complimentary Filipino Martial Arts, Jeet Kune Do, Silat, Wing Chun, and Youth Martial Arts classes recorded and waiting for you on my YouTube Channel. I'm not going to lie: they're not the most spectacular thing from the standpoint of production. They were filmed in my old living room, and...well, I really hate watching/listening to ANYTHING I'm in.

I know that sometimes people don't want to watch long clips, and I respect that. You can use the videos in any way that will be helpful for you, including watching classes in 10 minute installments. If you could please just subscribe, like some of the videos, and share the link with anyone who might benefit from the videos, I would really appreciate it: https://www.youtube.com/user/StoopsMartialArts?sub_confirmation=1

I have martial arts offerings for martial artists, non-martial artists interested in advancing their careers like a warrior, K12 educators struggling through this dumpster fire wrapped up in a meteor headed towards earth of a school year, and martial arts instructors who (just like me in March of 2020) don't know where to go next. Just visit http://bryanstoopsmartialarts.com/

Lastly, I wish you good health, safety, and happiness as we move into Spring. That is a non-political statement. I have always said the hardest part of any journey is the last leg. You feel like you're done but you're really not, but the impulse to rush is strong. I know we all can see "normalcy" on the horizon. It's tempting to rush, but if we rush, it's easy to stumble. Tomorrow, I'm only going to wish those celebrating a happy Easter on social media, not write a big long thing, so this is my last long post of the week.

Please be safe, and take care of yourself. If martial arts is not "your thing", I truly hope you know what is, and that you're learning into it to help you through these hopefully once-in-a-lifetime times! Enjoy your day...

Here are those rules from that manual:

Rules
1. Treat everyone involved in your training with respect. This includes your partners, seniors, juniors, instructors, and your instructor’s instructors.

2. Tame your ego. Learn from the people who know more than you do, the people who know just as much, and the people who know less.

3. The training environment should be a place of refuge. No profanity or inappropriate remarks.

4. Leave your life at the door. Clear your mind. Do not take out external frustrations on your partners by injuring them in drilling. Take out your frustrations on inanimate training objects (heavy bag, etc.).

5. Remember to salute before class, after a drill is demonstrated, before you feed/receive, and after time is called. When in doubt, salute.

6. Please address men as “sir” and women as “ma’am” during class.

7. When in doubt, refer to your instructor as “G**o”. It’s important to learn about the culture of the martial arts.

8. Don’t ask when you’re testing for rank. Your instructor will tell you when you’re ready. Adults don’t wear their belts to class.

04/02/2021

I have two main announcements today:

1. This is my weekly, Zoom, Members-Only Martial Arts Class Schedule (all in EST, NYC Times):

Mondays:
6:15pm - 7:15pm: KidPersist (Youth Martial Arts)
7:15pm - 8:00pm: Wing Chun & Thaiboxing
8:00pm - 8:45pm: Jeet Kune Do

Wednesdays:
6:15pm - 7:15pm: KidPersist (Youth Martial Arts)
7:15pm - 8:00pm: Silat
8:00pm - 8:45pm: Filipino Martial Arts

Starting Monday, April 5th, I will be doing week-long guest passes for kids and adults for a small PayPal or Venmo investment. PM me for more details.

2. On Saturday, May 1st, I will be presenting at GT Gaje's Zoom Birthday Celebration/Training Event. See the image attached to this post!

04/02/2021

It's hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that this is the 13th month of this Pandemic Life we're all living. In March of 2020, I had just wrapped up a bunch of martial arts training trips that involved travel. Coach Dylan Hintz and I were filming Filipino Martial Arts and Jeet Kune Do curriculum in my former Midtown Manhattan Academy space at breakneck speeds because we knew that any day we would not be able to re-enter the space was coming.

Indeed, we were shut down a few days later, and most of my gear from that Academy was in my apartment (with Dylan's help). I spent a few days truly not knowing what to do. Then, I started teaching complimentary, Zoom, martial arts classes. I created a schedule and taught Wing Chun, Jeet Kune Do, Silat, Filipino Martial Arts, and Youth Martial Arts Classes. I soon figured out that I would commit to teaching, recording, and uploading 100 hours of complimentary martial arts classes.

I know people like shorter YouTube clips, and I know people might not want to watch 45 minute long clips. I get all that, however, those 100 hours are still there. If they can be of any use to you, even if you want to watch classes 5 minutes at a time, all I would ask is that you subscribe to the channel, like the videos, and share the link. You can visit my channel by clicking this link: https://www.youtube.com/user/StoopsMartialArts...

What came out of those public, complimentary Zoom classes was a nice core group of participants. After I finished my 100 complimentary classes, we moved the classes to a Member's Only format. I have literally had students from all over the US, Europe, and Australia earn rank through my Online Martial Arts Learning Community (OMALC).

It's hard to fathom that my OMALC is become such a thriving thing from such tough circumstances, and sometimes, I do feel a little guilty that something so good came out of something so bad. We're still doing our thing online, and when it is safe again to have live classes, those will be the classes streamed, recorded, and uploaded for members.

If the classes on the YouTube Channel can be of help, excellent. Again, if you could just subscribe, I would really appreciate it (you can turn your notifications off if you like). If you need more right now, I have some options, all of which you can read about at http://bryanstoopsmartialarts.com/

03/24/2021

From March of 2020 through July of 2020, I made it my mission to teach, record, and upload 100 hours of complimentary Filipino Martial Arts, Jeet Kune Do, Silat, Wing Chun, and KidPersist (Youth Martial Arts) Classes.

I know, I know: people don't want to watch videos longer than a few minutes. I got it...but you know, there are still 100 hours of martial arts classes just waiting for you on my Channel if you are still not able to train live yet safely. If you only want to watch the classes 5 minutes at a time, great, just as long as the content is helping people!

Would you all please subscribe to my channel (you can turn the notifications off if they bug you) and show some love with some likes?

https://www.youtube.com/user/StoopsMartialArts?sub_confirmation=1

Doctor Bryan Stoops is a professional martial artist and educator based in New York City. To advance your career like a warrior, to get a promotion & a raise...

03/13/2021

Just around this time, in 2011, I had made the decision to "fire" the gatekeepers. I was teaching high school English and getting ready to defend my doctoral dissertation. I really wanted to open up a semi-professional martial arts academy, and teach Filipino Martial Arts, Jeet Kune Do, Silat, Wing Chun, Dog Brother Martial Arts, and all of the other systems in which I was involved.

I had been looking into the zoning in several cities around Chino Hills, California, where I lived at the time. All I could even approach financially was a light industrial space (usually larger spaces, less costly). Around that time, I could literally tell you what each city's zoning department's attitude was towards letting a business like mine operate in such a space. Lots of the cities would only let me operate such a business with a Conditional Use Permit, the application fee for which was often in the 5K range, and even after paying that fee, there was no guarantee you would get the CUP.

I ultimately made the decision to "fire" all of those gatekeepers. For about a hundred bucks, I got a home-based business license, liability insurance, and I invested in some equipment. Because I was not selling any products, I didn't need a seller's license; I had a legitimate, semi-professional, home-based business. The week after I defended my doctoral dissertation, I started regular, weekly classes.

That garage academy was in back of, and separate from my condo, and it was at the top of a hill. The views were gorgeous, and we did A LOT of great training there in the next six years before I sold that condo.

Next weekend will mark a decide since I started that first garage academy. Some days, it feels like that was not very long ago at all, and some days, it feels like it's been a century since we started classes in that garage. I always say that life feels BOTH short and long; it depends on the day.

One week from today, my event, Decade will kick off at 11am Eastern/8am Pacific. It's a celebration of the 10 year anniversary of opening that garage academy, and all of the amazing people who have come into my life since then. The late, great Sensei George Leonard was a martial arts practitioner in northern California, and the following imagery from his keyboard always comes to mind when I think about all of those years, "There was a kaleidoscopic quality about those nights on the mat, with so many faces, bodies, egos, spirits passing in and out of my life. But sometimes in this dreamlike procession, a face and form would reappear over the weeks and month..." Again, those are Sensei Leonard's beautiful words, not mine, but they perfectly capture what I experienced starting in academy spaces in beginning in the early 2000's and later in my own academies.

I would like to invite you to participate in my celebration next weekend. There will be six hours of training presented over Zoom. We already have participants signed up from the U.S., but also from Ireland, and the beauty of this format is that you can be ANYWHERE in the world with an Internet connection, and still participate. The entire event is going to be recorded, and access to the recordings is included in your registration once they're uploaded. If you can't attend ALL 6 hours both days in real time on Zoom, you can always go back and watch the recordings.
ALL levels of prior martial arts experience are welcome, including if you have none at all! No matter where you're at, you will have a great time and benefit by being online with us. Also, it's Zoom; if you aren't feeling particularly coordinated, just turn your camera off. I want all of the participants to be comfortable for the entire event!

I have also decided to let participants have immediate access upon registration to the first level video and written materials from my Filipino Martial Arts, Jeet Kune Do, Silat, Wing Chun, Thaiboxing, and Youth Martial Arts curricular progressions (yes, those are all SEPARATE). Originally, the event was going to be 12 hours (that's more my sensibilities; I like a longer training day), but that came with a higher price point. Now, I'm putting on something a little more manageable in terms of hours, all of this is available to participants for a one-time investment of only $37.

I bought something online recently, and was shocked when a $16 fee for "further supplies" arrived. We call that "forced continuity" and it is not only DEEPLY frowned upon, it's not really supposed to be a thing anymore (there are "small print" ways around it, technically).

This is a ONE-TIME investment of $37. Done. Finished. Out. Lifetime access to the materials. No hidden fees. No upsells. No "additional resources" arriving online along with additional fees.

To get registered, just use this link: https://bryan-k-stoops.mykajabi.com/decade

Saturday, March 20th, 2021, Eastern Standard Time11am - 11:45am: Filipino Martial Arts Core Curriculum11:50am - 12:30pm: Jeet Kune Do12:35pm - 1:20pm: Silat1:20pm - 2pm: Lunch2pm - 2:45pm: Career Command Through Filipino Martial Arts

03/03/2021

So, just about a year ago, I had to close Family Martial Arts Academy in Midtown Manhattan, and shut down my live offerings on Roosevelt Island in NYC. This was after finally taking the leap and having gone full time as a martial artist. I started teaching public, complimentary Zoom martial arts classes to try and help as many people as possible in some small way during a really difficult time period, and, frankly, to stay sane!

Eventually, I decided that I would commit to teaching, recording, and uploading 100 hours of complimentary martial arts classes. I made good on that commitment in summer of 2020. While I know that "people don't want to watch long videos", blah, blah blah (and I get it), there are still over 100 hours of Filipino Martial Arts, Jeet Kune Do, Silat, Wing Chun, and Youth Martial Arts Classes just waiting for you to utilize them how ever you might like to. Don't wanna watch the whole class, no problem. Only want to watch 10 minutes, rock on and enjoy those 10 minutes. I taught and shared all of that content to help people during a really tough time, so please utilize it however you want to. All I ask is that you subscribe to the channel and like some of the videos. Just follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/user/StoopsMartialArts...

When I started teaching those public, complimentary classes in March of 2020, I felt like I started to find my way again after being lost of a little while. Very soon after starting those classes, I started saying that, as a martial arts community, we had to do whatever we could to not end up in a figurative pit of non-training. One year later, we're here, and the "I'm Still Waiting For Live Classes" Crowd is still waiting. That last sentence is NOT a "gotcha" and I'm not rubbing anyone's nose in dirt. Like I've been saying for a YEAR NOW, I don't know how much longer you're going to be waiting, and I want to make the most out of this time.

A good percentage of my original group from those public, complimentary, Zoom classes became members of my Online Martial Arts Learning Community (OMALC) once I completed my Commitment Of The 100 and our Zoom classes became Member's Only. One of my members EARNED not only his Black Belt/Phase IV in the Filipino Martial Arts but an instructorship in the FMAs and he did it literally on the other side of the world...in Australia!
A GREAT, RISK-FREE way to sample how my organization is currently running while we wait for the world to reopen is to register for Decade, my two-day, six-hour, Zoom training event offered in celebration of the 10 year anniversary of my opening my first semi-professional martial arts academy. You'll be able to participate online from ANYWHERE in the world. All six hours will be recorded, and lifetime access to the recordings is included in your registration, so if you are not available for all six hours, you can go back and access the recordings anytime you want. I have also housed the Zoom info for the event in my OMALC Level 1 Kit which includes the entire first level of my Filipino Martial Arts, Jeet Kune Do, Silat, Wing Chun, Thaiboxing, and Youth Martial Arts Curricular Progressions in both tutorial videos and written form (those are all SEPARATE programs). All levels of prior martial arts experience (including NONE) are welcome!

Get immediate access to all of those materials, access to attend the event in real time, future access to the recordings, all the info, and registration info by following this link: https://bryan-k-stoops.mykajabi.com/decade

Saturday, March 20th, 2021, Eastern Standard Time11am - 11:45am: Filipino Martial Arts Core Curriculum11:50am - 12:30pm: Jeet Kune Do12:35pm - 1:20pm: Silat1:20pm - 2pm: Lunch2pm - 2:45pm: Career Command Through Filipino Martial Arts

02/19/2021

From the age of 7 until I was 24, I was in the variety arts. I performed all over the place and had some major success here and there. After earning a degree in theater, I moved to Vegas for a year to further pursue my career in the performing arts. I got to Vegas about a month and change before 911, which destroyed tourism, and made that year really hard. I continued to work here and there, and my apartment was so affordable at that time, I actually finished the year with some extra money saved.

I moved back home and continued performing for a while. Ultimately, I had a friend who was a teacher, and in a conversation one night, I realized I had always taught in some form or another. I had taught children's theater during college, I taught martial arts for a year during college, and I had even taken a few courses in educational theater at UCLA where I wrote curriculum for the first time.

I did a week at a club in Hollywood, and shortly after that, I started teacher credentialing classes. I don't consider myself "done" when it comes to my passion for performing arts. I do Zoom stand-up comedy all of the time, and I have a concept I actually like for an offering in the variety arts. I didn't feel like I "gave up on my dream", I just had another one: I wanted to become the best teacher I could. That was my focus.

One day, in one of my first classes, the professor told us that we could get a master's degree in educational technology, and that they even had a doctoral program in the same subject. I ended up getting very lucky, and getting to teach full-time on something called an intern credential. While I was on the lowest tier of the salary schedule, I was a full-time teacher while I was working on my credential in the evenings.

My first quarter, I taught five classes, and then attended a four-hour credentialing class Monday through Thursday. It was very hard work, but I was drawing a salary, getting a year of service credit, and saving money. Each quarter, the amount of classes I had to attend in the evenings diminished, and at the end of the school year, I earned my preliminary credential, and bought a condo (with some help from my family), but also with a considerable amount of money I earned from performing and from that first year of teaching.

I went right into work on my master's, attending a few classes in the evening. Aside from my 4 undergraduate years, during which I was freelancing as a performer, I was working full-time while going to graduate classes in the evening. That's 1 year for my preliminary credential, 2 for my master's, 3.5 for my doctorate, and 2 for my admin credential.

All of that was going on while I was pursuing my martial arts dreams after buying that condo before my second year of teaching. That was my focus; that was my dream. Recently, I was watching a Chris Rock stand-up special, and he was doing a bit about how high schools should be honest with incoming freshman. In the bit, he askes, "Did you REALLY want to be a vice principal?"

A few years into teaching, I REALLY wanted to become a vice/assistant principal! :) I learned what I wanted and didn't want in a school leader. It took me about four years after earning my doctorate, but I eventually served as a Dean of Students and then was promoted to Assistant Principal at a high school in eastern Los Angeles County. That REALLY was my dream. My first year of admin was awesome. My second year was split awesome and very challenging. By my third year, it was obvious that my serving as a high school administrator was not the right move for my family at the time.

I was looking to go back into the classroom, and I received an offer from a charter school in Brooklyn. It was the chance for another adventure. That brings me to the last 2.5 years in NYC. I don't consider ANY of my journey a waste. I have some great memories from my years in the performing arts, and my time as a performer just makes my K12 teaching/presenting and martial arts instruction more dynamic. I don't regret opening a martial arts Academy in NYC that got shut down by the pandemic. I don't regret moving to NYC; we love and miss our CA family and friends, but this is such an amazing place to live. I don't regret any of it, and the journey just keeps on keeping on. Yesterday, I wrote about how I use Filipino Martial Arts to help people advance their careers like a warrior.

Today, and I really hate to be a pain in the neck, I need your help: I want to get some helpful information in front of as many K12 educators as possible. If you know anyone in K12, please send them to: martialartswisdom4k12.com

02/11/2021

I grew up being really interested in martial arts. I did a few months of Karate after seeing the original Karate Kid in the 80's. In the early 90's after wanting to learn to kick from Van Damme movies, I trained in Tae Kwon Do for three years. At fourteen, keeping my grades up, and high school theater won over martial arts and I stopped training. In college, it was mandatory to take two quarters of Tai Chi for freshmen in my program, and that led me to wanting to get back to the arts. I did three years of Shaolin Kempo. My instructor broke away from a large chain after that second year, and I spent that third year teaching lots of private lessons and group classes in a new site my instructor opened. The school didn't last but I learned a lot that year.

From about the time I was eight through all of that, I was reading about Bruce Lee, Dan Inosanto, and all of the other instructors and systems associated with the Inosanto umbrella. In my mid 20's I had finished my first year of teaching high school English, bought a condo, and started my life. I was using my dial-up Internet (this was the early 2000's) to look for an Aikido school when I found the Kali Academy in Whittier founded by Sifu/G**o Bud Thompson, not all that far away from where I was teaching English.

I remember stepping into Sifu Bud's school, seeing all of the gear and images associated with all of the martial artists and martial arts systems I had been reading about since I was a little kid. I started my training very soon after that. Today, I'm a certified Instructor under Sifu Bud, G**o Inosanto, Sifu Fong, Ajarn Chai, PG Crafty Dog, GT Gaje, Master Virgil Cavada, Professor Saignac and others.

At the end of 2010/early 2011, I was investigating how to open my own part time school. I had become very familiar with which cities in my area that were more friendly to letting a martial arts business open in a light industrial space. Nothing really worked financially. I eventually opened a legitimate business in my garage in Chino Hills, California. I had a home-based business license and insurance. I was not selling any products, so from the standpoint of licenses, it was completely legitimate.

We did A LOT of good training in that garage. I opened it in March of 2011, right after defending my doctoral dissertation. Tomorrow, I'll illustrate a bit more of my journey over the last seventeen years training with the instructors and systems with which I am now associated.

In March, I will be having a 12 hour, digital training event in to celebrate the decade since I opened my first garage academy. Please join me; it is going to be a great weekend. You can get all of the info and register by clicking on this link: https://bryan-k-stoops.mykajabi.com/decade

02/07/2021

I need 5 minutes of your time before the game starts (pretty please, with sugar on top, the more people who can help me, the better, and I'm begging and it REALLY will only take 5 minutes max):

In 2006, I wrote my master's thesis on how K12 teachers could use the philosophy of Bruce Lee to become more functional in the classroom. In 2008, I created a short, written piece on the same topic for my doctoral work. In 2015, I presented some PD to teachers in my district on the topic. In 2018, I gave a short talk at UCLA on the same subject. Every few years, I pick this topic back up for a while.

There has NEVER been a more necessary time than the 2020-2021 school year to see this idea through. I have started to create some content to help as many K12 educators as possible.

Please enjoy this 2 and a half minute-long video below, then head over to the YouTube link and Like and Subscribe; more content is coming: https://youtu.be/m4px-HCkEio

Then, if you are a K12 educator, or you have anyone in your family who is, please share the video with them, and send them over to this FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2032846980350763

02/06/2021

This is going to be a bit of a long update:

For the past year and a half, I have been very focused on creating martial arts content for martial artists. That's what most martial arts instructors do. I have put my Filipino Martial Arts Core, Silat Core, and Jeet Kune Do curricular progressions on video, and in writing. My members have access to the ENTIRE curriculum I have created for each of those, and I teach weekly Zoom classes in those arts that get recorded and uploaded to my members as well. This includes KidPersist too!

Recently, my colleagues have been helping me record my Wing Chun Curriculum and some kickboxing curriculum too. By initially offering 100 Complementary hours of Zoom Martial Arts Classes (use this link, like & subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/user/StoopsMartialArts)
For all of the info about of those offerings, visit http://stoopsomalc.com/ and I have started uploading and offering some of that content on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/.../wing-chun-kung-fu-for.../...

In early 2019, I created my Career Command Through Filipino Martial Arts program to help people advance their careers like a warrior, to get a promotion and a raise without compromising their integrity. Martial arts material for martial artists is great. However, the legends in those are arts still the legends (and I am absolutely NOT writing about myself here). The "names" in those arts are established, and while I have earned my spot "at the table", people tend to think of the names first.

That's why I created my Career Command program. With the martial artists I guide in terms of developing them as instructors and creators, I always advise them to create martial arts offerings unique to their skill sets and experiences. That's why I created a Filipino Martial Arts program to help people ethically advance their careers. If you would like to watch a video masterclass to learn more about that program, just visit http://careercommand.org/ or better yet, order a copy of the book I wrote on the topic: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08T6KDDXS

Starting tomorrow and into next week, I am going to start shifting my focus towards a martial arts program I created to help K12 educators. I have extensive professional experience and education related to K12, and I have created some content just for K12 educators to help them during this dumpster fire inside of a nuclear powerplant inside of an asteroid speeding towards earth of a school year. If you are a K12 educator, or you know anyone who is, please send them to this group page to request membership; that's where I will initially be releasing A LOT of complimentary resources: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2032846980350763
That's where I would like to shift my focus for a while: helping people set up unique, online martial arts programs designed to serve a need. I have eight spots left.

All you need is a space in your home to teach, even if it's your family room, two hours in your weekly schedule during which you can regularly teach Zoom classes, and the desire to serve your dream students. We will have a group check in on Zoom Sunday, February 28th at Noon EST (New York Time) for about 2 hours, so you need to be free for that.

If you are interested, just answer the questions below, and Email your responses to [email protected] ASAP!

- Full Name
- Age
- City, State, and Zip Code
- Describe your ideal student. Age(s)? Gender? Educational background? Personal characteristics? What qualities would those individuals have? Be honest. Whom do you dream to serve?
- This is the opposite of #4. What are deal breakers for the kinds of students you absolutely, unequivocally DO NOT want to serve? Be honest with yourself.
- For a moment, forget ALL about what's commercial, what sells, and what is "popular". Ideally, what would you like to teach your dream students?
Lastly, what outcome would you like to help your dream students achieve? Try to differentiate those from the usual martial arts/fitness set-up (develop discipline, get stronger, get more flexible).