My Teachers in the Arts
By Mark Dacascos

I have had six formal martial arts teachers in my life. I am still in contact with all but one of them, and actively train with two. These teachers gave me my foundation as a martial artist and have played a huge part in my life. I am forever grateful, and will always consider myself their student.

My father, Al Dacascos, and my mother, Malia Bernal, were my first two teachers in Kung Fu. Their art was Wun Hop Kuen Do, a style developed by my father.

I trained with my parents from the age of around six until I was 18.

My father is an advocate of practicality... Does the technique work in a real-life altercation?

Drills in his class were usually very close to what could happen in an actual self-defense situation. My father's speed, fluidity, and precision were amazing. He would show us the techniques slow, and then he'd do them fast. If you blinked, you'd miss it. He was that fast! I'll never be as fast as Pop, but it sure is something I aspire to.

My mother, an excellent fighter and form competitor herself, was an advocate of strong basics.

In her one-hour form class, we would run for 15 minutes, do a horse stance for 15 minutes, stretch for 10 minutes, then practice sections of our forms for 20 minutes. In her hour-and-a-half fighting class, we would run for 15 minutes, do a horse stance for 15 minutes, stretch for 15 minutes, and practice our offensive and defensive side-kicks on an air bag for 45 minutes. Needless to say, our legs got mighty strong training in her classes. And trust me, she could do everything she dished out. If you were lucky enough to be invited into her private form class, she would choreograph a form especially for you. You would then take turns practicing it with the other members of this group until you had all done your form ten times. I remember when she had me practice my form while wearing heavy hiking boots. My set had a lot of aerial maneuvers, including a front flip. By the time I performed it at a tournament, wearing very light shoes, the jumping techniques were no problem. My mom trained us hard, but she knew how to help us reach our potential.

Some of the happiest times of my life have been when I was training with my parents.

Muo-Hui Shen is a teacher of Northern Shaolin, Tai Chi, Shui Jiao, and Chin Na. I went to study Shaolin from him when I was 17 years old. He lived in Taipei, Taiwan, but was originally from Mainland China.

My classes for the first two weeks were spent stretching for an hour, and then practicing my horse stance for two hours. I would sit in the horse stance, watching all the other students practice their techniques and sets, wishing the whole time that I could do what they were doing. When I couldn't hold the stance anymore, I'd quickly get up, shake my legs out and try to get back into the stance without Muo Shr Fu ("Sifu" in Mandarin) seeing me get up. After two "six-day" weeks of doing this, I guess I convinced him that I was serious about being his student. He began to teach me techniques and sets.

There was a time when I couldn't afford to pay for classes, so I didn't go. He had one of his other students come to my apartment and order me to come and train. He said I could pay when I had the money. I stayed in Taiwan for almost six months and trained under him.

After many years and many moves, I lost contact with Muo Shr Fu. If anyone knows how to reach him, I would really appreciate the information.

One of my father's students, Sifu Bill Owens (of Oakland, California), was the man who introduced Capoeira to me.

It was a year before I left for Taiwan, and my friend Emanuel and I were in Oakland, working out in Sifu Bill's school. Sifu Bill was learning the African-Brazilian art, and wanted to share with us. We watched him "jinga" and do some techniques, and we thought it was fantastic.

Over a decade later, another good friend of mine, Earl White -- also one of my father's students -- told me about his Capoeira teacher in Santa Monica. It took a few years before I got to the school, but when I did, I was instantly hooked. Mestre Joselito "Amen" Santo could fly, flip, kick, punch, sing, and dance... all the while smiling. I became his student.

Three months later, I found out about the movie "Only the Strong." I auditioned for the part (Earl was my partner when I had to do the martial arts part of the screen test), and I got it.

I was fortunate to have Amen not only train me for my role, but also play my teacher in the film. He also worked with the actors who played my students. He helped choreograph the fight scenes -- and helped with the soundtrack. We were very lucky to have him involved with the project.

I've taken only a couple of Capoeira classes since filming "Only the Strong," but I am planning on going back to Amen's class and training on a regular basis... hopefully sometime in the not-too-distant future.

Professor Jiang Hao-Quan is in his early eighties and he can still do the splits. That's right, over eight decades old, and this amazing man is still training and teaching Wu Shu, Shaolin, Tai Chi, Chin Na, Shui Jiao, and Pa Kua.

Professor Jiang is from Mainland China. He graduated from the Central Wu Shu Institute in Nanjing, China in 1936. He has been involved with martial arts for over 70 years and is also very skilled in Western Boxing. He has trained with some of the top instructors of Chinese martial arts of the 20th Century.

James Lew and I got to go back to Professor Jiang's class after not being able to attend for a while. Trying to catch us up on some of the things we had missed, Professor Jiang spent at least two hours teaching us himself. He did all the moves of our set with us, and I must admit that after class, my legs were shaking. I can't say that I detected any fatigue in Professor Jiang at all.

Professor Jiang and his wife now reside in Monterey Park, California, where he continues to share his knowledge with some very lucky students. He is a gem of a man, and an incredible teacher.

You can learn more about Professor Jiang at his web site.

I would like to thank my school brothers, Howard Lin and Wayne Chu, for helping me out whenever I don't quite understand something. Special thanks to Mike Yee for leading the class when our teacher travels back to China, and for always being there when our teacher or a fellow student needs some help.

About two years ago, I started taking lessons in Western Boxing with Gerald Teague of Thousand Oaks, California. Gerald has been involved with boxing since he was 12 years old, and he's a U.S.A. Certified Boxing Coach. My father encouraged me to work on my hands, and I am... with the help of both Gerald and my sparring partner, Keith.

Gerald and his wife, Cathie, own and run the Teague Sport and Fitness Institute in Thousand Oaks. They both teach Pilates and offer a great curriculum for getting in shape at their institute.

To learn more about individuals with whom Mark has trained,
please either click on their names or click here

Mark Dacascos would like everyone to know and understand that he is not at all professionally connected or affiliated with any martial arts schools. He feels that his personal connections go much deeper - and are of much more importance - than any professional connections he could have. Therefore, Mark is only PERSONALLY connected with just his father's school, as well as the handful of schools associated with the close friends of his, which are listed on the CONTACTS page.