About

 Zach Jenkins in 1983 joined the U.S. military and traveled to Pyongtek, Korea where he met Master Yu Yong Chu.  Master Yu Yong Chu later became the President of the Korea Kung Fu Association in 1986.  Under the tutelage of Master Yu, Zach Jenkins learned the art of Sib Pal Gi Kung Fu.  Sib Pal Gi encompassed the five animal systems of Tiger, Snake, Leopard, Crane, and Dragon.  There were also some nuances of 8 step Praying Mantis Kung Fu.

 In 1986 Zach Jenkins traveled to Pusan, Korea where he met Grand Master Jatsu Chung.  In 1988, Grand Master Jatsu was appointed to the post of Captain of the Korea Wu Shu team by the Chung Moo Kwan Gymnasium and competed every year in the Asian Games. Grand Master Jatsu Chung trained Zach Jenkins in a rare kung fu style called Tiger Swallow Praying Mantis. After Five years of intense training, Zach Jenkins attained a ranking of 4^th Dan Black Belt in the art and science of Tiger Swallow Praying Mantis and was promoted to the post of instructor in General Principle Chung Moo Kwan under the flag of the Chung Moo Kwan Gymnasium.

In 1990, Zach Jenkins returned to the United States and was stationed in Springfield, Ohio as an Army Recruiter.  It was during that time that Zach Jenkins was introduced to Guru Ken Pannell and Guru Tim Anderson.  Guru Ken and Guru Tim were skilled in Pentjak Silat Bukti-negara, Inosanto Kali, Doce Pares Eskrima, and Pentjak Silat Mande Muda.  Zach Jenkins continued studying under Guru Ken and Guru Tim for a few years and ultimately, Guru Ken and Guru Tim parted ways and Guru Ken continued to teach in Dayton, Ohio while Guru Tim eventually went to California to study with Pendekar Paul de Thouars at the PDT Academy in Arcadia, California. Currently, Tim Anderson holds the rank of Guru Dua and still teaches at the PDT Academy.  Guru Ken continued to teach under Guro Dan Inosanto and subsequently learned Pukulan Pentjak Silat Serak under Maha Guru Victor de Thouars.  Currently Guru Ken teaches his style of SiKal at his school in Ohio.  In 1993, Zach Jenkins departed the United States once again and was stationed in Germany.  While in Germany, Zach Jenkins continued to practice martial arts and taught for the US Army in Giessen, Germany.  Zach Jenkins practiced and taught martial arts for the next 5 years. During that time, Zach Jenkins met Grand Master Abner G. Pasa and Punong Guro Krishna Godhania of the Warriors Eskrima system.

Grand Master Abner accepted Zach Jenkins as a personal student and taught him the essence of his own art “Balitok Eskrima”. Before this meeting with Grand Master Abner, Zach Jenkins was about to give up training in Eskrima because he believed that he reached a point where his training met a dead end.  Grand Master Abner and Punong Guro Krishna showed Mr. Jenkins an eskrima style that was so effective, he quickly gained confidence in eskrima again and dedicated himself to learning Warriors Eskrima.  

Today, Guru Zach Jenkins teaches Eskrima Silat, which is not a blend of Eskrima and Pentjak Silat, but two distinct arts taught as they are and not mixed with anything external. Guru Zach Jenkins was taught by the Grand Masters that if the arts were mixed with other arts, they would lose certain principles that made the arts effective in the first place.  This is not to say that the arts do not progress, but in actuality, they progress within the confines of their individual systems of combat. 

After surviving several attacks and ambushes while serving in Baghdad, Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom 2003-2004, Zach Jenkins was thankful to God that he was able to return home without a scratch and thus pledged to share his knowledge of the martial arts with good people that he will be in contact with in the future.