James
Boecker / CEO
James Boecker, a 4th degree black belt in Freestyle Martial Arts, has been
passionate about martial arts since he was 10 yrs old. Mr. Boecker found his
beginning in the practice of tae kwon do, receiving his black belt under Rick
Lancaster. Furthermore, he has trained with some of the top masters in the world
including Remy Presas, Wally Jay, Ken Shamrock, Royce Gracie, and Helio Gracie,
founder and grandmaster of BJJ. He received his BJJ Black Belt under Carlos
Machado, which whom he has trained with for the last 10 years. As a result he
has received the prestigious award as one of the top 10 competitors in the
nation. Mr. Boecker is the chief master instructor and founder of the USA
Martial Arts Leadership Academy. He has led USA Martial Arts Leadership Academy
as the pioneer of the modern day martial arts industry. He has enjoyed over 23
years as a martial arts teacher. He is a former top ranked competitor in
fighting and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. When asked about his passion of martial arts,
Mr. Boecker replied, “I fell in love with martial arts about 23 years ago. The
love keeps getting stronger every day.
The only greater love I have over martial arts is the passion I’ve found in
teaching and continuing the legacy through training my up and coming instructors
and students, so I can pass my knowledge down to them.” As a multiple school
owner he trains daily, oversees multiple locations and personally selects and
trains his future instructors. The arts blended together are TKD, BJJ, wresting,
judo, kali, kickboxing, and muay thai. Mr. Boecker is in much demand as a
consultant and as a leader of continuing education in the martial arts business.
He is the president of a consultant company called USA Martial Arts University.
It helps other martial arts school owners to reach their goals in the martial
arts industry. Mr. Boecker’s continuing development programs including child
safety and awareness seminars, and rape prevention seminars, have helped him
make alliances with the law enforcement community service representatives in
Dallas to create a safer environment and to better inform children and parents.
Mr. Boecker resides in Dallas, TX and continues to share his love for martial
arts in the business through training and the business side. He still continues
to have a very active lifestyle and a positive impact in the lives of others.
For 23 years USA Martial Arts Leadership Academy has been living with strength
and unity of martial arts. It started off as a dream and began in a tiny 600
square foot room, which has currently manifested into spacious, clean, and
modern facilities. Although small in size it did not take long to grow large in
talent, skill, and spirit. Now he has over 5 locations across the metroplex
representing the USA Martial Arts name.
As he continued to expand, his talents, his skills and titles grew along with
his size of his team. In the early 1980s he realized his true passion was
teaching and training and decided to retire from active competition and build a
new breed of martial arts. He began by teaching multiple styles of martial arts,
like Bruce Lee, blending the best strengths of each martial arts while studying
and learning the psychology of excellence. The concept led into an entire
lifestyle curriculum, and the innovative approach soon brought a lot of
attention to our team in the martial arts industry. It gave instant recognition.
Students were leaning more than kicking and punching and were becoming Martial
Arts Leaders. Excellence and knowledge were what separated them. The program
represents mind, body and spirit. Our mixed martial arts schools are 100%
committed to teaching what is known as the ABC’s of a martial arts Leadership
Academy and includes a dynamic curriculum of not only great martial arts, but
also goal setting, leadership, self-discipline, and mutual respect in
relationship building. More than 1000 students train daily at USA Martial Arts
Leadership Academies across the metroplex and utilize the latest and most modern
training methods. Our programs are recognized nationally as the leading edge in
the development of peak performance. Our programs continue to receive national
awards for the dynamic content.
Roman
Kilgore
Roman Kilgore has been a
martial arts student for the past 22 years after starting
his career as a competitive wrestler for his high school
team. He attended Kilgore Junior College where he trained in
Ishin-Ru Karate. In 1995, he began training in the Brazilian
Jiu Jitsu style and he now holds the rank of a 2nd degree
Black Belt from the world renowned 6th degree Black Belt,
Carlos Machado. Machado is the nephew of Helio Gracie, one
of the founders of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Roman previously was
the head instructor at the Carlos Machado Brazilian Jiu
Jitsu Academy. He has trained with many world class mixed
martial artists, which has led to his success in teaching
other students fitness and leadership.
Roman has resided in Dallas as a police officer for 21
years. He is a Defensive Tactics instructor for police
officers and a certified Pressure Point Control instructor.
He is also a certified FBI Defensive Tactics instructor.
Roman teaches Defensive Ground Tactics to many law
enforcement groups. This includes police officers from
around the metroplex, FBI agents, DEA agents, and Federal
Air Marshalls. Roman is married with four children.
Roman sees martial arts not only as a way to defend or
protect oneself, but also as a path leading students to
greater confidence and self-esteem. "As children learn and
become proficient in new skills, they feel good about
themselves. At the same time, martial arts teaches them to
respect others, how to be a leader, and how to work as a
team. The best part of my job is watching these young people
as they develop both physically and emotionally learning
values they will use for the rest of their lives," says
Roman.
Britt
Starnes
Britt Starnes has personally been a student
of martial arts for the past 4 years. He holds the rank of
Blue Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and regularly competes in
local tournaments as he continues to work on his own
advancement through tournaments and weekly training. He is
training under Carlos Machado, a world known and respected
6th degree Black Belt, and has trained with Higan Machado a
7th degree Black Belt, John Machado, a 4th degree Black
Belt, and Roman Kilgore, 2nd degree Black Belt.
Starnes second love is running and he has been participating
in ultra marathons, distances of more than 26.2 miles, for
25 years. He has competed in more than 30 ultra marathons
ranging in distance from a 50K (31.2 miles) to 100 miles. In
fact, he attributes some of the skills he has learned from
martial arts such as focus, perseverance, and discipline to
his ability to finish four 100 mile runs in less than 24
hours, putting him in the top 10% of all finishers.
He is the current president of the North Texas Trail
Runners, a local club of ultra marathoners who run on
trails, where he has served for the past 6 years.
Professionally, Starnes is an independent consultant for the
e-commerce industry and a sought-after speaker on
leadership, discipline, and self-improvement. He has been
actively involved in speaking to and training business
leaders for more than 12 years.
With the opening of the U.S.A. Martial Arts and Fitness
Academy, Starnes fulfills a lifelong dream of promoting a
sport he loves and having the opportunity to teach young men
and women the high values that are part of the martial arts
experience such as self-confidence, integrity, persistence,
and striving for excellence. To Starnes, the teaching of
these lifelong values is just as important as the physical
exercise and skill development. As a married father of two
children, Starnes has a vested interest in helping young
people develop skills that they will use for the rest of
their lives.
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Jonathan
Potter
Jonathan Potter, a 2nd Degree Black Belt in
American Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan Tae Kwan Do, has been
involved in the Martial Arts since he was 11 years old. Mr.
Potter started his path in the Martial Arts with Mr. James
Boecker, who instructed him from 1994 to 1998. He then moved
to Oklahoma, where he earned his Black Belt under Dale
"Apollo" Cook. While going to college, Mr. Potter studied
and worked out with various Martial Artists, including the
American Bushido-Kai Karate Association. In 2005, he met
Mr.Brian Bryan, an 8th Degree Black Belt in American Tang
Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan
Tae Kwan Do, and begin to train under him; eventually
earning his 2nd
Degree Black Belt.
Mr. Potter graduated from Oklahoma State
University with a degree in Management Sciences and
Information Systems. He has moved back to the Texas area and
is excited about working out and teaching with his original
instructor, Mr. Boecker. Mr. Potter has always enjoyed
teaching and helping children, and is active in the AWANA
program at his Church. He has been teaching in the Martial
Arts for nearly 10 of his 13 years. When asked about his
goals in the Martial Arts; Mr. Potter replied, "My goal is
to devote every muscle, those made for physical labor as
well as those set aside for mental, into the Martial Arts.
To learn and master skills, techniques, and life lessons so
that I may pass them on to others. Giving a bit of me to
another and seeing them take that gift, molding and
transforming it into something that they can use, that is
the ultimate prize."
FUN! • EXCITING! • INSPIRATIONAL! • EDUCATIONAL!
