Instructors

Francis Farley
     As a child Francis Farley was shy and timid. When his older brother returned from Vietnam he suggested that Francis try Karate as an outlet. After a short time Francis developed a strong passion for the Martial Arts.
     In 1989 Francis won the North American middleweight title. By 1993 he won the ISKA World Middleweight championship and held that title for five years. His final professional record was 27 and 2 with 17 KO's.
     Francis has had an exciting and rewarding career. Now at this stage in his life he would like to give back to all of those shy and timid people who may share a similar passion for sport and fitness. If you are ready to challenge yourself, or if you want to try something new, then come in and start training with the champ.

Paul Bohbot
Paul believes in the art and science in boxing. He enjoys learning and teaching how to utilize all of the tools of the sport. He teaches boxers to become multifaceted rather than one-dimensional.
He started boxing at 19 for the 2nd Marine Division boxing team. He was honorably Discharged in 2004 and then began training at Dreamland Boxing Club in San Jose. While there he was 2-0 as an amateur fighter. After injuring his back in 2010 he came back to the sport by fighting and coaching for FKA in 2011.

Willow Brown
Willow Brown L.A.c, CMT has been teaching Yoga for over 10 years, her
smooth, seamless style, bring flow and harmony to the body and the
mind. She integrates her knowledge of Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine
into her yoga classes along with the core building alignment
techniques used in Pilates.
These classes emphasize the importance of breath, alignment, strength
and moving from the center of the body. Moving from our centers
allows us to be present with what we are engaged in and less likely to
experience injury.
You will leave class feeling relaxed, open, and balanced, both
physically and mentally.

Shane Torres
Shane is FKA's teen grappling instructor.(Shane also coaches the New Brighton Middle School wrestling team while working on his B.S. in Kinesiology.) A standout athlete in highschool wrestling and football, Shane is now an avid competitor in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Among his many other accomplishments he recently medalled at the U.S. Open XVI.

Mike Roberts
Mike Roberts holds a first degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has over 17 years of experience teaching martial arts. He received his teaching certification in Muay Thai from Master V. Phon in San Diego in 1994 and went on to study Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with Claudio Franca. Mike also holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in theoretical linguistics from UCSC.
Greatly respected in the Santa Cruz martial arts community as a caring and effective teacher, Mike brings his unique perspective of synthesizing art, athletics and academics to his teachings. Mike is an MMA coach and instructor here at FKA.

Jim Walker
     Jimmie comes to FKA with an impressive wrestling career. Some of his accomplishments include: CCS champion, 3rd CIF in state finals, 3 time California high school national team member, Greco Roman state champion, 2nd place in state Freestyle, and 6th place in the U.S.A. high school national finals.
     After high school Jim followed Olympic champion Dave Schultz to the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Big Ten conference. There he earned a varsity scholarship and was a starter on the top 10 nationally ranked team. He placed four times in the top nationally ranked tournaments and was ranked 12th in the NCAA division 1 national rankings.
     Currently he teaches physical education at New Brighton Middle School and is one of the head coaches here at FKA.

Ronnie Riveira
     Ronnie began his martial arts career at age 5 studying Judo. He received his first black belt in Danzan-Ryu from Sensi Soloman Tsenji (4th degree under Frank Ordenez, Hawaii) in Oakland CA. In 1990 he joined the Marines and served for 6 years as an operator within the 1st Marine Division as a Fleet Marine Force Corpsman. There he trained extensively in close quarters battle tactics.
     He is highly decorated in the military. His last award was in 2001 for a heroic life saving action under fire by the U.S. Army reserve. There he served as a Senior Medic in the 184th Air-Assault Recon Team.
     Ronnie has extensive knowledge in the following disciplines: Krav-Maga, Aiki-Jutsu, and Pelligrini's combat Hapkido weaponless
defense. He received a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from Royce Gracie in 2002. Currently he continues to train in martial arts despite an accident that disabled his right thumb and decreased mobility in his right arm.
     Ronnie's Motto: "I believe that everyone should be afforded the right to defend themselves and to walk this planet without fear."

Jesse Simmons
Jessica is the club videographer.

Joey Thomas
Joey Thomas is a living Santa Cruz legend. He became a professional surfer at the age of 13 and has been in the limelight ever since. His martial arts background is just as impressive.
Joey is a black belt in Japanese Okinawa under Terry Dumphry. He is a brown belt in kook sool won under Master Jen, and he is a first degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Claudio Franca. He is also a certified CrossFit trainer. Joey is our black belt representative for Claudio Franca here at FKA.

Saul Berkowitz
Saul started martial arts in 1997 and has been teaching for over 10 years. He has a black belt in Taekwondo and a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Saul teaches kickboxing to the adults and kids. He is also a sparring partner for our mma fighters. Some of his accomplishments include:
-1999 2nd place California Junior Olympics
-2007 Hawaii State WTF Taekwondo Champion
-2008 Hawaii State WTF Taekwondo Champion
-2009 Hawaii State AAU Taekwondo Champion
-2008 5th place in National Taekwondo Competition

Mike Rudenko
Mike was born in Stavropol Russia to a family that was deeply involved with kickboxing. (His dad and brother were local competitors. His uncle was a National and European competitor.) By the age of 18 Mike was a local champion preparing for the Russian National championships. Shortly into his training Mike suffered from a career ending injury. The love for the sport could not keep him away, therefore, when he is not a working at the Veterinarian hospital or as a drummer in his band, he is passing on his kickboxing wisdom here at FKA.

  Sidarth Seth
   Sidharth Seth has a rich history of teaching martial arts, self defense and unarmed combat. Although he started out as a professional soccer player, Sidharth discovered Judo by chance in 1979 and began a lifelong career as a competitor and instructor.
     Sidharth was India’s national Judo champion for 13 years. He trained extensively at the Kodokan Judo Institute and other Judo Schools in Japan . He represented India in major international judo tournaments, including the Asian Games. Sidharth also won the silver medal in the 1996 Asian Sumo Tournament in Osaka, Japan.
     After retiring from competition, he trained champion Judo players, and was the chief instructor at the Calcutta Judo Club and head coach of India's Central Reserve Police Force team. He was the first among India’s coaches to introduce circuit training to the sport of Judo.