Students can benefit from travels, occupations, experiences of Foley
Crime creates havoc and emotional damage across America, and many people may not be able to defend themselves properly from physical assault. Martial arts have been around for centuries, and Michael Foley is a man who knows all about it.
Foley is a modern language of Korean and a self-defense instructor at North Idaho College. He is from San Antonio, Texas, but he likes to call the world his home. Foley has been all over the world, serving the United States for 32 years in the U.S. Army from 1976 to 2008 with 24 years in the Special Operations Unit and was sent to Japan in 1978, 1979 and 1980. He was also sent to Thailand in 1978 to learn muay Thai kickboxing.
Foley’s martial arts experience includes: boxing, hwa rang do, jiu-jitsu, koden-kan karate-do, kyokushin, muay Thai, shorinji kenpo, taekwondo and tai chi chuan. He holds a seventh degree black belt with the American Jiu-jitsu Institute, an eighth degree black belt with the Koden-kan Martial Arts Association and a ninth degree black belt in Rocate martial arts.
If you have ever seen the Saturday-morning TV show from 1995 to 1997, “WMAC Masters”, then you have seen Foley on-screen. Foley appeared as Tracy “Tracer” Swedom is the TV show’s second season. His acting career also took him to Los Angeles in 1989 where he played roles in films like “Lionheart.”
He worked part-time for Universal Studios as a stuntman as well, appearing in TV shows like “Miami Vice Action Spectacular” and “The Adventures of Conan.”
Foley was the U.S Army heavyweight kickboxing champion for nine years. He moved to North Idaho in 2002 and now owns his own martial arts training center called Hand To Hand Combat Training Center (H2HCTC) where he teaches Koden Kan martial arts. Koden Kan is the same art that he teaches to his self-defense classes at NIC. Koden Kan works all aspects of the student: the soul, mind and body.
American Hand to Hand combat training is also taught by Foley to his classes where weapons training and military style self-defense are integrated.
“I have a deep love for my students because I want them to learn real martial arts that could save their lives,” Foley said. “I don’t want to hear any stories about my students getting mugged. I want my students to come in and say someone grabbed me and I spun around and performed a defensive technique on them and it worked! That’s what I want to hear.”
Steven Leist, 24, Coeur d’Alene, history major, said that martial arts have been part of his life since he was seven years old.
“My dad, sister and I have taken classes here at the H2HCTC and it’s the best martial arts school that I have been to for all-around knowledge of martial arts,” Leist said. “All of the techniques that we learn work.”
Austin Tanner, 19, Bonners Ferry, general studies, said martial arts have always interested him.
“I wanted to learn martial arts so I could learn how to defend myself,” Tanner said. “The work out is great too.”
Jonathan Bryan, 17, Coeur d’Alene, general studies, said Foley’s class has helped him learn how to defend himself better than other any class he could probably ever take.
“I’ve always just wanted to be able to defend myself like anyone else who may need to,” Bryan said. “Koden Kan is teaching me great techniques. It’s fun.”
