Paul VunakPaulVunak.com:
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| Paul Vunak was born in October 1960, in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He lived there until 1970, when his
family moved to Long Beach, California. At the young age of 7, Paul began his interest in the martial arts. By age 10, he started studying Tae Kwon Do. And by 14, he achieved his first black belt. Next, Paul began exploring other styles, such as Kempo and Hung Gar (Tiger Crane) Gung Fu. Within 3 years, he earned a 2nd black belt, in Kempo. More importantly, Paul discovered his life calling: To turn his love for the martial arts into his work. Then, in August of 1976, the school where Paul studied Kempo closed. So, he decided to investigate another school he had been hearing about, the Filipino Kali Academy. One look and it was “love at first site”. During a 3 month waiting period, Paul became the school pest, showing up every day to observe unauthorized. Then, he began studying Bruce LeeÂ’s Jeet Kune Do, under the guidance of LeeÂ’s top student Dan Inosanto. Although the Filipino Kali Academy encouraged students to be well-rounded, many of InosantoÂ’s instructors specialized in specific areas. For example, Ted Lucay became very well known for his weaponsÂ’ skills. Others concentrated on boxing, and some on the study of the tradition and history of the art. Soon, Paul learned he had a certain talent for raw street fighting. During that period, when academy students wanted private instruction in a specialized area, Inosanto referred them to the appropriate instructor. By 1982, Paul found himself with a rather large group of fighters, all with the same interest in realistic street fighting. At this point, Dan Inosanto encouraged Vunak to take the next step in his development, both as a fighter and teacher. He felt Paul should establish his own unique identity in the martial arts world. Paul wanted an organization that would uphold the concepts he learned from Inosanto...continually learning and growing, both in knowledge and in spirit. He also felt that these concepts should be reflected in the name of the organization. Accordingly, in 1983 Paul Vunak founded Progressive Fighting Systems (PFS.) Right from the start, he installed the concept of personal instruction in Jeet Kune Do. PFS students typically came to PaulÂ’s home studio for weekly group classes. Word of PaulÂ’s masterful teaching style and world class fighting skill began to circulate. Soon he accepted students from all parts of the country. Then, began traveling to teach seminars, and made his first series of instructional videos in 1986. The following year, Paul received an unexpected visit from the U.S. military. Immediately, he moved to Virginia with a contract to teach hand to hand combat to the Navy Seals. He remained there until 1991, when military budget cuts put an end to the program. Then, Paul returned to California, where he resumed teaching group classes and seminars. One of the most valuable lessons he learned from working with the Navy Seals was how to condense and intensify Jeet Kune Do training. Because of the Seals severe time constraints, that forced Paul to streamline his teaching techniques. So, Paul condensed the time it took to master this knowledge from years to only days. Because of this and his reputation with the military, numerous law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the DEA, began to solicit his highly effective training methods to advance their personnel training. In 1991, he joined forces with producer Don Wasser to form PFS Video and started the Streetfighting Series. To this date, Paul has starred in 32 of these videos / dvds, all highly acclaimed in the martial arts world for their effectiveness and production quality. One of the most important goals of PFS is to promote the worldwide expansion of Jeet Kune Do and the Filipino Martial Arts. And, of equal importance is to demonstrate an undying loyalty to the man given the task carrying on Bruce Lee’s art, Dan Inosanto. Paul explains, “I owe everything to Dan.” He had unlimited patience during my prickly teenage years, when I had a major chip on my shoulder. To this day, I consider it an honor to count myself among his students.” Perhaps the most vital mission for Paul Vunak’s organization is to provide the means for students to grow and develop, not just physically, but also mentally, and emotionally. By pursuing these ambitions, he hopes to ensure Bruce Lee’s contribution to the martial arts and to humanity will never be forgotten. |