MASTER FARIBORZ AZHAKH
Hapkido/Blend
Every black belt remembers the time when martial arts
became a passion. It happened to me at age eight. My brother took me
to see a Bruce Lee movie, and to this day I can close my eyes and feel
the emotion that overwhelmed me as I watched the screen. At that moment
I totally fell in love with the power of martial arts, but it would
be many years before I found the physical and spiritual paths to black
belt. Once I began that journey, however, the martial arts and the art
of teaching became central element of my life.
Bruce Lee gave me inspiration, but the following years were filled
with frustration because there were no martial art schools near my
home. I finally realized my dreams when I moved to California and
had the great fortune to enter Steve Sexton's Hapkido school in Canoga
Park. Through Steve's selfless guidance I achieved black belt in 1981
and I became an assistant instructor at the school. In those early
years I viewed instructing as a sideline while I remained focused
on my personal training. With time and maturity I grew nearer to the
spiritual and philosophical center of the martial arts and I began
to realize the tremendous personal rewards of teaching. After some
months of uncertainty, I decided to completely redefine and reshape
my life, and at Steve Sexton's urging, I took on the role of school
owner and became a professional instructor of Hapkido.
I named my school "Team Karate Center" because I became
devoted to the idea that the instructors and the students should work
together, as a team, so that each student can find and create their "individual
art" within the traditions of Hapkido. I believe that no matter
what individual qualities a student has - natural talents or special
challenges - there is profound value in the martial arts for everyone.
Consequently, the elementary principles at our school are centered
on the teamwork required for all of us - teacher, instructor, student
and parent (for our younger students) - to identify and advance this
value.
Currently, the school follows a multi-cultural approach that is
grounded in function and usefulness. In the basic program we focus
on traditional physical skills, and we stress the development of individual
responsibility and core character strengths. Advanced students are
introduced to an extension of Hapkido that I call Blend. From the
very early years my training was based on the concept of "thinking
outside the box." I evolved Blend, in this way, to move from
style-based techniques to versatile, range-based frameworks. This
combines Hapkido with certain aspects of Brazilian and Japanese Jujitsu,
American Boxing, Wing Chun and the Filipino arts.
Over the past 20 years my physical and spiritual advancements have
been influenced by many remarkable people. I have had the cherished
privilege of studying with Grand Master Ji Han Jae. I am, and will
always be, indebted to Master Steve Sexton and I continue to extend
my personal growth with the generosity of David Meyers (grappling)
and Ron Balicki (Filipino martial arts: trapping, stick and knife
techniques).
As a teacher, I have always viewed learning as a fun and rewarding
experience. I look to this philosophy, within the discipline and tradition
of Hapkido, to inspire and motivate the students and the assistant
instructors at our school, and I offer the multi-faceted challenge
of Blend to give advanced students a contemporary martial art that
is filled with unique insight and reward.
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