During the 2016 Cold Steel Challenge, CS President Lynn C Thompson received an unexpected surprise!
After announcing the winners of the 2016 Challenge Stick Fighting Division, Lynn was surprised by his Instructor Guro Ron Balicki and high ranking members of the M.A.R.S (Martial Arts Research Systems) with a certificate ranking him as an Apprentice Level 4 (equivalent to a 2nd degree Black Belt) in their system.

Lynn said:
"I have trained privately with Guro Ron, 2-3 days a week for almost two decades! We train Filipino Martial Arts, Silat, Wing Chun, Jeet Kune Do, Shooto, Muay Thai and Savate. He is a huge inspiration to me and I'm proud to be his student. There are probably less than 20 people in the world who have achieved this rank in Ron's syllabus, and it is a huge honor for me to be an Apprentice Instructor and a part of the M.A.R.S lineage.
It meant a great deal to me that my senior instructors were there for this, and I was surrounded by my friends and family from the Filipino Martial Arts Community.
I've dedicated my life to studying with Guro Ron and my other instructors (Professor Anthony DeLongis, Master Russell Seveny and Sensei Luke LaFontaine) and this recognition of my accomplishments has inspired me to train even harder!
This journey isn't over yet!"

Please join us in congratulating Lynn on this achievement!

свернуть