"Well my martial arts training started 11 years ago in a run down tai chi club were my first sensei John Silverman was teaching wing chung . I remember going in for the first time not knowing what to expect, I was a fat hot tempered child who had wanted to learn martial arts for many years and was finally given the chance. Apparently John was also trained in Karate and said the kicks from that art would help me loose weight. I trained one on one with him for about 2 years, the training was hard and ruff but I learned not to give up. I was hit by a car and damaged both my knees and back. It took nearly a year before I could walk without the aid of a cane. I also at that time ballooned to just under 300 lbs.

I went back to start training again when I noticed John was gone and an old woman whose name I can no longer remember was teaching Tai Chi. I asked where he was and told her why I stopped training and expressed my interest in finding a place to study Aikido. She said I should try tai chi and Aikido also claiming I would likely not be able to kick any longer anyways after the accident. I tried the tai chi and could not get into it at that time I still had the need for a more combative system. My mother came across Woo Sang Kim who was teaching hap-ki-do and tea-kwon-do. When I found out that hap-ki-do also had joint locks, throws, kicking and striking I said I would try it. During my four years of hap-ki-do training I also became well versed in tea-kwon-do as well as three styles of hap-ki-do. I proved I could still kick and strengthened my legs and was 100% again also I lost over 150 lbs.

I studied Sang Kim’s, master Lee’s and Dragan Vujic’s versions of hip-ki-do all under the same roof. I also taught hap-ki-do for sang kim at UWO for a period time. I then left Sang Kim’s and went to train with bluewater tea-kwon-do. I then left the style of tea kwon do and hip-ki-do and started kenpo and arnis. I soon found I was not getting wanted I wanted out of traditional martial arts and quit all styles altogether. I was sick of kata and stances useless weapons that I would never use in real situations. Plus the idea of breaking a brick to prove you are a black belt struck me as a joke. A brick does not hit back and shows not true fighting skill but is merely a parlour trick in my opinion. Also the idea of multiple belts with tips and strips and all the other commercial stuff seems pointless. I wanted to learn how to truly fight tradition was not what I wanted and that was all people were offering.

That is until I met Grandmaster Gus Michalik when he walked into a post office I was working at. I walked up to him and said I knew who he was and wanted to try his system and if it didn’t work I would never train in any style or system again. He went on to tell me things I never heard of before like using acupuncture points in a combative way and what real pressure point fighting was. He told me about Dim-Mak and said he could teach me all the joint locks and throws I wanted to learn. I tried one of his classes and was hooked I realized his system does work and it works very well. Grandmaster Michalik taught me and the rest of his students not just how to fight but how to survive. I perfected many throws, locks and breaks while studying the Black arts. But most important of all was the knowledge of the pressure points and how to use them. I will continue to train and study in this system until I’m old and grey and my body no longer permits it. You can not ask for a better instructor then Grandmaster Michalik he is a very kind and generous man who is like family to me. When I finished my master’s test with Grandmaster Michalik I knew I had true knowledge and skill and not just a fancy belt. Thank you Grandmaster Gus Michalik for being a great teacher and mentor to me and all your students past, present and future."

-- Sensei Steven Stanley