not the perceptions of one misguided individual. It does not seem to be within the ISKAs interest under the direction of Great Grandmaster Rob Castro to correct discrepancies or provide acknowledgement based on that truthful information. While that is his prerogative as the recognized head of Shaolin Kenpo, it does not align with what actually took place in Washington State.

This entire site was created to preserve the integrity and truthful history of Shaolin Kenpo in the northernmost reaches of the system. Providing incorrect information that is accepted, unfortunately does not make that information true.

This history will include the sacrifices and accomplishments of Mike Skinner Sr. whom the ISKA declined to adequately acknowledge in 1995. It will also include the reasoning behind Mike's refusal to officially join the ISKA when Great Grandmaster Ralph Castro visited Grays Harbor County. Lastly, it will detail the actions of an individual who has further splintered the art in Washington State with a unique and misguided version of historical events. 

This history will include the plea of active practitioners in Washington State requesting a more accurate reflection of that history as it took place. An accurate reflection in the context of a belt rank that was more consistent with an individual who devoted more than a quarter century to an art. It will document the deafness of the ISKA to right the perceived wrongs that are more than three decades old and the refusal correct that erroneous information.

More than anything, this site is meant as a reflection of love from a child for a parent who was not noticed appropriately by his superiors when he should have been. After a three year wait for some sort of concrete answer based on the substantial amount of factual information presented, I felt it my responsibility to share this story as it was lived.

I am certain that some of the information contained within this site will upset some of those who are named. Although that is not and has never been my primary intention, it is a necessary byproduct in the expression of that information to show how egregious an oversight and show of disrespect the decision by the International Shaolin Kenpo Association was in 1995. The decision affected an entire family that had preserved and promoted their system for a quarter century.

Sometimes, even the best of intentions result in the failure of a desired outcome. I have largely kept this information private in the hopes an internal solution could be agreed upon between the ISKA and a family that was a cornerstone of the survival of the Castro's art of Shaolin Kenpo. Unfortunately, that did not take place in a reasonable amount of time, so I have therefore chosen to share it with the world. It is unfortunate when recognition in Martial Arts becomes political or based on financial increase and is not based on sacrifice and skill.

Many of you won't care about what I have to share with you. Others may be upset with the truth being shared in its entirety. To most of you, the effect will have no bearing on your own personal journey in the Martial Arts. Know only that I wish to share history as it took place before that history is forgotten.

Contrary to how this may appear, I have a great deal of respect for Shaolin Kenpo, Ralph Castro and Rob Castro. This respect is inherent respect which-there in appreciation for the training I have undertaken and what it has provided me. Nothing that has been done or could be done will have a bearing on this level of respect.

True respect, however, is earned, and never given without cause. You expect those you want to look up to do the right thing in all circumstances once information is obtained from all sides. I personally do not feel that was the case regarding my father. The beauty of true respect is that it travels both directions.

Shaolin Kenpo has refused to appropriately acknowledge roughly 30 years of sacrifice by Mike Skinner Sr., has denied a recognition to Third-Degree that took place in 1999 for Mike Skinner Jr. and now has refused to place Mark Skinner's name on a lineage site nearly a year after he received his Black Belt. This begins to look less like the integrity of an Association and more like a smear campaign against a family for a sin that was never committed as they believed it was.

The ISKA response to this narrative will most likely be to remove me from the Association for speaking the truth. This is unfortunate, but it was also preventable...either by the ISKA making a decision that all could agree on or by silencing a true story.  Three years of trying to do things the accepted way, as a subservient underling which did not achieve even a modicum of the resolution I sought. Option number two is to place this story here in print that the majority of practitioners in Washington State believe to be the factual version.

I have waited a over a thousand days for a decision that should have taken hours based on the significant amount of evidence presented. Three years of doing everything short of begging the ISKA to do what would be considered the perfect solution in an imperfect world. All that was asked of them was to place stripes on an individual's belt as a representation of skill, sacrifice, and to make things right where an error became compounded on all sides over thirty years ago. They have refused to do so. Their action has been to do nothing. Actions have consequences, and some of those are yet to be realized.

I have spent the majority of my lifetime exploring Martial Arts in theory and practice and Shaolin Kenpo possesses a significant amount of the pieces needed to be considered a complete art. It is visually beautiful, anatomically precise, and quite deadly in its purest form.

For those of you who practice your Kenpo with integrity and honor, I wish you well.

The rabbit hole lies before you. Dare you travel down it?