Prof. Leonard Holifield has over 36 years of martial
arts experience and is president and founder of I.A.E.P.S.D.T The International Academy
of Executive Protection Self Defense Tactics and H.C.S.I Holifield's Combat Systems
International. Organizations that offer specialized training in unarmed self defense
for executive security, law enforcement, special operations and military personnel.
Considered one of the country's leading experts in hand-to-hand combat, he is a published
author and frequent lecturer on unarmed self-defense, executive protection and military
combatives. During his military career he served as
Chief Combatives Instructor to
the United States Army from 1987 to 1997 and was instrumental in rewriting the Army's
manual on Combatives (FM 21-150). While stationed in Seoul, Korea he and his team
spear-headed a hand-to-hand combat training program that was taught throughout 2nd
Infantry Division and 8th Army Command. His positions included Nuclear-Biological-Chemical
Specialist, Combat Lifesaver, Master Fitness Trainer, Instructor Certified "H"
Identifier, Inmate Labor Supervisor, Tac-Fire Operations Specialist, Military Police
Officer and CQC/USD trainer to, Airborne, Air Assault, Air Calvary, Infantry, Field
Artillery, Psychological Operations, (PIR) Parachute Infantry Regiments, (SRT) Special
Reaction Teams and Special Operations. His work in the field of hand-to-hand combat
has been featured on AFKN (Armed Forced Korean Network), WAKA Channel 8 Montgomery,
WSFA Channel 12 Montgomery, the BBC (British Public Broadcasting) and in numerous
military publications, to include Stars & Stripes, Soldiers, Army Trainer, Korus,
and Military Police magazines and has been recognized by top military leaders to
include former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Colin Powell, former Army
Chief of Staff Gen. Gordan R. Sullivan and former Sergeant Major of the Army - SMA
Richard A. Kidd. In March of 2000, he was voted Most Outstanding Self Defense Instructor
by The World Martial Arts Hall of Fame and has received the coveted Executive Protection
Award of Valor. A highly decorated veteran of the Gulf War, he was credited with
capturing one of the first Iraqi POW's during Operation Desert Storm and trained
countless soldiers in hand-to-hand combat while stationed in Saudi Arabia.
He is a graduate of ESI's (Executive Security International) Advanced Executive Protection
Program (AEP) and Certified Protection Specialist (CPS). In addition to his extensive
military and security background, he served as Executive Vice President of The World
Martial Arts Hall of Fame from 1991 to 2003 and is President and Founder of The Sikaron
Karate Federation. He has trained in several martial art disciplines to include Judo,
Jujitsu, Aikido, Hapkido, Combat Karate, Shotokan Karate, Ninjitsu, Hwarang do, Knife-Fighting,
Kung-Fu, Dim-Mak, Tameshiwari, Boxing and Grappling. He holds
10th dan, 6th dan,
3rd dan and 2nd dan black belts in Sikaron Karate, Hapkido, Judo and Karate, respectively.He is the founder of Fight-Flight-or-Freeze, a nationally recognized reality based women's self defense program and CETA (Close-Engagement Target Acquisition) a cutting
edge fighting system developed specifically for security, law enforcement and military
personnel.
He is the author of the best-selling book Close Quarter Combat
"A Soldiers Guide To Hand-to-Hand Combat" Paladin Press and video artist
for Panther Productions best-selling Hand-to-Hand Combat series "Close Quarter
Combat". He has received numerous awards and honors to include Who's Who in
America 2004 and Doctorate degrees in Martial Arts/Science from The World College
of Martial Science and The American College of Martial Science where he serves as Dean of the Homeland Security Department. He has provided close
protection for numerous high profile clients and is currently serving as Executive
Security Officer and Deputy Marshal for the Alabama Supreme Court and personal bodyguard
to Chief Justice Roy Moore - aka "The Ten Commandments Judge".
We
are very pleased to have him as a member of the UFS Board.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=af-RioWxRz0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etNg1biVKSQ
