BEGINNINGS...

Because he was slightly built as a child, John Perkins was trained to be a warrior from the age of 5 by his West Virginian coal-miner father. Coy Perkins Sr. taught John how to use a knife, tomahawk, stick and spear, as well as Native American "Catch-as-Catch-Can” or what would later become known as Guided Chaos' “Modified Native American Ground Fighting Concepts”.

From the age of nine, John trained in the hand-to-hand Close Quarters Combat methods used in W.W.II. by his veteran uncles. John's father and uncles were extremely powerful men, capable of feats akin to those of legendary strongmen.  His father could punch a hole in one of those old Philco refrigerators and his uncle Elbert could lift the front end of an eight cylinder Buick. From early childhood, something that was pounded into John's brain from the beginning (due to his slight build) was: How do you deal with people possessing greater physical advantages?

As Perkins got older he began experimenting with the concept of free associative fighting principles, combining Native American Concepts and WWII hand-to-hand combat systems. It was around this time that he began to create the rudiments of what would eventually become a new art.

As part of his quest (like many aspiring martial artists) Perkins traveled from dojo to dojo looking for a teacher who understood how to fight under real-life conditions. He eventually came across Master Ik Jo Kang. Master Kang not only could fight but also had the ability to really “bring it” (he could kick a hole in a brand new Everlast heavy bag with his bare foot). By the age of twenty-five Perkins had learned from Master Kang the combat aspects of Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido as well as handgun and knife as taught to the Republic of Korea Army during the Vietnam era.

During this time Perkins was introduced by the Coordinator of the Degerburg Martial Arts Academy in Chicago to Tai Chi Master, Waysun Liao. Master Liao, who is probably one of the last masters who understands and can apply Tai Chi for combat, was able to demonstrate this ability to Perkins. This profound experience reinforced Perkins' own findings on the use of internal vs. external (purely muscular) energy.

As a young man, in addition to his hand-to-hand training, Perkins had the pleasure of training with U.S. Marshall Thomas Loughnan (once called "The Fastest Man in the World with a Colt 1911). Loughnan taught him how to shoot under realistic conditions before Perkins began his law enforcement career, which subsequently lasted twenty-two years.

LIFE ON THE STREET

As a young policeman in the early 1970's, John's beat included some of the worst neighborhoods in Yonkers, New York (located just north of The Bronx) primarily responding to many violent crimes "in progress." He eventually was involved in over 700 arrests at least 100 of which were brutally violent arrest situations.

Later Perkins went on to work in the Yonkers, New York Crime Lab where he became an expert in blood-spatter pattern analysis under Dr. Peter Pizzola (who would later become the director of the NYPD Crime Lab). Additionally, Perkins is recognized by Dr. Pizzola as an expert on the dynamics of violence.