Bill Craig founded North Shore Kenpo Karate in November, 1997. By August of
2008, the school had evolved to a level at which it was offering much more than
just the Kenpo style of Martial Arts. Therefore, Bill decided to change
the name of the school to North Shore Martial Arts Center.
Bill began his training at South Shore Kenpo
Karate in Stoughton, MA in 1988, under the instruction of 3rd degree Black Belt, Scott Vetstein. He began teaching
classes at South Shore Kenpo Karate when he reached the rank of Green Belt. Bill earned his Black Belt in
Kenpo in
July, 1997. He continued to train in Kenpo to his second degree of Black Belt, when he decided that it would be
beneficial to venture into different styles of the martial arts. In August of
2000, Bill started training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Fabiano Silva at the
Boston Fight Center in Revere, MA. He trained there until October of 2002
when he decided that he would continue his Jiu
Jitsu training under Jaime DoVale at North Shore Kenpo Karate. Bill earned a Black Belt in Small Circle
Jiu Jitsu in July of 2010. He has also trained and has become
proficient in
Kickboxing, which he feels makes him a more complete and well-rounded fighter.
In addition, Bill holds a level 2 certification as a Pro Coach of the
I.C.A.T. (Integrated Combat Arts Training) RMA
(Reality Martial Arts) system, which was founded by the legendary Joe Lewis
and Reality Martial Arts experts Walt Lysak and Richard Ryan.
Bill understood early on that there is more to self-defense training than just becoming efficient in fighting
techniques. He believes that one can spend a lifetime working techniques in a controlled environment, but put
that individual in a real world self-defense situation and all that training will likely be rendered useless due
to the uncontrollable rush of adrenaline that is not present in the controlled training environment. Bill teamed
up with REACT Self-Defense (Raw Energy Adrenaline Control Training) in September, 2002, and is a trained "bullet man"
on the REACT team. With
REACT Self-Defense, Bill is able to offer adrenaline control training courses at
North
Shore Martial Arts Center.
With over
twenty years of experience
teaching adults and children, Bill is the head Kenpo and
Kickboxing instructor
and an instructor in the children's Jiu Jitsu
program. He continues to train in
Kenpo,
Kickboxing,
Jiu Jitsu, Mixed Martial Arts and Reality
Martial Arts.
Bill also is licensed by the MA State Athletic Commission as an MMA trainer and
trains several fighters to compete in Mixed Martial Arts competition.
In addition to being a martial artist, Bill is also an avid weightlifter and
a Certified Personal Fitness Trainer. He believes that martial artists can
greatly improve their skills through resistance and endurance training outside
the dojo.
Jaime DoVale
Jaime DoVale is the head
Jiu Jitsu instructor at
North Shore Martial Arts Center. He is credited with starting our
Jiu Jitsu program and bringing
REACT Self-Defense to our school. Jaime began
his Martial Arts training in 1994 at the Mike Macaris Kung Fu Academy in
Billerica, MA where he trained until 2002 and earned the rank of Black Sash.
During his training, one of Jaime’s fellow students at Macaris Kung Fu had been
simultaneously training at New England Small Circle Jiu Jitsu in Woburn, MA, and
he exposed Jaime to the grappling arts. This led Jaime to start training at New
England Small Circle Jiu Jitsu in 1996, where he trained until 2003 and earned a
Black Belt rank. Jaime competed in numerous grappling tournaments between 1996
and 2002 and took home five first place trophies and countless second and third
place trophies during that time.
Jaime’s main objective when he began training in Martial
Arts was self-protection, and he was not quite satisfied that the arts he was
training in prepared him best for self-defense. Therefore, in September of 2001
Jaime sought out the Rocky Mountain Combat Applications Training course in
Colorado Springs, CO where he trained under Peyton Quinn and Bill Kipp. This is
where Jaime believes that he found the missing element in effective
self-protection; the element of adrenaline control. Jaime earned his
certification from RMCAT to train others in these methods and he founded
REACT Self-Defense, Inc. in January of 2002.
Jaime began his affiliation with
North Shore Martial Arts Center
in August of 2002 when he introduced himself to Bill Craig and offered to run a
REACT Self-Defense course at NSMAC (known as
North Shore Kenpo Karate at that time). Jaime and the
REACT Self-Defense team gave the course to the
students at North Shore Kenpo Karate in September of 2002. Bill Craig was so
impressed by the REACT Self-Defense course
that he approached Jaime and advised him that he would like for his school to be
associated with this type of training. Jaime happened to be looking to expand
the REACT program and offered to train Bill to be a “Bullet Man” with REACT.
Jaime and Bill have since implemented the REACT
Self-Defense program as partners at
North Shore Martial Arts Center.
Furthermore, Jaime began teaching North Shore Martial Arts Center’s
Jiu Jitsu program in October of 2002, which
is one of our most successful adult Martial Arts classes.
Tom Curcio
Tom Curcio is the
head instructor for the children’s Small Circle
Jiu Jitsu class and an assistant instructor in the children’s
Kenpo classes. Tom Began
his training in Shaolin Kempo Karate in the late spring of 1984 at Fred
Villari’s Studio in Burlington MA. He received his Purple Belt by November of
1984. Tom was forced to take some time off from training when his family moved
out of town. He resumed his training in 1994 at Fred Villari’s studio in
Beverly MA.
By the
summer of 1995 Tom had caught up where he left off he was able to train to the
level of Green Belt at Fred Villari’s Studio in Beverly, MA. Tom was also
awarded an “under black belt training certification”. Shortly thereafter Tom
left the Fred Villari’s organization in search of a different school for
personal reasons.
In the
winter of 1995 Tom started training at a small dojo in the Greater Boston area.
He stopped training there in 1996 without advancing in rank and took another ten years off to find the right school in which to train. Tom
did not feel that this dojo was a good fit for him with regard to what he was
trying to accomplish as a student.
In
September of 2004 Tom arrived at North Shore Kenpo Karate, now
North Shore Martial Arts Center, where he resumed his training in
Kenpo under Bill Craig and took up
Small Circle Jiu-Jitsu under Jaime DoVale. In the past 6 years
Tom has refined his skills, and started the learning process from the ground up
in both Kenpo and
Small Circle Jiu-Jitsu. Tom also began
training in Kickboxing at
North Shore Martial Arts Center, which he feels rounds out his skills. At
North Shore Martial Arts Center, Tom feels that he has found a
perfect fit for his level and ability.
Tom
earned his Black Belt in Small Circle
Jiu Jitsu in July of 2010, and he presently holds a Green Belt in Kenpo and
continues to train for rank advancement. In addition, Tom holds a level 1
certification as a Pro Coach of the I.C.A.T.
(Integrated Combat Arts Training) RMA (Reality Martial Arts) system, which
was founded by the legendary Joe Lewis and Reality Martial Arts experts Walt
Lysak and Richard Ryan.
Matt was North Shore Kenpo Karate’s first registered
student upon its opening. Matt started his martial arts training under
Bill Craig at the age of 6 in November of 1997 and has attended classes uninterrupted since then. Matt earned his Black Belt in
Kenpo in
October, 2006 and currently holds a rank of Black Belt first degree. In addition to his
Kenpo
training, Matt has become very proficient in Jiu Jitsu and is presently
working towards achieving his Black Belt in this art as well. Matt
presently holds a Green Belt in Jiu Jitsu. Matt also
possesses highly advanced kickboxing skills. Matt’s cross training has made him
a very well-rounded martial artist.
Matt has been teaching martial arts to children at
North
Shore Martial Arts Center since autumn of 2004. Since then, he has gained a wealth of
knowledge in teaching the martial arts and he continues to grow as an
instructor. Matt is Bill’s top ranking instructor at
North Shore Martial
Arts Center.
Geri began her martial arts training in Shaolin Kempo in
January of 1987. She studied this art until January of 1991 and attained the
level of Green Belt. After nine plus years being out of the martial arts, Geri
knew that she wanted to return to her training. In October of 2000, Geri joined
an Oki Ryu Kenpo school where she trained and reached the level of Purple Belt.
Unfortunately, the school where she was training in Oki Ryu Kenpo closed in
April of 2001 and Geri was forced to look elsewhere for her training. In May of
2001, Geri started her Kenpo training under Bill Craig at North Shore Kenpo
Karate. She has trained uninterrupted since then and received her Black
Belt in December 2007.
Geri has been teaching martial arts at
North Shore Martial
Arts Center since autumn of 2005. Since then, she has gained a wealth of knowledge
in teaching the martial arts and she continues to grow as an instructor.
Tawfiq began his martial arts career in November of 1999 at
the age of seven at North Shore Kenpo Karate. He has trained uninterrupted
under Bill Craig since then and received his Black Belt in December 2007.
Tawfiq has been teaching martial arts to children at
North
Shore Martial Arts Center since autumn of 2005. Since then, he has gained a wealth of
knowledge in teaching the martial arts and he continues to grow as an instructor
at North Shore Martial Arts Center.
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