Master the Art

with our outstanding staff of internationally certified Black Belt instructors

East West Karate Studios believes that while instructors must be experts in Kenpo Karate, they must also have spent years acquiring the knowledge and experience needed to teach and motivate students to be their best. Unlike other schools, East West Karate Studios has mature instructors who understand the philosophy of teaching, as well as the art of self defense.

Our instructors are Black Belt Professionals. Their energy, enthusiasm, helpfulness, and friendliness are proof that our program works. Parents enrolling children and teens are reassured to know that classes are conducted by instructors who expect the best behavior, uphold rules, and provide continuous supervision. They strive daily to be the best that they can be. They are dedicated to excellence and to passing along that special quality of assurance and achievement to every student.

OUR FACULTY

  Senior Professor Robert Jones is recognized as 7th Degree Black Belt by      O'Sensei Phillip Porter (10th Degree Black Belt) in Wu Shen Pai Kenpo.  Grandmaster Porter recognized the establishment of Wu Shen Pai Chu'an Fa at a ceremony in which Professor Jones was made Head of Family and Founder and given the title of "Hanshi". 

 Head Instructor

Sigung Robert L. Jones, Ph.D.

7th Degree Black Belt, Senior Professor

                        Sigung Robert Jones, has over 37 years of martial arts experience and holds black belt certifications in three arts. Professor Jones began his study of the martial arts in 1971. He studied the art of Jung Shin Do and has achieved a 7th Degree Black Belt in that discipline. He remains a personal disciple of the Grandmaster of that art Do Joo Nim Douglas Vess.  Since, December of 2003, He has held a 7th Dan in Jung Shin Do.  He also studied Hwa Rang Do under the personal tutelage of Supreme Grand Master Joo Bang Lee. In 1982, Professor Jones met Senior Grandmaster Edmund K. Parker of American Kenpo and began to devote his life to the further study of that discipline. He was personally promoted to 1st and 2nd Degree Black Belt in American Kenpo by the Senior Grandmaster.  Professor Jones holds an earned Ph.D. in Political Science from Northern Arizona University with a cognate area in Education.  Dr. Jones is a professional educator who is on the faculty of two institutions of higher Education in the Las Vegas valley. He serves as adjunct faculty for the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Regis University, and the Community College of Southern Nevada. He has authored and co-authored several articles on American Kenpo and education. One article, "Psychological Levels of Learning and their Implications for American Kenpo," was published as his thesis for 2nd Degree Black Belt.  Among Sigung Jones many interests are the healing arts.  He is certified as a Diplomate in Oriental Medicine through the Tae Geuk Healing Arts Institute.   

Sigung Jones is the founder of the I.K.K.S. or the International Kenpo Karate Society which is one of the fastest growing Kenpo organizations in the United States.  The I.K.K.S. has affiliates in 5 states.  Our European Representative is Professor (Sigung) Neil Hourston of Scotland.  The European Headquarters for the I.K.K.S. is nestled in the beautiful Scottish Highlands in the community of Inverness. This studio is the first full time professional Kenpo training facility in the Northern U.K. and Scotland  The International Kenpo Karate Society regulates the affairs of the Wu Shen Pai Kenpo System.  Professor Jones has also developed a series of written manuals and video training aids designed to lead the members of his Association toward ever higher levels of proficiency in Kenpo. Professor Jones is the author of a series of books on American Wu Shen Pai Kenpo entitled Advanced Kenpo Karate: the Wu Shen Pai Method, Volume I: The Master Keys. This is part of a three volume set.  The remaining books in this set are entitled: Advanced Kenpo Karate: Contact Manipulation and Control Maintenance  and Advanced Kenpo Karate: Pressure Points and Cavity Presses.  Sigung Jones is concerned about the present state of Kenpo fundamentals and has begun work on Beginning Kenpo Karate: The Wu Shen Pai Method  as well.  He has been a columnist for USA Martial Arts Magazine, Las Vegas Parents and Kidz Magazine, and for Southern Nevada Family Magazine, and for Las Vegas Family Magazine.  He is currently a free lance columnist for a number of martial arts magazines.  In the academic venue, he has eight articles published on a wide variety of academic subjects, aside from his dissertation.

It is however, his teaching activities which truly give Professor Jones his greatest satisfaction. He counts among his students 2 four time Internationals winners, 6 World Champions, and over 20 State Champions, including two five time State Champions. Professor Jones has actively and successfully competed in many open tournaments himself. He is a five time World Champion Self Defense Competitor and has been top rated in weapons and forms. He has won the San Diego Grand Nationals in Self Defense twice.  His students are known for their speed and explosive power, as well as for their character. Students at East West are also privileged to learn over 108 weapons in over 36 categories of techniques. Professor Jones teaches both beginning and advanced weapons applications to his students. Cane and Short Stick are among the many weapons with which Professor Jones is proficient, in addition to the more traditional Kenpo weapons, the Kenpo Sticks and the single and double knife.

  Dr. Jones has pioneered the development of a healing arts curriculum in Kenpo teaching his Black Belt students the traditional healing arts of bone setting, herbal medicines, acupressure, and acupuncture. In addition, Professor Jones is a pioneer in the development of an advanced systematic integrated curriculum studying pressure point and cavity press theory through the techniques of modern American Wu Shen Pai Kenpo. Professor Jones remains active in teaching, researching, writing about, and developing his system of Kenpo.  Professor Jones has been certified as a Black Belt or expert in American Kenpo by Ed Parker and as a master instructor (or 5th Degree Black Belt) by Master Larry Tatum.  He has been recognized as 6th Degree Black Belt and 7th Degree Black Belt by Grandmaster Phillip Porter of the USMA.  He has been formally awarded that rank by the I.K.K.S. Board of Examiners in Wu Shen Pai Kenpo which include such luminaries in the martial arts world as Grandmaster Max Togisala (9th Dan - Kajukenbo), Grandmaster Rick Alemany (10th Dan- Kenpo Karate), Grandmaster Ron Carlson (10th Dan - Gow Ren Liu Kenpo), Grandmaster Art Gonzalez (10th Dan, Decuerdas Escrima), and Grandmaster Don Phillip (9th Dan - Kamishin-Ryu Aiki Jiu-Jitsu). He has also been formally recognized as the founder of a new approach to the Kenpo system which he terms Wu Shen Pai Kenpo.  This method, Wu Shen Pai Chu'an Fa Gung Fu (Kenpo Karate), has been formally recognized by Grandmaster Phillip Porter of the United States Martial Arts Association and by the United Martial Arts Alliance Board of Directors.  He is the advisor and style head for the U.M.A.A. in both American Kenpo and Wu Shen Pai Kenpo.  Professor Jones was also recently recognized as 7th Degree Black Belt by the Board of Directors of the United Martial Arts Alliance and the International Kenpo Karate Society in American Wu Shen Pai Kenpo. The Kenpo First Foundation recognizes Dr. Jones as Head of Family for Wu Shen Pai Kenpo Karate and has formally certified Sigung Jones as 7th Degree Black Belt in that system.  Grandmaster Rick Alemany has also awarded Dr. Jones a 7th Dan in Wu Shen Pai Kenpo.   

Dr. Jones has been inducted into the United States Martial Arts Association Hall of Fame a total of four times.  In 2000, he was awarded Martial Arts Author of the Year for the publication of his Kenpo guidebooks, and his Belt Manuals.  He was awarded Instructor of the Year in 2001, and then Master Instructor of the Year in 2002.  Finally, in 2003, Professor Jones was inducted into the U.S.M.A. Hall of Fame when he was awarded the Silver Life Achievement Award by the USMA in recognition of his 34 years of training and contributions to the Martial Arts.   Professor Jones was one of four individuals nationwide to be named Instructor of the Year by the United Martial Arts Alliance.  He was also granted the Teaching Excellence award by the UMAA in 2004.  In 2007, after 36 years in the martial arts, Dr. Jones was inducted into the prestigious Master's Hall of Fame.  He was also inducted as Master Instructor of the Year in the United States Martial Arts Hall of Fame.  Sigung Jones was also inducted in 2007 as a charter member of the Tracy International Hall of Fame for his lifetime of contributions to the art of Kenpo.

Sigung Jones is a lifetime member of the International Combat Kenpo Union, International Combat Martial Arts.  He is certified through that organization as 7th Dan in Jung Shin Do and 7th Dan in Wu Shen Pai Kenpo.  He is also a member of the ICMA Founders Union for his role as founder of the American Wu Shen Pai Ch'uan Fa (Kenpo) system, in which he holds 7th Degree Black Belt. He is the founder of the International Martial Arts Instructor's Council (IMIC) an organization of Blacks Belts from many systems devoted to raising the standards in teaching and instruction in the martial arts.  The Martial Arts Teachers Association, Martial Arts Instructors - USA, the National Association of Professional Martial Artists (NAPMA), and the Martial Arts Industry Association (MAIA) are just some of the professional organizations in which Sigung Jones holds membership.   Dr. Jones is also a life member of the American Teachers of the Asian Martial Arts (ATAMA), and is dilligently working to create a Southern Nevada Chapter of that organization.  Sigung Jones is also a personal student of Decuerdas Grandmaster Art Gonzales and is the Nevada Director for the International Decuerdas Escrima Association I.D.E.A. and is a ranked instructor in that Association.  Dr. Jones is the educational consultant for the Martial Mentor system.  

Dr. Jones is also the inherited Doshu of Kamishin-ryu Kenjutsu.  He has studied this sword art since 1979 under the direction of the 7th Doshu, Grandmaster Douglas Vess, now retired.  Kamishin-ryu is actively taught at East West IBBA now the hombu dojo for that discipline.   

 

 

Director, Freestyle Training

Sifu Robert Burke
       5th Degree Black Belt, Associate Professor

 Sifu Robert Burke began his martial arts training under the auspices of Jim Thornton and Gary Hooper in the Society of the Black Lion in 1974. He holds a 3rd Degree Black Belt from that Association. He began his experience in American Kenpo when Mr. Hooper became a student of Ed Parker's American Kenpo in 1986. He achieved his Second, Third, and Fourth Degree Black Belt under Sigung Robert Jones, after much additional training.  Sifu Burke is one of only two individuals to have been certified as a Master Instructor in Wu Shen Pai Kenpo.  Sifu Burke has extensive experience in personal protection and security. He has trained numerous full contact champions and, like Professor Jones, is also an accomplished point tournament coach and competitor. Sifu Burke is the Competition Team Head Coach for East West Kenpo Karate.  He is the Vice President of the International Kenpo Karate Society and a senior Black Belt Instructor in Wu Shen Pai Kenpo Karate. Sifu Burke is a certified Phase IV Instructor under the IKKS Instructor Certification Program.  Sifu Burke is certified in Pressure Point Resuscitation through the I.K.K.S. and the Tae Geuk Healing Arts Institute.  For his many contributions to the martial arts through his twenty five years of training and for his service to Wu Shen Pai, Sifu Burke has been accorded the title of Associate Professor and promoted to 5th Degree Black Belt by his teacher, Senior Professor Jones. Professor Burke is also San Kyu in Kamishin-ryu Kenjitsu.

 

       Director, Adult Instructional Program

              Sifu Kristine Jones, M.Ed.
       5th Degree Black Belt, Associate Professor

                             

 Sifu Kristine Jones, like her husband, is also a professional educator and has trained for over twelve years in Wu Shen Pai Kenpo under the instruction of her husband, Robert Jones. Kris holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Northern Arizona University and is an experienced Elementary School educator. Sifu Jones has a Masters of Education (M.Ed.) in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Sifu Jones is the director of the Junior Training Program at East West Kenpo Karate. Sifu Jones has authored several articles on American Kenpo and education. In 2002, Sifu Kristine Jones was awarded Instructor of the Year.  She was awarded Female Instructor of the Year in 2003. One of very few individuals to repeat Instructor of the Year honors in the United State Martial Arts Association.  Sifu Jones is the Executive Vice President of the International Kenpo Karate Society. She is a certified Phase IV Instructor under the IKKS Instructor Certification Program and is also certified in Pressure Point Resuscitation and Bone Setting through the I.K.K.S. and the Tae Geuk Healing Arts Institute.  For her diligent study of the art and her long years of service to Kenpo, Sifu Jones was recently promoted to 5th Degree Black Belt and awarded the well deserved title of Associate Professor.  Sifu Jones was also admitted to both the Master's Hall of Fame and the United State Martial Arts Hall of Fame as Master Instructor of the Year in 2007.  Sifu Jones is also San Kyu in Kamishin-ryu Kenjutsu

 

                      Director, Junior Instructional Program

                                    Si-Sook Joshua Bond,
                  2nd Degree Black Belt, Associate Instructor

Si-Sook Bond began his training in Wu Shen Pai Kenpo in May of 1999 under the direction of Sigung Jones. Si-Sook Bond is one of very few students to have been accepted as a personal student under Sigung Jones.  Si-Sook Joshua Bond's competitive  accomplishments are far too many to list here. To name just a few, he is a 9 time San Diego Grand Nationals Winner. He holds the distinction of winning the sparring division in that event for five consecutive years (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006).  Si-Sook Bond is also a Four Time World Champion.  He has placed in Black Belt Weapons, Forms, and Self Defense numerous times in many other events.  Si-Sook Bond, through it all, is humble and thinks of his achievements in the art first and foremost.  Si-Sook Bond is devoted to the Demonstration Team, which he coordinates and to his further development in Wu Shen Pai.  He is the foremost disciple in that art and is well versed in the healing arts, joint manipulation (both the contact manipulation and control maintenance aspects of Chin Na), and on fully one third of the 36 weapons sets currently taught within the Wu Shen Pai Ch'uan Fa system.  Professor Jones considers him a highly skilled weapons practitioner.  He has traveled the world with Professor Jones assisting him whenever he travels to teach.  He is a certified Phase III Instructor in the IKKS Instructor Certification Program.  In addition, Si-Sook Bond is certified in Bone Setting, and Pressure Point Resuscitation through the Tae Gook Healing Arts Institute and the I.K.K.S. Healing Arts Certification Program.  Si-Sook Bond is presently a 2nd Degree Black Belt in Wu Shen Pai Ch'uan Fa and San Kyu in Kamishin-ryu Kenjitsu.  He has been nominated twice, in 2005 and in 2006 to the United States Martial Arts Association Hall of Fame as Competitor of the Year.  In 2007, he was admitted to the United State Martial Arts Hall of Fame as Competitor of the Year.  

 

   Assistant Junior Program Director, Tiny Tigers (Junior Program)          

Si-Sook Sarah Carter,
   2nd Degree Black Belt, Associate Instructor
 

Si-Sook Sarah Bond Carter began her training in the early 1990s  under the direction of Sifu Cliff McKinney.  Knee surgery sidelined her for a number of years shortly after her Green Belt test.  Si-Sook Carter has trained for over nine years in American Wu Shen Pai Kenpo under the instruction of  Sigung Robert Jones. Si-Sook Carter is an experienced martial artist who acts as our Assistant Junior Program Director. She is also a certified Phase II Instructor in the IKKS Instructor certification program.  She is certified in Pressure Point Resuscitation through the I.K.K.S. and the Tae Geuk Healing Arts Institute.  Si-Sook Carter is currently a 2nd Degree Black Belt. 

 

 

 Assistant Director, Advanced Little Dragons (Junior Program)
 

              Sifu Jasmin Bond,
       3rd Degree Black Belt, Head Instructor

 

Si-Sook Jasmin Bond has trained since 1999 in American Wu Shen Pai Kenpo under the instruction of  Professor Robert Jones.  Si-Sook Bond is one of very few individuals accepted as a personal student of Sigung Jones.  Si-Sook Bond assists Professor Jones in teaching the Advanced Little Dragons Curriculum.  She has taught under Professor Jones for over six years.  Si-Sook Bond has placed in the prestigious San Diego Grand Nationals and also at the USA World Championships.  Si-Sook Bond is a certified Phase III Instructor in the IKKS Instructor Certification Program. She is certified in Pressure Point Resuscitation through the I.K.K.S. and the Tae Geuk Healing Arts Institute. Si-Sook Bond is presently a 3rd Degree Black Belt in the art of Wu Shen Pai Ch'uan Fa.

           Director, Junior Freestyle Program

                  Si-Sook Dustin Carter,
                  2nd Degree Black Belt, Associate Instructor

Si-Sook Dustin Carter began his training in Wu Shen Pai Ch'uan Fa under the direction of Sigung Robert Jones in May of 1999.  Si-Sook Carter is also a highly accomplished competitor, placing first in Black Belt Forms and self defense divisions at the San Diego Grand Nationals for the third year.  Si-Sook Carter has placed in Black Belt divisions in numerous tournaments, through a competitive career that has spanned only 9 years. Si-Sook Carter is also a highly accomplished teacher and is a Phase III Instructor in  Wu Shen Pai.  He is also a highly accomplished weapons practitioner and Sigung Jones considers him highly skilled in over one third of the 36 weapons forms of Wu Shen Pai.  Along with Si-Sook Bond, he is one of the foremost disciples of the art, being accepted as a personal student of Sigung Jones very early in his career.  He is well versed in the healing arts and pressure point theory, He is certified in Bone Setting and Pressure Point Resuscitation through the Tae Gook Healing Arts Institute and the I.K.K.S. Healing Arts Certification Program. Si-Sook Carter is presently a 2nd Degree Black Belt in Wu Shen Pai Ch'uan Fa and San Kyu in Kamishin-ryu Kenjitsu. 

   

 

THE EAST WEST EDGE

When you study at East West Kenpo Karate Studios, our entire staff are trained as top flight martial artists.  But we also recognize that the best martial artist may not be the best educator.  With this in mind, our Leadership Team members are selected for their single-minded dedication to excellence in instruction and trained by Professor and Sifu Jones to be excellent leaders and communicators as well. With your entry into our school, you gain the privilege of being instructed in the art which is justly known as “the ultimate in self defense” by instructors who are truly masters of their trade.  Our mission is to motivate each and every one of our students to become a complete success in life through American Wu Shen Pai Kenpo training.  We will continue to maintain our reputation as the best Kenpo studio in Nevada through a commitment to professionalism, instructional quality, and community involvement.  Our studio exists to impact the community, to encourage excellence and dedication in our students, and to encourage our students to strive toward self-mastery.  We are committed to providing the excellence in instruction which our community expects from the “Harvard of the Martial Arts” and also to provide excellence in student service.  

 East West Kenpo Karate Studios is the International Headquarters for the International Kenpo Karate Society. This means that your rank and skills are recognized worldwide by the founder of Wu Shen Pai Kenpo.  I.K.K.S. students are known throughout the world as outstanding martial artists and competitors.