IDA and IMA Co-Founder James Kent
Growing up in the poor, desperate, ethnically diverse area of East County San Diego, I was subjected to seeing and understanding violence at an early age. I gained much experience after my 20 years of life to understand the minds of gang bangers and drug addicts and how to survive in a rough underworld. During my high school years in San Diego, I studied Choy Li Fut Kung Fu in the White Dragon School of Martial Arts of East County, while also on the wrestling team in my high school, and training under one of our Hall of Fame CIF Champion wrestlers and judo expert. After gaining an opportunity to leave San Diego,
I left and headed to Atlanta for a better life in the country and a chance to go to college. While here I've studied under the Chudokai Aikido Federation in the Sokukan dojo for two years and am now studying American Freestyle, Greko-Roman Wrestling, under an All-American Collegiate Wrestler and Judo black belt. I started my home study regimen in early 2008 while looking for a serious, Close Quarter, all-in Combat style. No retreat, no mercy, no sparring, and relentless was key for me. My journey eventually took me through many old combat books written both pre and post WWII for the civilian and the soldier alike. My heroes quickly became W.E. Fairbairn, Eric Sykes, Wesley Brown...and many others. Over the next year while I trained in WWII Combative techniques and Combat Jiu-Jitsu, I ran into a website called The Self Defense Company, who sold a product (The Self Defense Training System or TSDTS) that had shown many techniques that I've been training in and it caught my interest. Soon enough I got the system sent to me and have been studying it ever since.
Most recently I've been wanting to get back into a martial art and soon met Sensei Cole through TSDTS and found his website had a formal Home Study Program to learn a science-based combat art called Integrated Martial Arts (IMA). After many discussions I was honored with the position of Co-Founder of IDA and IMA which I happily accepted. Now I stand here to tell you that I've been on both sides of the track and don't let anyone tell you that you can't train on your own and be an excellent martial artist or be able to defend yourself. They are dead wrong. If you have a yearning to better yourself in the martial arts or feel safer walking the streets, then read the articles, watch the videos, or join us in IMA, and go out to your backyard or workout area and put your fist to grindstone...Your journey begins where you are...not just where you go.
