At an early age Farshad Azad began learning martial arts privately from a martial arts master who not only taught him to get in an incredible physical shape, execute very effective martial arts skills and self defense techniques but to succeed in all areas of life. As the only student of his Master, he mastered the moves quickly gaining great level of confidence to apply to his life. Grandmaster Azad still refers to those early days of his training as the foundational skills that built his life and propelled him toward success in every aspect of his life today.  One of Mr. Azad's early time favorite teachers was Grandmaster Nakai who inspired him as an older teen to take on the martial arts studies in a real serious way in different countries.  All throughout his college years it was Grandmaster Nakai who inspired him through personal letters to stay focused in school and training and competing in various styles of martial arts training and championships.  

 

In mid-1980's Mr. Azad expanded his martial arts education and training in South East Asian styles of Escrima, and Arnis combat with Jujitsu Professor Carr.  Soon he reached the peak of his training where he continued his studies with Professor Carr's teacher,  Guru Master Bueno. Mr. Azad studied a number of grappling fighting systems including Jujitsu, Kali, Escrima, Native American fighting methods and modified weapon combative systems under Master Bueno.  Once Mr. Azad mastered the skills, he was sent to the highest rank Filipino martial arts Grandmaster, the Founder of the art of Modern Arnis, Professor Remy Presas.  Mr. Azad continued his advance Master level studies in Kali blade fighting, Escrima, Modern Arnis, Pressure Point Applications within the context of weapons and empty hand fighting, as well as advance hand to hand combat studies under direct training with the Great Grandmaster Professor Remy Presas.   Mr. Azad's impressive progress and serious training discipline earned him the rank of Senior Master Instructor in Professor's fighting art of Modern Arnis, Kali, and Escrima mixed with Small Circle Jujitsu and Tuite, Dimak.  In 2001 the Great Grandmaster Presas passed away.  Mr. Azad and a handful of Professor's top rank students were chosen by the family and as the most trusted and skilled students of the Great Grandmaster commissioned to safeguard and escort Grandmaster's body back to Filipins for appropriate cultural burial under the Filipino flag. This task was then taken on by the Ambassador of Filipins in Canada.

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1980's also marked Mr. Azad's competitive years in various competition circles that included full-contact fighting, boxing, Taekwondo competition fighting, Olympic level fighting, Pan-American fighting, ITF point sparring and non-sanctioned full contact fighting. 

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In early 1990’s Mr. Azad received a Master rank in the Korean martial arts system of Jungsuwon under the Founder of the art, the Great Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim. According to Mr. Azad, the Great Grandmaster Dr. Kim is the foremost authority of Ki Energy, 

 

With proficiency in a variety of Okinawan, Japanese, Chinese martial arts including Kumdo, Kobudo, Iaido, and Full Contact Muay Thai Full Contact Kickboxing, Azad has been influential in empowering tens of thousands of men, women, children of all backgrounds, abilities and skills to fly toward success in their life. 

 

In 1990's Mr. Azad was chosen by the Olympic Committee as an Olympic Torch Runner in the Summer Olympics held in Atlanta, Georgia in United States of America.  Grandmaster Azad is the first martial arts Grandmaster to ever have had that honor of running the Olympic torch representing all martial artists around the world in welcoming the Summer Olympics. Mr. Azad was chosen due to his commitment to community service, physical education, the martial arts, training Olympic athletes, and the vast contribution he has made and makes each year to hundreds of charitable causes benefiting thousands of children and adults all around the world.

 

Grandmaster Azad has provided shoes and clothing for tens of thousands of disadvantaged children, over 60,000 meals for low income families, tens of thousands of dollars worth of school supplies for low income schools, residence for orphaned kids, assisted international refugees in various parts of the world,  helped families in different countries faced with poverty, homelessness, and much more.
 
Grandmaster Azad is also known for training law enforcement and executive bodyguards in tactical defense, powerful martial arts applications, strategic fighting, arrest procedures, weapon retention, weapon disarms, last resort tactics, functional destressing and de-escalation tactics and much more.   Mr. Azad has trained many personal protection teams, and executive bodyguards for over three decades. Mr. Azad has taught members of special law enforcement units, flight marshals, aviation crew including pilots and co-pilots, special tactical personnel at international, and national levels.  
 
Over the years, Grandmaster Azad has taught and shared his knowledge with thousands of martial arts enthusiasts, black belts, masters, and grandmasters of different styles of martial arts around the world. 

His passion for the martial arts grew rapidly as it positively impacted every aspect of his life including his academic successes. From early on he learned to keep an open mind not only as a sign of respect to various martial arts systems and instructors but also as a way to live his life. He continued his martial arts studies in the old and new systems of martial arts as he helped to train many folks along the way including members of various university organized sports teams, faculty, staff, students and the university police department personnel. In late 1990’s Grandmaster Azad created a new tactical system called the Realistic Defensive Tactics (RDT) which was designed and developed to teach tactical and strategic skills to personal protection teams, executive bodyguards, law enforcement, pilots, co-pilots, air crew, air marshals, drug enforcement agents, special units, and security personnel. 
 
In mid-1990’s Mr. Azad founded U.S.A. Kardio-Kickboxing program to help professional athletes, exercise enthusiasts and personal trainers to develop appropriate techniques and abilities to scientifically train non-martial artists toward their personal health goals using stand up and ground martial arts body movements. 
 
Grandmaster Azad also created another cutting-edge tactical training program called Aggression Response Methods Systems (ARMS). At the basic level ARMS was designed to teach civilians powerfully  practical strategies and techniques to protect themselves and their loved ones in case of an assault, and help others in a self-defense situation as a third party force.  The higher levels of ARMS course is designed to help those with deeper knowledge of training, martial arts or tactical defense such as members of executive protection teams. Some of the material includes defense against edged weapons and firearms as last resort protection methods.
 
In early 2000’s Mr. Azad created a specialized self-defense course called Street Awareness Strategies (SAS). Thousands of professionals in the public and private sectors have been trained in SAS methods of prevention, intervention, risk assessment, threat assessment and response methods, de-escalation, hostage situations, and physical intervention for personal safety. 
 
In 2016 Mr. Azad founded the Personal Defense Training program, a personal safety and self-defense course designed for adults of all ages (with or without martial arts experience) with high caliber, easy to use, practical and street proven self-defense techniques, home security, work security, ,school security and much more. This program educated, and trained over 3000 adults in its first 24 months of its initial release.
 
Mr. Azad is a Master Instructor in the following tactical programs created by Master Tom Patier:
Law Enforcement Survival Systems
Family Protection Systems
Know & Go Self Defense for Children
Training For Life
Last Resort Tactics, Deadly Force
Last Resort Weapon Disarms, Counter-Terrorism System
C.D.T. (Compliance, Direction, Takedown) Non-Deadly Force
 
In 2020 Grandmaster created S.T.O.R.M. (Special Tactical & Operations Response Methods) a training course for all law enforcement agents.  This program is designed to train first responders specially members of the law enforcement in the last resort weapon retention, disarms, and life-saving response methods as well as strategic and operational skills, de-escalation, decompression, stress management, mental clarity under fire, street defense, and overall physical, mental and emotional health of all first responders including members of the law enforcement, fire department, mental health and hospital employees, search and rescue teams, animal rescue teams etc.

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Mr. Azad's academic degrees include a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from the University of Kansas, and Master's (MPA) degree at the California State University Chico.  He became a Ph.d candidate at the University of Arizona in early 1990's. 

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Senior Grandmaster Azad has been teaching at the California State University system Kinesiology Department since 1980's for over 30 years.  He created the first Korean Martial Arts system at CSUC and established the first Martial arts Competition and Demonstration teams in the entire California State University system in 1980's.  He then established the first Korean, South East Asian, and Chinese systems of martial arts in the CSU systems followed by creating the first Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) course of training as an official course for credit at any university in the United States of America.

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Mr. Azad has helped hundreds of charitable organizations and world-wide causes.  Currently, he serves as a member of the American Red Cross Board of Directors, the Butte College Foundation, the Butte Strong Fund, the Chair of the Board of Directors of the North Valley Community Foundation, the CSUC Police Chief Selection Committees, the Police Chief Advisory Board, member of the World Hapkido Union, member of the Board of Directors of the World Sinmoo Legacy Group, and the Vice-President of Dojunim Ji Han Jae World Sinmoo Hapkido Foundation.

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Mr. Azad has been an expert in multiple fighting systems of martial arts with nearly 50 years of outstanding martial arts training, competition, and teaching experience in multiple disciplines of Chinese, Okinawan, Japanese, Korean and South East Asian arts.  Senior Grandmaster Azad is officially appointed by the Founder of Hapkido as Dojunim's Official Ambassador, Special Representative and the only Regional Director for World Sinmoo (Shinmoo) Association and the World Sinmoo (Shinmoo) Hapkido Association in the Middle East, and Neighboring Countries.  As the President of the Middle East Shinmoo Hapkido Association (MESHA), Mr. Azad invites all martial arts school owners to join Dojunim's Shinmoo family.  Mr. Azad is also appointed as the Vice President of "Dojunim Ji Han Jae's World Sinmoo Hapkido Federation" with headquarters in the United States of America. 

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