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Instructors
Dino Orfanos
(Director) Dino Orfanos, our head instructor, has 35 years experience in the martial arts. He started his JKD training in 1987. He is a full instructor in Jeet Kune Do under Chris Kent and a certified instructor in Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do under Ted Wong (Bruce Lee's private student). He is also a certified instructor in Wing Chun (Bruce Lee's original martial art), a full instructor in Filipino Martial Arts and Silat. In 1996, he was certified to teach R. Gracie Jiujitsu under Grand Master Reylson Gracie. He has also trained 15 years in traditional martial arts. In 2000 he was recognized as an instructor in JKD by the Bruce Lee Educational Foundation.
The instructorship program at New York Martial Arts Academy is offered to individuals that have shown the ability and desire to teach Jeet Kune Do. The instructorship at this academy is not something that can be acquired by purchasing videos, attending weekend seminars, or hosting seminars. It is earned by hard work and dedication. This is one of the reasons we do not charge for this program. We pride ourselves in the fact that our instructors understand the responsibilities and the privileges that go along with teaching Jeet Kune Do. We not only require our instructors to be able to perform at the highest physical level, but to also understand the history and philosophy of Bruce Lee's art. It is important that they not only repeat the philosophy of Bruce Lee's art, but to actually live it, physically and mentally. With these requirements our instructors are able to share their martial art experience with the students at our academy. The following is a list of individuals that are on their way to teaching Jeet Kune Do.
Carlos has been training in Martial Arts for over 9 years. His training began with 4 years of Shotokan Karate. With a lifelong interest and fascination of Bruce Lee, he found and joined New York Martial Arts academy in 2002 and has been training in Jeet Kune Do ever since under the instruction of Sifu Dino Orfanos. He has also participated in seminars instructed by internationally recognized Sifu Ted Wong (Bruce Lee's private student) and Sifu Chris Kent (Dan Inosanto's personal assistant). Carlos is married to a wonderful wife and has two beautiful kids ages 7 and 11 who have been proudly training in the Young Dragons Children's Program at NYMAA for the last 3 years.
Tony has over 15 years of Martial Arts training which began with studying Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido for 10 years. He has earned his red belt in both arts. In 2003, Tony joined New York Martial Arts Academy. Since that time he has been studying and practicing Jeet Kune Do under the instruction of Sifu Dino Orfanos and has attended seminars by Sifu Ted Wong (Bruce Lee's private student) and Sifu Chris Kent (Dan Inosanto's personal assistant). Tony has been serving the community as a New York City Police Officer since 1995. He is happily married with one son who is also studying Jeet Kune Do.
Bryan came to New York Martial Arts Academy in 2003 with 3 years of previous experience in Filipino Martial Arts and boxing. After joining the academy, he continued his studies in Filipino Martial Arts and began studying Jeet Kune Do under Sifu Dino Orfanos. He has also participated in multiple seminars under top Jeet Kune Do instructors such as Sifu Ted Wong (Bruce Lee's private student) and Sifu Chris Kent (Dan Inosanto's personal assistant). He is presently teaching Jeet Kune Do in Manhattan with Andre Mistier for New York Martial Arts Academy on 72nd Street.
Andre has been training with Sifu Dino Orfanos at New York Martial Arts Academy for the last 5 years through private lessons, occasional group classes, and seminars by Sifu Ted Wong and Sifu Chris Kent. He began his martial arts training at a young age exploring more traditional arts including Tae Kwon Do, Seido Karate, Jiu-jitsu, and some boxing but he was never satisfied with what he found. Since finding Jeet Kune Do, he has never looked back, finding balance and totality that he had always been looking for. Andre is presently teaching at the uptown Manhattan location for NYMAA with Bryan Lamont. Andre graduated from Yale University in 2000 and is also a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist of the band ism. He is currently living in NYC with his girlfriend of 7 years.
Hector came to New York Martial Arts academy with 20 years of tradition training. He began his studies in martial arts at the age of eight and has achieved black belt levels under the tutelage of Master John Kim and Grandmaster Jhong Uhk Kim of the New York Institute of Martial Arts on Staten Island. Hector also trained in boxing for several years at the Police Athletic League of Staten Island. As a devout martial artist and Bruce Lee fan, however, he always aspired to train in Jeet Kune Do. His research of Jeet Kune Do brought him to New York Martial Arts Academy where he began his training in June 2005 under the personal instruction of Sifu Dino Orfanos through group and private lessons. He has also participated in multiple seminars instructed by Sifu Ted Wong and Sifu Chris Kent.
He is happily married to Stacy Maldonado and has been blessed with two beautiful daughters. For the past 22 years he has worked in the investment banking industry and is a Managing Director in the Global Clearing Services division of a prestigious investment banking firm.
Joshua has been training with New York Martial Arts Academy since May of 2005. Before joining he researched several other martial arts including boxing, Muay Thai, and Tae Kwon Do but found what he was looking for in Jeet Kune Do under the instruction of Sifu Dino Orfanos. He has participated in multiple seminars including those with Sifu Ted Wong and Sifu Chris Kent. Joshua proudly served in the U.S. Air Force from 1999 to 2004, as an In Flight Refueling Specialist. He served in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. He is presently working towards earning a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.
Ron has been training with Sifu Dino Orfanos at New York Martial Arts Academy since January of 2006. As a child, he trained in traditional martial arts but was unsatisfied with the results and discontinued his training. He spent the following years training as a noncompetitive bodybuilder and familiarizing himself with intense strength training and dieting but also seeking an efficient and realistic fighting method. He found that with Jeet Kune Do and New York Martial Arts Academy. Since joining the academy he has also participated in seminars under the instruction of Sifu Ted Wong (Bruce Lee's private student) and Sifu Chris Kent (Dan Inosanto's personal assistant).
Ron is currently working towards a dual degree in Nutrition and Psychology. He is a certified Nutrition and Wellness Consultant with the American Fitness Professionals and Associates. He is also a Certified Personal Trainer with the National Academy of Sports Medicine.
Allissa has been training in Jeet Kune Do and Filipino Martial Arts with New York Martial Arts Academy since 2003. She supplements her training with seminars under top Jeet Kune Do instructors including Sifu Chris Kent and Sifu Ted Wong. She is presently the program director and head instructor of the children's programs at New York Martial Arts Academy which consists of a Little Dragons program for 4-6 year olds and a Young Dragons program for 7-12 year olds.
Before running the children's programs at New York Martial Arts Academy, Allissa was teaching Women's Kick boxing. This offered women a supportive, safe environment to have fun, lose weight, and learn valuable self-defense skills. Allissa has a B.A. in Business Administration and a minor in Japanese. She held a variety of positions including working as an Operations Manager and Regional Sales Manager for an international electronics company.D