Today we’d like to introduce you to David Mitchell.
Hi David, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I began training in martial arts in early 2005. Like a lot of people, I sought it out due to concerns of personal safety and I really liked the challenges it presented. A healthy love of Kung Fu films didn’t hurt either.
I focused the majority of my time training Jun Fan Gung Fu/Jeet Kune Do and Filipino Kali with Alan Baker. Besides the combative training, there was something about the philosophy found in Jeet Kune Do that really intrigued me as young man. After a couple of years, you could say the bug really took hold and I started training in Gracie Jiu Jitsu, Silat, and Pekiti Tirisa Kali. I even trained with Combat Hard and attained level 3 ranking in Steve Mosely’s Handgun Combatives program.
I’m still adding more things to work on. I just recently started training Shaolin Kenpo to continue the Kung Fu film motif.
Around the five years mark I was brought into the instructor training program at Atlanta Martial Arts Center to assist with classes. I eventually graduated up to running the Legacy Jeet Kune Do and Filipino Martial Arts programs. I’m still there and an active instructor at that school.
In 2016, I branched out as an affiliate member and taught classes in multiple venues. I taught in yoga studios, home gyms, parks, even basements. Due to the wandering nature, I took on the name of Ronin Martial Arts Institute. In Japanese culture a Ronin was a “masterless” or wandering samurai. I felt a little like that without a traditional brick and mortar school. Over the next couple of years that name began to develop another meaning for me. The idea of a “masterless” warrior meant that we were our own masters and in charge of our own path.
Now I focus on providing private-level coaching and instruction.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
That’s a heavy question. Everyone has struggles beginning a business. Just learning what legal paperwork I had to file was insane on my own.
One of the hardest moments was when my initial venture failed after two years. The first iteration was a completely different beast. I had a business partner, a different name, and we were focused on physical and mental health. We offered physical training, yoga, martial arts, life coaching, even had massage therapists on tap. I struggled doing all the paperwork, burned a ton of personal credit, lost several pounds and many hours of sleep. At the beginning of our second year, I found a new building in the heart of a historic downtown area, filed all the paperwork, signed out more personal assurances and then…my partner took a left turn. They turned into an anti-vaxxer, believed in chemtrails, and didn’t understand how 50/50 ownership worked. I saw the writing on the wall, sold my half of the business and cut ties. Technically the business didn’t fail, just the partnership. So I started over. New name and now no brick and mortar space. That was tough blow.
When I first started, I had a two years old and she was followed by another little one two years into the business. I haven’t had to miss birthdays or holidays, but there’s been a lot of evenings and weekends missed.
I was and still am employed with a school district in the technology department. It’s a great job and ensures the family’s needs are met. It also helps to make up on missed time because I get the same breaks my girls get.
The last may be the hardest though. Imposter syndrome is a real barrier to action sometimes. I was fortunate enough to train at a gym that had access to some major talent in the industry. Growing up around these titans at times made me wonder what do I have to offer when there’s these guys just around the corner. I’m not sure I have the imposter syndrome beat, but those same titans make really good role models.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Ronin Martial Arts Institute, LLC?
On the surface, the business focuses on self-defense training, martial arts instruction, and personal coaching. I utilize two versatile systems, Legacy Jeet Kune Do (LJKD) and Filipino Kali, to provide students with well-rounded options for personal safety.
LJKD was built around the idea of ending confrontation by quickly overtaking an opponent, controlling and neutralizing them. Students study striking, throws, and even grappling. However, it is also a gung fu which means it provides a deep study into body mechanics, conditioning…basically maximizing our control over our own bodies.
Filipino Kali is heavily weapon-oriented and favors the blade in particular. To this day, it is still highly sought after when it comes to educating the body on attacking and defending with a weapon.
The core of the business or its specialty would be helping students discover their own path towards self-mastery. Oftentimes the education begins with interest in one or the other systems but ultimately, the students’ questions become the driving force of study. My job isn’t to reproduce what I do or to preserve the art as it was when it was created but to allow my students to find the best expression of themselves. Which could mean working around physical limitations or injuries, dealing with mental blocks and stress, or simply helping them gain new physical skills.
In addition to working with individual students, I develop training packages for people with specific needs. Those could be workshops on personal safety, training with restrictions such as mobility, or as focused as providing a training regime incorporating and defending yourself with a bladed weapon.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I see every opportunity as a chance to educate myself. I am a student of life. Everyday has at least a little component of wanting to learn from the previous day. Business, life, martial arts is the same way. There is a process of questioning, researching, experiencing, and reviewing those experiences to drive us forward.
Pricing:
- Private sessions range $80 an hour and up
- Group events range $150 an hour and up
Contact Info:
- Email: roninmartialartsinstitute@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.roninmartialartsinstitute.com/
- Instagram: @roninmartialartsinstitute
- Other: https://linktr.ee/roninmartialarts
Image Credits:
David Mitchell, Chad Huskins, Phil Adams, Jeff Jones, Mikel Carlisle
