Faulkenberry Martial Arts

Very much enjoyed our visit with former students and instructors this past weekend. Time has gone by so very fast and to watch the kids grow and us adults get OLDER was amazing. Having little kids who are now in my psychology classes at DVC is also weird. Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season and continued happiness, health, and prosperity. Look for a celebration coming in the summer as Linda wants to have another get together honoring friends, students, and that I'm getting older this next year at 60! Dang... who would have ever thought I'd get this old SO FAST!

Hi Gang and Former Students! I just wanted to drop a note to any and all former students that we're having a simple little get-together at our house on December 7th... A little holiday visiting for those that want to come by and visit. It will be from 1-4 p.m. on that Saturday the 7th. You can bring a simple little dessert/cookie/brownie as it is the holidays and it's okay for us to get a little fat around this time! Let me know if you plan on coming as it would be fun to... see so many of you... I'll try and check the page a couple of times a week if you have questions! I see a handful of students a year in various ways but it would be nice to offer a little get-together with those who would want to come and say hello! Linda and I would love to see you... I'm sure Meg would to. As you know, (or may not) Wes got married last year and is working in San Francisco in a new tech start up after graduating with a degree in Psychology and Business Managment. Meg just finished a certification in film and video production at DVC and continues to write. I still teach Psychology at various colleges and am a gym rat... We'd love to see you if you're around so drop me a note and let me know! Love and blessings to you and yours!

Had such a good time with some of our OLD students Saturday who came by for a potluck BBQ! I brought out many of our old plaques and looked at pictures and ate... Reminded me of the old days! It was such a hit that we'll open it up during the holidays and have another one... I'm back to teaching privately again, which is interesting, and so far my body is not painfully rejecting the moves... It's still early but I'm enjoying the process - again! I'm still teaching psychol...ogy at the college(s) and am enjoying the kids/adults/students. I hope this finds you all well and enjoying the incredible life you've created! Stay tuned for the Holiday Potluck for those who want to come and visit and let us know what has happened in your life!

Chapter 14 and 15 are up on Wattpad.com on the book THE GIFT OF TRAINING... this chapter dealt with a real-life incident we've all seen and maybe been a part of - road rage... Check it out! https://www.wattpad.com/344209889-a-gift-of-training-chapte

Chapters 11 and 12 are up... The group home kids get a sens of martial arts training and, Chapter 12 offers a combat dream... How many fights have started this way? ugh... Painful to read about this type of engagement but many of us, most probably, have been confronted with this type of situation in one form or another... Here is the link... https://www.wattpad.com/328238416-a-gift-of-training-chapte

Chapters 9 and 10 of A Gift of Training are up... So fun to read this after all these years... some good wisdom from early in my teaching came through... Lol. Or, at least I feel it was/is good wisdom. Take a peak if you're into the non-physical aspects of martial arts... Here is the link to the latest chapter(s). I hope your life is going well! https://www.wattpad.com/327580860-a-gift-of-training-chapte

Not too many more chapters... but, for those interested in the continuing lessons, in book format... here is Chapter 8... A heavy chapter as one of the group home boys unloads a heavy burden... A great lesson for us in empathy and compassion. Here is the link if you're interested... https://www.wattpad.com/325959004-a-gift-of-training-chapte

Chapter 7 is up and one of my all-time favorite martial arts stories is in this one... I must admit, reading this book that I wrote when I was young is so interesting... I had some wisdom IN MY HEAD if not anywhere else... It also brings up the maxim - you teach best that which you most need to learn. I am so grateful for being able to act as 'teacher' to so many lessons that I truly wanted to learn. Having great students through the years really helped as well. Anyway, have fun on the read if you like... Here's the link to the chapter...https://www.wattpad.com/325708445-a-gift-of-training-chapte

Continuing to share the book a little at a time... Chapter 6 is up... More lessons on why we might suffer in life.... Hmmm.... Here's the link! On a side note - I hope ALL PHASES of your training are moving along. If not, why are they stagnant? Oh, the link: https://www.wattpad.com/325175945-a-gift-of-training-chapte

And also Chapter 5... the job I had at the time is revealed... along with my love for the characters that inhabited that job... Take a look! https://www.wattpad.com/324810673-a-gift-of-training-chapte

Chapter 4 is up for A GIFT OF TRAINING. An interesting chapter on letting go of the deep-seated pain within... Hmmm.... Here is the Link... https://www.wattpad.com/324690929-a-gift-of-training-chapte And remember, it is FREE so, if you like reading, and you like martial arts, and its philosophy, especially as we talked about it in class for years, jump on and read... drop me a note on Wattpad.com or here and let me know your thoughts...

Chapter 3 of A GIFT OF TRAINING is up on Wattpad for those who are interested in continuing their non-physical martial arts training. I haven't read the book in a decade or more but as I read through before posting I am reminded of so many beautiful lessons that martial arts might be willing to teach us...if we are of the mind. Anyway, it is up if you would like to read it... It's free and here is the link to chapter 3... https://www.wattpad.com/324072549-a-gift-of-training-chapte

A quick hello as it has been a month or so! Lol... I hope this finds you doing well. I also just realized something and wanted to share it with you. Within the first couple of years of opening the school, I wrote my first book, A GIFT OF TRAINING. I wrote in the late 1980's I believe... It is a semi-fictional account of a journey as the main character wants to study martial arts and meets a TRUE MASTER of this world... It is mostly auto-biographical and taken from events ...in my life but I think you'll resonate with the martial arts AND ITS PHILOSOPHY. It is FREE up on Wattpad.com and you can catch as I try and post a chapter at a time for the next month or so... The first two chapters are up. I think you'll find it funny, inspirational, and satisfies that martial arts craving we've all had... And, it will remind you of the chats we had at the end of every class! Here's a link: https://www.wattpad.com/story/87475362-a-gift-of-training

Wow... It is September 4th and a few days before my 56th birthday... strange in that almost exactly half my life ago we opened the first school in 1987... It's been a long road since then and while my body has gone through a cycle that consisted of getting stronger, faster, and more disciplined, the other part of the cycle lets me know that it comes full circle and that I will not be as strong or fast and when it comes to the physical combat, even less-disciplined. Howeve...r, as the cycle of the physical goes through its changes so does the mind, emotional intelligence, and spirit. Here is where we as martial artists continue our training. While I cannot kick as fast or as high or as effortless I can open my heart wider, embrace myself and others more fully, and let go of the pain that may be hiding from past choices. That is a part of training that never ends. In that way I have become a better martial artist as I have chosen to feel and open myself up to ideas, opportunities, and people that more clearly align with my dreams, choices, and path. This is a type of training we can all do despite our physical age or limitations. I know many combat practitioners... but so very many lack the non-physical training. I see it all the time when talking with and listening to MMA fighters.... They are great physical fighters but most appear to have neglected that non-physical components of their training. I offer you the thought to train hard on those aspects of your martial spirit that IS NOT physically related. Only in that way, in my mind and in our system's philosophy, will you ever achieve the highest level of what a martial artist can achieve... Keep up the good work... Love and blessings to you in all that you do.