Dwight Woods is the owner and head instructor of the world famous Dwight Woods Martial Arts Academy. In business for over 10 years, the school concentrates on acquiring training methods and technical expertise from the most combat ive martial arts in the world. The belief that the study of many different arts can create the best environment for self discovery and self improvement drive the school and Sifu Dwight Woods teaching.
Dwight's major martial arts influence has been through Guro Dan Inosanto. He is currently certified as a FULL INSTRUCTOR under Guro Dan.
Full Instructor credentials include:
The Filipino Martial Arts and the Jun Fan Martial Arts.
Instructor: Maphilindo Silat system.
His other Instructorships include:
Instructor and Regional Director: Muay Thai-Thai Boxing under Chai Sirisute
Wing Chun sources: Francis Fong, Guro Dan Inosanto
Instructor: French Savate - Salem Assli
International Seminars include:
Dwight Woods Teaching Philosophy:
Our Philosophy is to offer Martial Arts training that interests and works for as many different people as possible. In the training process the students learn to respect themselves, appreciate different cultures and understand different points of view.
Self improvement is the goal. To accomplish this we must first have self defense skills. This frees us from the fears in our lives and allows us to get on with other things. The process of training your body and searching your mind can give the student a positive direction and outlook on life. During this training we constantly tap the violent side of ourselves. It is by gaining some control over our violent side that we can become peaceful individuals. This concept has been passed down in nearly every Martial tradition but has been somehow lost in this age. It is important to have "Legitimate" fighting skills. If, however, all you become is an "Ass Kicker" who is a failure at life, what good are you? It is our insecurities that bring us to the Martial Arts. We should work to defeat these insecurities, not let them rule our lives. Basic insecurity is what drives a Martial Artist to become great, but it shouldn't get out of hand. As Bruce Lee said "These tools are to defeat our own egos".
The training sessions are filled with sweat, thought and humor. We try to "Train seriously but not seriously train". Our combative thoughts come from the idea that you should prepare for as many different kinds of situations as possible. This means developing skills in many differ ent areas. There are generally five categories for training here. Kicking systems, Punching systems, Trapping systems, Grappling systems and Weaponry systems.
As you can see these are very broad categories. Each category is composed of many different arts. Some arts are major influences and some have made smaller contributions. Remember our goal is to be familiar with as many different tactics as possible.
Our training sessions are as varied as the arts we explore. In our Phase 1 - 4 classes we generally out with some sort of weaponry. Double stick is featured prominantly in Phase 1 because of the great coordination it develops. Other kinds of weaponry are also used and the students are encouraged to train these concepts on their own.(One of our basic tenets is the solo training in the area of your own interest. This art involves a lot of "homework").
This initial emphasis on weapons training produces a great variety of movement patterns in the student which can then enhance their empty hand training.
Another area of study for our Phase classes is the "Trapping" section. This area consists of several different arts and features the manipulations and short, powerful hits at close range. Art prominents here are: Kali, Jun Fan, Wing Chun, Muay Thai and Silat. This area tends to be complicated so it is kept short in Phase 1 and gets progressively more in depth as you advance. We also put the "Grappling" skills in this category. Our grappling comes from many different disciplines and is trained in basic drills or in technique sequences. Ground fighting skills include - Arm locks, Chokes, Wrist locks, Leg locks, Ankle Locks, Hitting and body leverage. As with the other categories we try to have something for each student.
The third general area in our Phase program is the "Kickboxing arts". Muay Thai is featured prominently here as well as Panantukan and Jun Fan. The students fight primarily out of a left lead, but can switch when necessary.
We stress a balance between heavy blows and minor or "setup" shots. This area features lots of Thai Pad and Focus Mitt training as well as individual time on the Heavy Bag and other "Impact" training devices.
In summary our training is filled with good technical information, lots of sweat, "Fight Time" and personal reflection and research.
Dwight Martial Arts Academy
12580 SW-88 St
Miami, Fla, 33186Phone # 305-595-2892
Fax 305-595-2892
