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Thomas
L. Felder
8th Degree Red Belt
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| Thomas
L. Felder “The Peacemaker” is a native of Queens,
New York. He holds the level of 8th Degree Red Belt in the
discipline of Chinese Goju, founded by the legendary Grandmaster
Ron Van Clief. Over twenty three years he's been a valuable
asset to the military as a Close Engagement Tactics Instructor,
which he made a vital impact on the lives of soldiers on and
off the battlefield. A stickler to his motto, “Make
a Difference One Day at a Time”, is the drive to his
continuous efforts in providing martial arts education. Felder
was honored for his decades of dedication and commitment during
a World Hall of Fame induction ceremony held on September
1, 2001 by the World Head of Sokeship Council. The prestigious
panel of Grandmaster’s inducted Felder as "Master
Instructor of the Year". In addition, Felder was appointed
as the Chinese Goju Regional Director for Germany, by Grandmaster
Ron Van Clief. Insistent in sharing his skills, Felder solely
educated and trained over 600 soldiers in battle and hundreds
of students in civilian establishments. He’s opened
schools in three locations in Germany, Korea, Panama, Turkey,
Kosovo, Iraq and the United States. Moreover, he’s the
Time Warner Cable show host of, “Self Defense for All
Ages”,and a multiple winner of point fighting championships
in Europe and the United States. Felder successfully coordinated
and directed six open martial art tournaments in Europe and
the United States. |
Achievements
include:
• Promoted to Hachidan on May 20, 2006 with the appointed
title of "Soke" by Shidoshi Ron Van Clief.
• Army retired combat veteran with over 23 years of
service and 20 awards of distinguished service.
• Certified Trainer of Close Engagement Tactics and
trained over 600 soldiers during Operation Desert Storm,
Provide Comfort (South West Asia), Operation Uphold Democracy
(Haiti), Operation Joint Guardian (Kosovo) and Iraqi Freedom
(Iraq).
• Established the first Combat Martial Arts Academy
in Turkey, Kosovo and Iraq.
• Host of Time Warner cable television show “Self
Defense for All Ages”, in Fayetteville, NC.
• Director of three German/American open Martial Arts
Tournaments in Germany and three Open Tournaments in the
United States.
• Inducted in 2001 World Hall of Fame.
• Appeared in the comedy film, “Gun Lordz”.
• Recipient of Black Belts in Honor Award in 1985.
• Appeared on AFKN (Armed Forces Korea Network), AFN
(Armed Forces Network in Germany) and Armed Forces Radio
Nework, Germany, to include several full page articles in
local newspapers.
• Tae Kwon Do promotion to 2nd degree Black Belt,
by Master Michael Dials in 1987.
| Personal
thanks and recognition to God for giving me the strength
and courage to be a light in this world. Furthermore,
I thank my wife and family for their love and support,
to include my past and present instructors for sharing
their knowledge and skills, which helped me to be
who I am today. Chinese Goju forever! Chien, Soke |
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