Lineage...

Due to the number of martial arts school and instructors in any given area, it is difficult to know who is qualified to teach, who were their teachers, is their training solid, etc. Many people are always looking to invest in a solid individual especially if investing means time and money. No one wants to train with someone who has no idea of what they are doing regardless of how many degrees that person has or how fancy his/her school may be.

It is because of this reason that I believe lineage is an important factor in one's training. Knowing who you are training with and who they trained under and so on and so forth is a vital aspect to growth as a martial artist.

I believe it is a source of...

1. Pride.
2. Confidence.
3. Honor.

You always want to surround yourself around individuals that will benefit you and help you in all facets of life, and your martial arts instructor(s) are no different.

Because of this, I decided to look into my own training and instructors and see how many links are there between myself and the original source and write down my history to date. It was a very interesting and fulfilling project that definitely gave me something to be proud about.

So here is my lineage in the (3) main styles I have practiced over the years and my current rank.


Tang Soo Do - 1st Degree Black Belt

Hwang Kee – Hyun Chul Hwang - Charles Ferraro - David Sgro – Muhib Rahman (3rd Degree) – Hernan Guadalupe

(Picture of Grandmaster Hwang Kee)

UPDATE: As per my discussion with Sah Bum Nim Muhib, I have a even more direct lineage. (Sweeeeet!!!)

Hwang Kee - Jae Chul Shin - Muhib Rahman (1st and 2nd Degree) - Hernan Guadalupe

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu - 1 Stripe Blue Belt

Mitsuyo “Count Koma” Maeda – Carlos Gracie – Helio Gracie – Royce Gracie – Jeremy Lafreniere – Jay Ferrari - Hernan Guadalupe

(Picture of Grandmaster Helio Gracie)

Fu Jow Pai - Sum Kup

Wong Bil Hong – Wong Moon Toy – Wai Hong Ng – Paul Vizzio – Hernan Guadalupe

(Picture of Grandmaster Wony Moon Toy. No picture of Grandmaster Wong Bil Hong available)








*Bold represents the original source of the art.

I really encourage everyone to take a few minutes and look into their lineage. It is a great way to familiarize yourself with the history of your training and your instructors' training.

If you don't know who your instructor trained under, then ask him. Ask him about the history and stories of his training and get to know where you are getting your information from.

For myself, seeing where I am in this history made me feel like I am part of a bigger and more meaningful journey and now I get to share this with my students as they move up the ranks.

So go ahead and see what your history looks like.