About The Instructor
Lee and his Daddy, Tony Whetstine, Chief Instructor
“An Experienced Instructor with Ethics and Integrity”
Martial Arts Background
As a child, Tony Whetstine, (now known as “The Bushido Guy”), began his love of martial arts by studying tae kwon do. In his early 20’s he began studying the traditional Chinese arts of tai chi (yang style), bagua, and hsing I. The majority of his training for the last 17 years has been under the Japanese martial arts of kobudo and ninpo which he learned in the United States, and Japan.
The Lineage
The Chinese martial arts in which he has trained was under the guidance of Master Lin Chun Fu, who studied under the following masters:
- Chang Tung Shen – shuai jiao and tai ji quan
- Chi Ching Chih – yang tai ji quan with Sifu T. T. Liang as partner
- Chou Chang Jou – liu he chuan
- Han Ching Tang – shao lin chin na
- Hsiong Yang He – tai ji quan
- Liu Pei Tzung – kun lun meditation
- Nan Huai Chin – yang tai ji quan
- Wang Shu Ching – bagua zhang and xing yi quan
In the Japanese martial arts he has studied the kobudo and ninpo arts of the Takamatsuden in the Bujinkan of Soke Masaaki Hatsumi and his dojo is affiliated with the Jissen Kobudo Jinenkan of Kancho Unsui Manaka.
Personal Philosophy
A former Marine combat Gulf War veteran, Tony Whetstine knows firsthand that being safe entails more than knowing a few techniques for surprising an attacker. He also understands well the benefit of developing an unshakable inner clarity. With those principles in mind, he has undertaken study in Taoism, Gnosticism and Thelemic philosophies as well as Japanese and Chinese martial arts – because the combined training of spirit, technique, and body augments perfectly the pursuit of a safe and fulfilling life.
He is guided by the writings of Soke Toshitsugu Takamatsu, who brought the lineages of the Takamatsuden kobudo arts he studies together. In one of his essays, he talks about the “ever appropriate response” to any given situation. From that, many of Tony’s core values have come or been confirmed. Anyone can learn to fight in any number of different ways. Knowing what is worth fighting for and the appropriate time and place to fight comes from a harmony of body, mind, and spirit. Through these arts, founded in feudal times and forged in the circumstances of their creation, an entire way of life, a “whole life fitness” philosophy was developed that is as important today, if not more important today, than it was when they were founded.
He lives with his family in Poway, California and has opened the Poway Samurai Martial Arts training center there to improve the lives and safety of those around him – his loved ones, his neighbors, and anyone else who wishes to learn!
