Hector Palencia's Autobiography:

As most young children, my interest in the Martial Arts was sparked from watching the Martial Arts in film; but no movies sparked my interest like those in which Bruce Lee acted. My father had taken some traditional karate growing up and so he taught me some basic punching, kicking and blocking. When I was in the 4th grade I joined Aikido I for a year. Many years past and when I was a freshman in high school I came across Kung fu San Soo and also studied in this art for a year. It wasn't till about a year later I was driving to Kung Fu class when I took another route and happened to drive past the Kali Academy, out of a whim I stopped to look in the studio and what I saw amazed me so much that I quit my other school and signed up that day. I consider that day in 1993 as my Martial Art Awakening. Since then I have spent all my extra time (through undergraduate and two graduate schools) training and teaching the martial arts. I have also had the opportunity to train with other instructors from other schools such as Dan Sullivan (the owner and founder of OC kickboxing), Sunny Hughes (Judo master and eight degree black belt). But I feel most fortunate to be an instructor under Sifu/Guro Bud Thompson, a man that truly defines what the martial arts is about, and has an unwavering goal of keeping the spirit of the art alive.