Joe Lansdale's father taught him for about two years, but found it difficult to train with any regularity due to work. While studying Lifeguard qualifications for Boy Scouts, Joe Lansdale discovered the swim teacher was also a Judo instructor. Lansdale had his parents sign him up immediately. At the YMCA he studied not only Judo, but Hapkido, Tae Kwon Do and Kenpo. In fact, he was one of the earliest to study Hapkido in the United States, (it was introduced to the U.S. in 1964 in California) and was certainly one of the earliest to study in Texas. His instructor, Dewayne Odom, had trained in the military, probably Korea, but possibly Viet Nam. At the time, it didn't seem to be an important question.

Later, Lansdale acquired a small amount of training in Yudo from a Korean student at Tyler Junior College, and later trained for a time in Thai Boxing that he learned from young Thais who had moved to the U.S. to pursue high school and college.

In time, Lansdale began to teach what he had learned to others so as to have training companions.

Early Teachings:
1968 - 1970: "A Maverick Form of Kenpo"

His early teaching was a combination of a "maverick form of Kenpo", as it was called by his instructor, Mark Stewart, Hapkido, as taught to him by Dewayne Odom, and Taekwondo as taught by Gary Thomas, as well as the basics of Judo as taught to him by Tom Glass. He and his training partner, Don Brown were equally responsible for this loose early methodology, and jokingly referred to what they were doing as the art of JoDon, though they seriously talked about one day being good enough to devise their own system. At this time neither had the age, experience or training for such an endeavor.

Actual self-defense experiences in the oil town of Gladewater, and the blending of what he and Don Brown had been taught, led to changes Lansdale would later incorporate as part of his own system.

At this time, Lansdale's teaching to friends was made up of bare knuckle, mid to heavy contact sparring with a strong emphasis on basic kicks at long range, body checking and rapid hand strikes at close quarters, locks and throws off of grabs and holds only. These lock and throw techniques were tempered by rapid strikes.

This was different from how he had been taught in Hapkido. By personal experience, Lansdale had learned locks and throws were hard to achieve in self-defense without distractions or surprise. Still, the main emphasis of the system was sparring for self-defense, and kicking was usually designed to bring the defender into close range so rapid strikes could be delivered. While Don Brown favored kicking, Lansdale favored hand strikes. Sparring each other gave them a vast amount of experience, and a large number of bruises, headaches and minor injuries.

Though the Kenpo taught Professor Lansdale was inspired by the Kenpo of Ed Parker, his original instructor, Mark Stewart, called what he had been taught a "maverick form of Kenpo". This later was called by one of it's founders, Mickey Fisher, Shintoshi, but in short time the Kenpo side of it, as taught by Bob Jones (this name could be incorrect as Professor Lansdale doesn't remember exactly)was abandoned when Fisher and Jones split up. Shintoshi, however, did continue and was very similar to Taekwondo with little Kenpo influence remaining.

Lansdale did not keep up with this side of the system and does not know how it developed or if it currently exists. His connection to it was minimal, and only through its connection to Kenpo.

Lansdale became acquainted with other Kenpo stylist, picked up more techniques and ideas and began to develop a way of using the concepts and principles to put together a method that students could build on using only the basics of Kenpo, the kicking methods of Taekwondo, the basic locks and throws of Hapkido and Judo.

Although this form of Kenpo was not sanctioned by any existing Kenpo system, because of its influence, Lansdale taught this without ranking and called it what it had been called by his instructor, "a maverick form of Kenpo."

"I never taught it as a system," he says, "I was too young for that. I just worked out with people who wanted to train. Sometimes I learned from other martial artists, sometimes they learned from me. Then I went back to the YMCA each week to learn more. I had the opportunity at the Y to be exposed to all manner of martial arts systems, Yudo, wrestling, jujitsu, Shotokan, Goju ryu, etc. But, I guess in a way, having been in actual confrontations, and training with Don in a very hard and realistic manner, I was forging my own personal attitudes about self defense."

1970 - 1974: MAVERICK KENPO

After about ten months at the University Texas, Austin, Lansdale had the opportunity to train in a number of Okinawan and Korean systems, as well as more Kenpo and Hapkido from students passing through the University. All of this was random, as none of these students held set classes. Lansdale usually arrived on campus, at the mat room, or weight room, and trained with whoever he might find practicing. Sometimes they were good. Sometimes not so good.

Following a divorce, Lansdale moved to California and was introduced to a number of Chinese systems. He could not afford to study any one of them for any amount of time, and learned mostly from other martial arts who were friendly with information.

Lansdale was introduced to White Crane, Praying Mantis and others Gung Fu systems. Some hard style, some soft. This brief introduction had a tremendous influence on the Lansdale's personal system.

When Lansdale returned to Texas, he began teaching friends again. There were no ranks, just training. The Chinese influence had softened his movements, and now his approach was to not only move from long range to soft range rapidly, but to move to the outside as much as possible and to strike more with open hands. Finger tips. Y-hand. Palm. Blade of the hand. Constant pressure and breaking of the opponents balance became even more paramount.

Although Lansdale seldom called what he was teaching by any name, he usually referred to it as his own personal defense system, or, Maverick Kenpo, a term he used loosely, as no true system called Maverick Kenpo existed. Still, using the principles he had learned, he was able to analyze and absorb elements of other styles and incorporate them..

1976 - 1981: LANSDALE'S KICKBOXING AND SELF DEFENSE

After training in Taekwondo again with Mr. Bob Harris, a version of Taekwondo heavily influenced by Full Contact Karate, or what came to be known as American Kickboxing, Professor Lansdale returned to a harder style with greater emphasis on hard kicks and punches, but soft interception of attacks. He experimented with blending and with techniques from boxing, as well as ideas he had gleaned from watching Mohammed Ali's method of ropeadope. The idea was to be relaxed as you received kicks and punches, flow with them so you could surprise your opponent by moving quickly into range.

For defense against grabs, close in attacks, the old Maverick Kenpo and Hapkido techniques were used.

1981 - 1994: LANSDALE'S PERSONAL SELF DEFENSE METHOD / MAVERICK KENPO AGAIN

During this time Lansdale was very actively pursuing his writing career and helping raise his son and daughter. He taught at home from time to time, but did not acquire any regular students. He eventually began training three days a week for himself. Working in a confined space, he developed methods of self-defense that allowed him to defend himself with minimal body movement. The idea was to crowd the opponent, keep him constantly off balance, and strike to vital areas, and to constantly move into the opponent, maintaining your positioning while thwarting his.

Since Lansdale seldom had anyone to practice with during this time, he worked out the system slowly, and eventually began keeping notebooks. He didn't think of himself as being actively involved in the martial arts anymore, but this period was to be among his most productive and would lay the foundation for SHEN CHUAN. Looking back on it, he feels like it was his period of going off into the "wilderness" to contemplate, study, and evaluate. Unlike many masters of old who supposedly lived in caves or in the forests and contemplated their art, Lansdale feels like his wilderness was his study; plenty of time alone to consider and reflect on what he had learned. And to practice these new ideas alone.

It was his belief at the time that he was developing a personal self-defense method to pass on to his children and/or friends at a future date. He did not visualize this, or any of his previous teachings as a system. Just where he was at the time in martial arts.

To get his son involved, and feeling his own approach to the art was too violent, he enrolled Keith in a Taekwondo school, and soon began taking himself. Lansdale enjoyed the exercise and working out with his son, and later his daughter, but never felt this was the martial art for him. By this time, Taekwondo, once a formidable self-defense art, had lost all of its self-defense, and the self-defense being taught was useless. Even the sparring was so restricted and light as to be merely a form of aerobic exercise. Lansdale did find some of the methods of his instructor, Richard Metteauer to be of interest and adopted many of the kicking techniques, and made a solid friend who would later come to SHEN CHUAN and become the head of the STREETBOXING division, helping Lansdale work out concepts and principles, methods and techniques.

1994 - 1996: MATSUKAZE BUDO, MATSUKAZE AIKIJUJITSU, AND MAVERICK KENPO

January 1994, Lansdale began studying Jujitsu, Aikido, Kobudo and Shito-Ryu Karate under Sensei Thoburn. Sensei Thoburn called this Matsukaze Budo, though it was more of a school name than a style.

About the same time, Lansdale, and now Shihan Metteauer, attended a seminar in Houston conducted by Professor Wally Jay, Professor Reamy Presas and Grandmaster George Dillman. Jay taught Small Circle Jujitsu, Presas Filipino Arnis, and Dillman Kyusho-jitsu, the art of striking nerve cavities, weak points on the body.

Professor Lansdale was very impressed with all three. He began privately training Shihan Eugene Frizzell in what he was once again calling Maverick Kenpo. This gave him an opportunity to examine his notes and private evaluations, keep what was good, discard what was ineffective.

In the meantime, he was training in Matsukaze Budo and attending seminars where Jay, Dillman, and Presas either taught together or separately. He began to take advantage of other seminars, books and videos not formerly available. These were conducted, written, or filmed, by a wide range of instructors.

Sensei Thoburn promoted Professor Lansdale to his second in command and designated Matsukaze Budo a system. He felt Professor Lansdale's striking was superior to his, and asked Professor Lansdale to alter the self-defense techniques he taught. This resulted in Professor Lansdale bringing more Hapkido style locking into the system, rapid strikes and body checks, altering Shito-Ryu techniques dramatically, as well as adding basic Judo throws. Lansdale also shorted the Aikido moves and made them more street efficient.

This led to an alteration of the Aikido techniques of Sensei Thoburn, the addition of Kyusho-jitsu, and finally the development of a branch system called MATSUKAZE AIKIJUJITSU. Sensei Thoburn developed a seven dan system, promoted Professor Lansdale to Fourth Dan in both MATSUKAZE BUDO and MATSUKAZE AIKIJUJITSU.

By the end of 1995, Lansdale realized that Sensei Thoburn had not altered any of his techniques to fit what they had agreed was MATSUKAZE BUDO. This, and the fact that Sensei Thoburn and Lansdale were experiencing personality clashes, vision clashes, and Lansdale was footing all the dojo bills, led to a rift.

Lansdale combined what he had learned and personally developed in MATSUKAZE BUDO with his personal system, MAVERICK KENPO, and briefly called this MAVERICK KENPO. He taught this separate of MATSUKAZE BUDO.

Not wanting to be thought of as aligning himself with any style of Kenpo, even though he was using the term in a general way, changed the name of his system to SHEN CHUAN , or Spirit Fist. He tested in Combat Hapkido and became a master instructor in that system. He would continue to study and be ranked in a number of systems under a variety of instructors, and would be inducted several times into The International Martial Arts Hall of Fame. Numerous recognition's were to follow.

Lansdale and Sensei Thoburn began teaching separate classes, and by the end of 1996 they had split up. Lansdale was now teaching SHEN CHUAN and Combat Hapkido, and Sensei Terry was teaching what he now called MATSUKAZE AIKIBUDO.

1996 - 2001: SHEN CHUAN, MARTIAL SCIENCE

Even the current art has gone through a number of changes in the last few years. Lansdale's first black belts, Eugene Frizzell and Coy Harry, who received their black belts in 1995 (they also received the only rank given--first degree black belt--in MAVERICK KENPO) learned different material from those who received their black belts in 1997, or those who received theirs in 1999.

Since that time, the system has been divided into four branches:

Shen Chuan , the main hub of the system. It's purpose is purely self-defense and incorporates a wide spectrum of techniques.

Shen Chuan Aikibujutsu, which has more emphasis on throwing, unbalancing and locking than striking.

Shen Chuan StreetBoxing, which is more direct, and the most external of the branches. STREETBOXING utilizes kickboxing, Taekwondo, Thai Boxing techniques, the concepts and principles of SHEN CHUAN .

And finally, Shen Chuan StickBoxing, which blends SHEN CHUAN concepts and principles with Filipino Arnis and Indonesian arts.

Each division is somewhat different from the other, but at the core the same concepts and principles guide them.

SHEN CHUAN , the main hub of the system as taught by Lansdale, at its lower level, white to black, is very much a Kempo(or Kenpo) Jujitsu system. It's at this level a harder more direct style. From first to second dan greater emphasis is stressed on locking and throwing and self-defense from a seated position, or being pushed against a wall, etc. Less effort is stressed.

A variety of techniques that were only touched on before, or now emphasized.

Choking. Take downs. Ground work. Knife and gun defense. Relaxed balance disruption is introduced.

Climbing the ladder, the system begins to look more like a soft jujitsu system.

At fourth dan, the techniques become softer yet, more relaxed, with greater emphasis on balance disruption, pressure point striking and manipulation, self-defense against more than one attacker.

At fourth and fifth dan, effortless technique evolves, powerful lazy hand striking, greater attention to strategy and psychology.

Beyond this, it's up to the students to evolve in their own way, to add to and promote the system.

Professor Lansdale became Professor Lansdale in 1998.

Founder/Grandmaster/9th Dan. He was recognized by THE INTERNATIONAL MARTIAL ARTS HALL OF FAME, and inducted into the HALL OF FAME, though he is not a member of the Soke Council. He was recognized as Ninth Dan and as Grandmaster of SHEN CHUAN by THE WORLD MARTIAL ARTS ALLIANCE, and others.