At the time this book is being written, Master David Gaw has been training in the martial arts for over thirty-five years. In that time, he has been blessed enough to study multiple arts and systems. He began his training in 1984, at the age of seven, in tae kwon do. Being a smaller child who was often bullied, he found comfort in learning to defend himself. When he was seventeen, he began training in judo. While learning judo, he was introduced to concepts of other arts, such as Bushido, aikido, jujitsu, and hapkido. These concepts would aid him in understanding the martial arts in future years. At the age of twenty-one, while enlisted in the US Air Force, in addition to his military hand-to-hand and weapons combat training, he was fortunate enough to meet people who trained him in combat judo and Muay Thai kickboxing. By this time, he was gravitating toward more combat-oriented arts as opposed to sport-oriented ones, and these two arts enabled him to gain a better perspective for self-defense and combat. After years of training to defend himself or others, Master Gaw felt that he needed more context. Not being satisfied with his current level of knowledge, he wanted to dive into the more psychological side of the arts. In 2003, he met an individual who introduced him to the philosophical side of the martial arts; meditation, energy, awareness of self, and balance in all things were the main objectives. They trained together for years, and in that training, Master Gaw began to realize that the body can only do so much, but it can do nothing without the mind. Learning about these aspects helped him to understand what the martial arts are truly about. Master Gaw is infinitely grateful to his friend for being willing to share his experiences and knowledge; they are still very close friends to this day.
In 2007 he was blessed with the opportunity to study Wing Chun kung fu, and it quickly became one of his favorite systems to study. Since joining the Chinese martial arts, in addition to his Wing Chun training, Master Gaw has had the privilege of learning multiple arts such as Shuai Jiao (Chinese fast wrestling), Kuo Shu kickboxing, Kali (Filipino stick and knife fighting), and Qigong (energy building). In addition to these arts, he was extremely honored to be taught the system of traditional shaolin chin na in its entirety, including many aspects of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) by Grand Master Bruce Linville, who also taught him yang tai chi chuan, concepts of Ba Gua Zhang, and certain northern shaolin forms, concepts, and weapons.
Master Gaw is incredibly honored to have had the opportunity to train with a number of high-level martial artists over the years, including Grand Master Jack Lannom, Grand Master Dr. John Wing Lok Ng, Grand Master Jim Thompson, Grand Master Buddy Wu, Grand Master John Dufresne, Grand Master L. R. Gray, Grand Master Jimmy Tarpley, and Grand Master Chuck Burnett. The inclusion of a more general knowledge of the arts continues to help him grow and evolve as a martial artist, person, and teacher.
Master Gaw still trains, studies, teaches his own students, and hopes to one day be able to teach and encourage his students as positively and effectively as he has been encouraged by his teachers. His goal is to one day be able to use his martial and healing knowledge to help others live fuller, healthier lives.
