GURU CASS MAGDA

Guru Cass Magda

Cass Magda is no ordinary martial arts guy. Growing up in a small mining town in Ontario, Canada during the 60s, Cass, like many young men of his generation, searched for answers in the world of martial arts. By the time Cass was 14, he was implementing Bruce Lee's celebrated article, Liberate Yourself From Classical Karate into his everyday life.

There had been misconceptions in the field of martial arts. People confuse it with the tricks and gimmicks they'd seen on TV and in the movies.

"What Bruce Lee did for me was inspire me to liberate myself from that kind of attitude and start to discover what real fighting was all about." Cass explains.

"I unearthed this philosophy at an age when you start asking all those big questions. I was really fascinated because he talked about self-realization and how martial arts could be a tool for self expression in truly achieving one's higher self." says Magda.

By 19, he was a Black Belt well on his way in the field of martial arts. After graduating from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, with a BA in Economics, he decided to take his chances in Los Angeles. Here he found Dan Inosanto, Lee's protege of Jeet Kune-Do. Dan worked closely with Bruce Lee in the development of his art, JKD, and was the original chief instructor of Lee's Los Angeles school.

Cass studied with Dan for 10 solid years. The work and studies were intense; most days included 10 hours of practice. It wasn't long before Cass was traveling with Inosanto assisting him with his classes and lectures around the world. At this time he also discovered his intense passion for Filipino and Indonesian style martial arts, which includes the fierce art of stick fighting. By 1983 Cass had become a champion full-contact stick fighter by winning four first place titles and two second place titles.

Cass will soon celebrate the 10th anniversary of his school, The Magda Institute, in Reseda, California. As an instructor, Cass has received much attention and notoriety world-wide. With students around the globe, he is an attentive teacher who helps build character in everyone who trains with him. Most new students who walk through the doors of the Magda Institute immediately understand that this training will prepare them for myriad parallels in their own lives, not just the art of fighting.

"I find that in the arts that I do there is a connection within the martial arts philosophy which is manifested physically and the physical experience is the part that leads people to develop truth and flow in their lives."

With this new celebrity-like following, Cass found himself being called to train the likes of Blake Edwards and Julie Andrews, The Dallas Cowboys, and rockers Nikki Sixx, Ricki Rockett of Poison, as well as the infamous Ozzy Ozbourne. Stunt work and film projects were next on the horizon for Cass. As stunt coordinator for Roger Corman, Cass has worked on many films and appreciates the hard work that goes along with Corman's guerrilla style mentality. The martial arts films came easily for Cass with bit parts in small films, and it wasn't long before he was starring in a film of his own. With the release of "Hawk's Vengeance" in 1997 by Dimension Films, Cass was catapulted into low budget star status.

Cass is also featured as the hero of a European comic book, The Kali Warrior. He collaborates with the artist of Kali, to help bring to life the mysterious and intriguing landscape of martial arts. Check out the adventures of Kali Warrior on Cass Magda's website, www.cassmagda.com. Here you can see our hero travel around the world in search of his family sword.

Forever drawn to his first love, Cass still travels all over the world to teach seminars and lend a hand to fellow martial arts lovers. As a Guru (teacher) and artist, Cass Magda continues to make a profound impact not only in the world of martial arts, but much like his own hero, Bruce Lee, in the lives of every student and observer that he touches.