About Shihan Mike Filingo
Shihan Mike Filingo has been involved in the martial arts for over 30 years. He began his training by taking Korean Karate and Judo while attending Moravian College in 1978/1979 from Master Soon-Ho Chang, one of the top Korean Masters in the country at the time. He then went on to study Taekwondo under a 4th degree Master at East Stroudsburg University, obtaining an orange belt level.
Afterwards, from 1987 to 1991, Shihan Mike obtained his 1st degree Black Belt in Shorinji-ryu Karate from the Red Dragon Karate Society/Nazareth Karate Academy, where he also studied Tai Chi and an assortment of traditional Okinawan weapons including the bo staff, nunchaku, kama, tonfa and sai.
He then continued his martial arts studies with Pai Lum Kung Fu from 1991 to 1996, obtaining up to a brown belt level in what can be described as an external/internal style of the martial arts in which the internal characteristics of breathing, meditation, and dynamic tension exercises are combined with various ancient forms and katas to develop a focused level of mental concentration and internal strength and power. It was while studying Pai Lum Kung Fu that he also furthered his training in Tai Chi, in addition to learning Chi Kung (“life energy cultivation”) and the ancient art of Iron Shirt Chi Kung (“body hardening and conditioning”). It was while studying Pai Lum Kung Fu that Shihan Mike learned one of his most valuable lessons in the martial arts by learning “how to learn”, an attribute which to the present day makes him very special in his ability to hand knowledge down to others in the most understandable, effective and beneficial of ways.
After studying Pai Lum Kung Fu, Shihan Mike began his studies in Vee Arnis Jitsu from 1996 to the present. At this time, he is an authentic and direct, second-generation, lineal descendant under the teachings of the late, great Supreme Grandmaster Florendo M. Visitacion, more commonly known as “Professor Vee”. Shihan Mike currently holds a 5th degree Black Belt (Master’s/Professor’s level) in this unique and effective martial arts style. Vee Jitsu, as it is known, is a self-contained art form which includes both the use of bare hands and feet for striking, kicking, throwing and joint locks, in addition to the use of bladed weapons and sticks. It was while studying Vee Jitsu that he was able to become an expert in the style and learn how to combine all aspects of the martial arts into a single, unified, devastating and unhesitating flow. During his time in Vee Jitsu, he also learned how to utilize and incorporate all philosophies, methods and techniques from his previous training, which has led to the development of a well-rounded and complete approach to the martial arts.
Aside from his other expertise and experience, Shihan Mike also incorporates the ancient, internal arts of Tai Chi and Baguazhang into his martial arts training, practice and instruction. These internal methods are especially good to improve the free flow of movement and technique, as well as helping to create a certain looseness, suppleness and whip-like flexibility for use in personal combat situations and for the maintenance of good health and overall longevity and well-being.
“SHIHAN MIKE FILINGO”
During the course of his training, Shihan Mike has dedicated himself to learning certain scientific methods directed at exploiting the anatomical weaknesses of the human body to better help in neutralizing attacks. After many years of study, his knowledge has resulted in him receiving Certification from a well-respected and world-renowned pressure point and self- defense training academy, with a well-documented lineage stretching back into the depths of mainland China. To his knowledge, Shihan Mike is the only one who has this kind of specialized Certification in the area.
Although benefitting everyone against armed or dangerous attackers, pressure point self-defense training is especially valuable to women, the elderly or smaller and weaker individuals through the use of scientific methods against softer and more vulnerable areas of the human body. Shihan Mike is committed to the belief that knowledge of vital points and vulnerable targets is critical to a student’s ability to survive an aggressive attack with dangerous individuals and prevents one from ending up in the hospital with severe and permanent injuries and as a police statistic, or, worse yet, on a cold, steel table in the county morgue. One problem with the martial arts today is with its persistent efforts at commercialism, showmanship and trophies at the expense, in many cases, of concentrating on and pursuing the “true” meaning of obtaining self-defense as a fundamental skill and what may or may not work in an actual encounter on the street. For example, ask yourself this. How many students sign-up for martial art classes without ever asking if the instructor ever fought in real life situations without any rules, was ever present in environments involving extreme levels of physical contact, or emphasizes pressure point training as an integral part of his or her martial arts system and with what legitimate certifications, credentials, and lineage?
As a result, many martial art styles today have become “watered-down” versions of what they used to be or should be, and, instead, have been transformed into self-righteous, all-knowing systems, replete with ritualistic dances and training exercises that either lack proper function, don’t work in actual combat, or remain unexplained for self-defense purposes by the instructor, for whatever the reason be. To the contrary, Shihan Mike believes that students, armed with the knowledge of when, where and how to hit a would-be attacker is vital to walking away from a violent encounter in one piece, and should be an essential part of every student’s regular training and practice. It is only when these methods and procedures become a part of a martial arts style that it becomes a “legitimate” system of self-defense capable of disabling single or multiple attackers in the most efficient and effective of ways. As has always been the case in China, the birthplace of most of the modern-day martial arts as we know them, Shihan Mike is a firm believer in a scholarly and intellectual approach to the martial arts and sciences, making one’s journey and ultimate rewards, therefore, rich and complete, and not just half an art with the only purpose being a physical involvement of the self or for the sole and exclusive purpose of beating people up.
In addition to his years of experience in the martial arts, Shihan Mike is also a practicing attorney and former assistant district attorney in the county in which he resides. From his background as an attorney, Shihan Mike is heavily versed in the rules of self-defense and the justified use of force against either single or multiple attackers, thereby creating perspective and giving students a frame of reference for the justifiable use of force in self-defense situations. Once again, this specialized knowledge separates him from many of the other instructors involved in the teaching of the martial arts today. For more details on Shihan Mike’s legal background, visit michaelafilingolaw.com.
In summary, Shihan Mike has been involved in the martial arts since 1978. Within that time, Shihan Mike has acquired more than 30 years of instructional experience teaching both adults and children. Because of his background and knowledge, Shihan Mike has also been invited to teach and offer seminars throughout the area where he has been called upon to demonstrate his powerful and effective methods of training and technique. It has been said that his wealth of knowledge and experience makes him one of the finest instructors teaching today. In addition to his regular martial arts training and experience, Shihan Mike has, throughout the course of his lifetime, had the benefit of engaging in “contact related” activities by playing football at the high school and college level, wrestling while in high school, and by fighting full-contact as a martial artist and plenty of times as a kid growing up in his neighborhood. Needless to say, therefore, the whole idea of “contact” is not a foreign concept to Shihan Mike, which has resulted in an innate ability to decipher effective technique and movement from that which does not work and is ineffective when confronted by an attacker on the street.
Shihan Mike Filingo is currently available for instruction to certain qualified students by appointment, only. He is located in the Wind Gap area of Pennsylvania. His approach is to teach street effective self-defense techniques, along with effective combat solutions within the confines of a legitimate martial arts system, for the overall health, safety and well-being of his students. Shihan Mike’s martial arts instruction is designed to produce confident and well-rounded martial arts practitioners, who are prepared to meet the daily challenges and threats of modern-day society in a calm, effective, and intelligent way. For those who are interested, Shihan Mike can be reached at (484) 892-0387.
P.S. Nowhere does Shihan Mike ever recommend that YOU DO a real street situation or fight. That very important decision is always your own personal choice. You may know what you think Shihan Mike would do. But what you do is totally YOUR CHOICE, YOUR DECISION, AND YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. Remember, a street altercation always has the possibility of resulting in permanent injury, hospitalization or death to one or more of the participants. This applies no matter who you are, which system you follow, or how good you may be.