American Martial Arts Academy

 More than just a Karate School

For God Created Man in HIs Own Image......Therefore The Power of The Spirit Is Ours!!!!

  ShunShifu Allen Casselman

I then tied up with a high school friend that had gotten his black belt in Shotakon Karate and for the next six months I was put through a variety of tortures.

  I did learn discipline and focus as well as how to hit hard. I discovered that I had difficulty moving my feet and keeping my balance thru the application of techniques.

After leaving, because of the fear of injury mostly, I became a young father that needed to feed a family.  I continued to read books on martial arts and workout part time in my backyard on what I was discovering about the arts.

In 1973 I began to work with a young man named  John who had received private training from a young Chinese man from China whom he worked with.  As John explained to me he had a feeling that this man knew some martial arts and kept following him until he was accepted as a student.  For two years John had trained every Saturday in Wing Chun style Kung Fu until that final day when teacher stops teaching his student.

John taught me and another young man in the art of Wing Chun.  Later I became aware of how informat the back yard style was that he taught, but never the less I did learn enough usable material to carry me for the next ten years in my own personal search into the capabilities of the mystic martial arts.

In 1986 I discovered the city had sponsored classes in Red Dragon Kung Fu and for the next year I worked diligently and quickly achieved an Orange Belt in that Style.  For my interests and physical build I preferred the Kung Fu style.  The looseness of the style and performance of techniques I had confidence in protecting others and myself.

1995 I connected with Isidro Anaya who was a Black Belt in the Red Dragon School when I was studying there.  I had hoped he would continue my training in that style but he was teaching Chinese Kempo now and tricked me back into martial arts training by asking me to come in and help with his class.  I discovered very quickly that the moves that I could do when I was younger I no longer could do so I basically started at the beginning again.  I worked hard and progressed quickly and earned by black belt and began teaching in his school.  Within a year he wanted to retire and I began teaching under my own name.

It wasn’t long before Scott Harper, second degree black belt, had joined me and began teaching me Tang-Te-Kempo of which we were partners in his system for about two years. Life got in the way and he has went on to teach in his own school.

I have learned so much more since I acquired my black belt that I sometimes become amazed at how quickly one can learn.  This has resulted in my conclusion that "once one has achieved black belt one has finally become a student."t

In 1998 Carlos Melendez entered into my life teaching White Dragon. Carlos is the founder of White Dragon Art and been developing the art for about 10 years at this time.

I quickly became impressed with Carlos’ candor about the difficulties he has been through in his life, his deep desire to teach anyone who wanted to learn what he had discovered.  As a result of this connection I continued working with Scott and occasionally with Carlos.  Scott had been teaching me the technical side of the art and Carlos has been teaching me the physical and physics behind the arts.   Very enlightening on both fronts for me.

Scott developed difficulty maintaining his family, job and teaching, so Carlos and I partnered up in American Martial Arts Academy teaching the White Dragon art.