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Paul’s journey into the martial arts began at a young
age. He studied traditional arts such as Hung Gar gung
fu, and received black belts in the arts of Tae Kwon Do
and Kenpo. It was after Paul’s Kenpo school closed
(where he was the head instructor at age 16) that Paul
was accepted at Dan Inosanto’s Kali Academy. It was
love at first sight.
Paul immersed himself into his training and began to
assist Dan during demonstrations, seminars and training
the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. Paul also taught classes at
the academy.
Paul proved to be an excellent teacher. He helped
popularize the art of Savate by opening the first Savate
school in the US with Daniel Duby.
Paul’s emphasis on his own training focused on the
violent unpredictability of a streetfight and self
preservation. Students with similar interests
gravitated towards Paul and his teaching methods. It
was with Dan Inosanto’s encouragement and blessing that
Paul formed Progressive Fighting Systems.
Paul’s method of having himself and his students “glove
up” and “discover the cause of your ignorance” may have
been viewed as extreme to some in the 80’s. One group
who saw the benefit in these methods was the United
States Navy and Paul was presented a contract to teach
the legendary Navy SEAL Team Six.
Paul’s influence on the martial arts community, and the
JKD community in particular, cannot be overlooked. His
training methods and strategies for dealing with violent
encounters are now taken for granted 20 years later.
Paul studied with, and publicly endorsed, the Gracie’s
and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu years before the first UFC.
Many of today’s more popular JKD instructors have been
personally trained by Paul Vunak and/or Progressive
Fighting Systems.
Among Paul’s many accomplishments, he has received a key
to the city and had a day proclaimed in his honor in
Indiana for the work he did with law enforcement
officers. He accepted a request to be a guest speaker
at Governor Schwarzenegger’s Arnold Classic held in
Columbus, Ohio. He was also elected to the World
Martial Arts Hall of Fame.
But Paul is most proud of his recent endeavors,
Executive PFS and Adapt for Life.
“Nothing can give you as much joy and gratification as
seeing a child in a wheelchair smiling and feeling
empowered.”
Letters of
Appreciation from US Military and Law Enforcement
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