Lineage. Method. Purpose.
NW Kali was founded by Sifu/Guro Christopher Clarke — a published author and one of the longest-standing authentic FMA / JKD instructors in the Pacific Northwest, teaching group classes, private instruction, and seminars across Oregon, Washington, and beyond since 1987.
Having first met and trained with Master Dan Inosanto while still in high school, Sifu Clarke began sharing Kali, Jun Fan Gung Fu, and Muay Thai at Portland State University in 1987. He first invited Master Inosanto to Portland in 1992, opening the first Kali / JKD school in the region under the Inosanto lineage — and the first commercial Muay Thai school in Portland — that same year.
Master Instructor
Clarke has been teaching and sharing the Inosanto method in the Northwest since 1987 — a tenure that spans the full arc of the modern FMA / JKD awakening in the United States.
For decades, Sifu Clarke has assisted in teaching all levels of law enforcement throughout Oregon, Washington, and California — from recruits to seasoned officers, agency instructors, and tactical personnel.
One of the highest obligations for Clarke and NW Kali is to transmit the true martial arts traditions, philosophies, and cultures of the Inosanto lineage. That transmission is what is offered here — the actual curriculum, taught by an instructor who has studied it for decades.
Martial arts training develops something that cannot be purchased or shortcut — real physical capability, situational awareness, and a disciplined way of engaging with challenge. At NW Kali, that development happens through direct transmission of proven arts, from a highly qualified instructor committed to your progress.
Functional self-defense, armed and unarmed. A direct, outcomes-focused curriculum for professionals and anyone who wants real-world capability — not theory, not sport.
Explore Praxis →The full Inosanto curriculum — skill, depth, and instructor certification. For those committed to studying and ultimately transmitting the complete art.
Explore Legacy →Answers to the questions serious students ask before reaching out.
Do I need prior martial arts experience?
No. The curriculum begins at the absolute foundation. Many of the best long-term students started with zero experience — and in some ways, beginning here without ingrained habits from other systems is an advantage.
Do I need to be physically fit before I begin?
No. Training itself is the conditioning. Sessions are progressive and adapted to your current level — the physical demands build alongside your skill. Many students begin with no prior fitness background and develop both capability and conditioning through the training itself.
How long does it take to progress through the curriculum?
The curriculum is skill-gated, not time-gated. Dedicated students working consistently typically progress through the foundational material within one to two years. Most serious students view it as a lifelong practice, not a course with an end date.
What does a typical session look like?
Every session is built around your current level and goals. Sessions typically include technical instruction, partner drilling, attribute development, and pressure testing — all structured around where you are in the curriculum and what you need to develop next.
Is the training safe?
Yes. NW Kali emphasizes progressive, intelligent training — skills are developed safely and built upon over time. The goal is consistent, long-term development. Students are never pushed beyond their readiness, and safety is treated as a fundamental principle, not an afterthought.
What equipment do I need to get started?
Minimal equipment is needed to begin. A pair of rattan eskrima sticks, training knives, and bag gloves cover the basics. Equipment needs develop naturally as you progress — you will not be asked to invest in gear before you are ready for it.
How is this different from Krav Maga?
Much of what is taught in Krav Maga is drawn from the same source arts — Boxing, Muay Thai, JKD, and Kali. The difference is lineage, depth, and transmission. NW Kali teaches the originals, not a derivative, with the full philosophical and cultural context intact.
How is this different from MMA?
While there is philosophical overlap with cross-training, MMA is structured around competition — weight classes, referees, mats, and rule sets. NW Kali training is structured around real-world application and personal development. The environment, objectives, and context are fundamentally different.
Kali is uniquely suited for self-defense, as it was bred as a fighting art centered on weapons. Our Filipino martial arts program at NW Kali is garnered from over 40 years of training in the Inosanto Blend method. With more than 30 different instructors and over 65 years of experience, Inosanto has accumulated an almost unimaginable depth of knowledge in the styles and techniques of Kali, Eskrima, and Arnis.
Our Kali method features multiple areas of study, including the staff, spear, swords, sticks, knives, and flexible weapons, as well as an extensive empty-hand system further organized into boxing, elbow and knee strikes, joint locks, throws, and grappling and submissions known as Dumog. Learn fundamental and advanced skills in both the offensive and defensive use of bladed weapons (knife, machete) and impact weapons (stick, cane, flashlight, racket, rock, etc.). Our Filipino martial arts training curriculum of Kali, Eskrima, and Arnis will help you quickly gain effective skills through a safe and practical progression.
Bruce Lee and Dan Inosanto coined Jeet Kune Do (JKD) in 1967 — a philosophy of cross-training and personal expression in martial arts that remains widely misunderstood, partly because Lee's approach never stopped evolving. Its foundation, Jun Fan Gung Fu, blends modified Wing Chun with kickboxing, throws, locks, and takedowns. At least 30 years ahead of its time, it's the forerunner to modern Mixed Martial Arts, but designed for real self-defense — no rules, no weight classes, no time limits. Eight of Black Belt magazine's top-ten fighting styles trace back directly or indirectly to Lee and Inosanto. The core values: economy, simplicity, and effectiveness.
Born in San Francisco and an American citizen, Lee was raised in Hong Kong, where he trained Wing Chun under Ip Man, competed in boxing, and trained in fencing with his brother. After relocating to Seattle, he opened the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute, later expanding to Los Angeles with Inosanto as head instructor. In an era when cross-training was frowned upon, Lee broke every convention — teaching non-Chinese students, training across multiple styles, and openly dismissing rigid traditional methods as "the classical mess." His vocal admiration for boxers and wrestlers further alienated him from the mainstream martial arts community. Those controversial attitudes ultimately became the philosophical and technical backbone of JKD.
Muay Thai, known as "the Art of Eight Limbs," is a striking art that utilizes fists, elbows, knees, and shins as weapons, making it one of the most comprehensive stand-up combat systems in the world. Training is demanding and rooted in both physical conditioning and technical refinement. Pad work forms the backbone of most sessions — fighters sharpen combinations, timing, and power by working with a partner holding Thai pads, as well as focus mitts. Clinch work — not allowed in boxing or kickboxing — and Lin Chen, a deliberate light-style timing sparring, allow fighters to train without injury and thereby compete frequently.
Beyond the physical, traditional Muay Thai training emphasizes discipline, respect for training partners and instructors, and a patient step-by-step approach to skill development — values central to Ajarn Sirisute's teaching philosophy and the culture he has worked to preserve and share across the world. Ajarn Sirisute began teaching Muay Thai in the United States in 1968 and is widely recognized as the father of Thai Boxing in America. He became known for deliberately incorporating elements of Western boxing into his Muay Thai curriculum, blending hand combinations, footwork, and defensive boxing principles with traditional Muay Thai's devastating kicks, knees, and elbows — creating a more complete and adaptable system suited to Western fighters and competition formats.
In 1982, Ajarn Sirisute led the first American team to compete at the Muay Thai World Championships in Thailand, a historic milestone. Legendary martial artist Dan Inosanto began training with Ajarn Sirisute and later introduced him to the Kali/JKD community, dramatically expanding Muay Thai's reach. His Thai Boxing Association, now the World Thai Boxing Association (WTBA), has since grown to over 70 US branches and representation in 15 countries. Here in the Pacific Northwest, that legacy took root early. NW Kali has been promoting and sharing Muay Thai under the TBA in the Northwest since 1988 and opened the first formal TBA Muay Thai gym in Portland, Oregon in 1992.
Maphilindo Silat draws from multiple Southeast Asian silat traditions — primarily from Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia (hence "Maphilindo"). Inosanto studied under numerous masters from these regions, including Master John Lacoste (Pangamut, Kali-Silat), Pendekar Paul DeThouars (Pentjak Silat Serak/Bukti Negara), and Pendekar Herman Suwanda (Pentjak Silat Mande Muda), weaving their teachings into a cohesive curriculum.
Silat is primarily a close-quarter style known for fluid stances, intricate footwork patterns with both standing and ground mobility, and the use of angles to evade and counter simultaneously. It is rich in trapping hands, off-balancing, sweeps, takedowns, and destructions — preemptive striking to limbs — and integrates both empty-hand and weapons work, including the knife and flexible weapons such as the sarong, cord, and scarf. Empty-hand techniques make extensive use of knees, elbows, and most every hard and sharp body surface — including environmental structures — for impact on an opponent.
Panantukan is the Filipino boxing system drawn from the empty-hand portion of Kali — known as Pangamut, meaning "of the hand." Now popularized as "Dirty Boxing" in modern MMA circles, Filipino Boxing as conveyed through the Inosanto FMA lineage is a cornerstone of NW Kali's empty-hand curriculum. The term Panantukan was preferred by the late Ted LucayLucay Sr., a Hawaiian-Filipino boxing champion and one of Guro Inosanto's primary sources alongside Master John LaCosta. Inosanto recounts that LucayLucay Sr. favored the older term in the 1970s to avoid confusion with the Japanese style Shotokan, as the national language Tagalog term Suntokan sounded too similar.
The art carries a prominent Western boxing influence — a legacy of the American military presence in the Philippines, which introduced English/Queensbury rules boxing and left a lasting mark on the Filipino striking tradition. Our striking program blends Western boxing, Muay Thai, Jun Fan Kickboxing, and Filipino-influenced boxing into a dynamic and functional curriculum — utilizing all surfaces of the hands, including hammer-fists and open-hand strikes, along with feet, shins, forearms, knees, elbows, and the head. Ideal for self-defense, law enforcement, and competition.
A closer look
See the art in motion — private instruction, real technique, and the standard of training that has defined NW Kali for nearly four decades. When you are ready to begin, the next step is a conversation.
Apply for Private Training Explore Praxis →