Martial Art Concepts Lineage

The MAC Team

Paul Kelly

Paul is the Principal Chief Instructor for our Academies and has been involved in the martial arts for nearly 30 years. All of the instructors that Paul studies under are world class and some of the best at their respective arts. Paul holds Instructor qualifications under Guro Dan Inosanto and Sifu Rick Young in Jeet Kune Do, Jun Fan Gung Fu & Filipino Martial Arts and under Tommy Thomson in western Boxing. He has studied widely under other instructors and Paul is an Instructor under 2 times world light Heavy weight Shoot Fighting Champion Erik Paulson and is also a Brown Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Professor Braulio Estima. Paul regularly hosts seminars held by his instructors for the academy students to gain a real insight into world-class martial arts.
It is Paul's intention to offer world-class instruction within the academy and to offer a first class training environment with great coaches and students to train with !!

Team MAC

Paul Bedford is our Program Director at Martial Arts Concepts Dudley. Paul is a passionate martial artist whose wife Emma and two boy's, Luke and Jake, also train at the academy! Paul is there to focus on helping our new students in their first steps into the academy as well as being part of the Instructor Team.
Alex Williams is our Program Director at Martial Arts Concepts Halesowen and has been a student at the academy from the very first time it opened. A graduate in Sports Science and a qualified Gym Instructor, Alex is also an excellent martial artist.
Steve Jones is a Jeet Kune Do Concepts Instructor at Martial Art Concepts and has been training in the martial arts for over 13 years. He is a fulltime member of Team MAC and is also the Chief Instructor for our Students at the Dudley Academy.
Matt Tolley is a Jeet Kune Do Concepts Instructor at Martial Art Concepts and has been training in the martial arts for over 15 years. He is also the Chief Instructor for our Students at the Halesowen Academy.
Emma Bedford is a Jeet Kune Do Concepts Instructor at Martial Art Concepts and has been training in the martial arts for over 7 years. She is a fulltime member of Team MAC and is also the Senior Instructor for our Family Program Students at the Halesowen Academy.
Richard Wardle is a Jeet Kune Do Concepts Instructor at Martial Art Concepts and has been training in the martial arts for over 15 years. Richard has studied many different martial arts and has a brown belt in sport kickboxing, studied Tae Kwon Do for 3 years and Wado Ru Karate for 2 years
All our Instructor Team has graduated through the MAC AIT and CIT Programs.

Instructor and AIT / CIT Team

We take our responsibility for the service we provide our students very seriously and that is why we have a dedicated, fully trained team of Academy Instructors, Assistant Instructor Training Students and Certified Instructor Training Students to help you through your martial arts journey. Our AIT/CIT Team and Instructors are all certified under M.A.C. and some are parents of our junior students and therefore have a passion for the martial arts and an understanding for our students.
As an Instructor Team we regularly travel to seminars in the UK and to the USA to update and improve our martial arts with the world's best instructors. Team MAC are open and friendly and have all travelled the same road on their martial arts journey so they can lend a sympathetic ear when you need support or extra tuition too! After all, they have all been where you are today and made the developmental changes on their journey through the martial arts.
Our Instructor and Coaching Team have been CRB checked as part of our commitment to Excellence and Martial Art Concepts has also been professionally accredited by Chartered Psychologist Dr Ged Lombard and both Sandwell MBC and Dudley MBC with the SEAL accreditation.

Guro Dan Inosanto

a modern day legend

Guro Dan Inosanto is a modern day legend in the martial arts world. He was the protege of Bruce Lee, the creator of Jun Fan Gung Fu and Jeet Kune Do. As well as being a black belt under Ed Parker, the Father of American Karate, Guro Inosanto is the only person authorised by Bruce Lee to teach JKD. Guro Inosanto is also a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with the Machado brothers and is well known for his Filipino martial arts of Kali, Escrima and Silat. Guro Inosanto is truly an encyclopaedia of the Martial Arts. Paul Kelly is an instructor under Guro Inosanto, which is a rare privilege granted to a small number of martial artists worldwide. Paul regularly travels to train with Guro Inosanto both in the UK and at his Academy in Marina Del Rey in Los Angeles, California, USA

"We are all climbing different paths through the mountain of life, and we have all experienced much hardship and strife. There are many paths through the mountain of life, and some climbs can be felt like the point of a knife. Some paths are short and others are long, who can say which path is right or wrong? The beauty of truth is that each path has its own song, and if you listen closely you will find where you belong. So climb your own path true and strong, but respect all other truths for your way for them could be wrong."
-Dan Inosanto

Sifu Rick Young

Rick Young was the first Senior Full instructor in Europe under Guro Inosanto in JKD, Jun Fan Gung Fu and the Filipino martial arts. A world class martial artist in his own right, Rick has been World Gold medallist Champion in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and still remains and an awesome all round martial artist. Rick also holds black-belts in Judo, Karate, is an instructor in Wing Chun and has boxed to a high level. He runs his own academy in Edinburgh, Scotland and spends a lot of his time teaching his unique brand of martial arts around the world, including S.W.A.T teams in America. Rick is accredited under a veritable who's who in the martial arts world, Larry Hartsell, Paul Vunak, Rick Faye, Erik Paulson and Mauricio Gomes (Gracie Barra). He is also a Senior Coach for the British Combat Association. Rick is a one of the most respected instructors in the UK. Paul is one of the few instructors in the country under Sifu Rick in Jeet Kune Do, Jun Fan Gung Fu and the Filipino martial arts. Sifu Rick is also Paul's supervising instructor under Guro Inosanto.

Braulio Estima

Braulio is ranked in the top three BJJ competitors in the world and has been for many years! He is a mulpiple world champion and Pan-American champion. He now lives and teaches in the U.K.. Braulio is a member of the world famous Gracie Barra Competition Team and gained his black-belt under Carlos Gracie Jnr. He currently teaches seminars all over Europe and specifically the UK, as he spreads the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu word as only a Brazilian world champion can! Paul is one of a select few Brown Belts under Braulio and a private student since Prof. Estima arrived in the UK

Tommy Thompson

Tommy Thompson is the only Senior ABA boxing Coach in Nottingham, and has been involved in the art of Boxing for nearly 30 years. As well as having nearly 70 fights, Tommy has coached some of the great British boxers. As an associate to Brendan Ingles, Tommy has been involved with such world champions as Prince Naseem, current WBO Champion Johnny Nelson, Nigel Benn, Tony Sibson, Ricky Hatton and many others. Tommy still retains his boxing links but concentrates on teaching martial artists the art of boxing. Tommy is a regular writer in martial art magazines and teaches his art all over the UK to many high level martial artists. Paul is the only martial artist to be a fully accredited boxing coach under Tommy and regularly accompanies Tommy on his boxing seminars as his Assistant Coach.

Erik Paulson

Sensei Erik Paulson is a two times World light heavyweight Shoot Fighting Champion, as well as one of Guro Inosanto's leading instructors. He has a prolific background in martial arts and is the founder of Combat Submission Wrestling and is a favourite coach worldwide for his excellence in Martial Art and his devastating array of body weapons. He currently coaches his own stable of fighters for the Ultimate Fighting Competition (UFC) and includes Ken Shamrock as one of his students. Paul Kelly is an Instructor under Erik in Combat Submission Wrestling and has trained with Erik for many years now both in the UK and in Los Angeles, California at the Inosanto Academy.