Bio

Hi, Tim Marshall here and I am the owner of Bay Area Self-Defense. I guess this is where I tell you a little about me....

I started training in boxing with my father, who fought  Golden Gloves in Virginia, and Shorin Ryu karate under Renshi Frank D.R. Hargrove, in late 1977 at the ripe old age of four. This was where it all started. My Dad boxed, one of my uncles was a wrestler from middle school through college (went to Old Dominion on a wrestling scholarship), my oldest brother boxed and kick-boxed, my older brother studied karate with us, and my Grandfather on my mother's side boxed while in the Army Air Corps. You could say that we were very much a martial family (pun completely intended). My father was a carpenter, so we moved quite a bit. I have lived in 13 states, in various cities across the country. Because we moved so often, I was exposed to a lot of different martial arts. I was able to study with some really good people that taught from a self-defense perspective. As I got older, I tried to continue training, but most systems have now gone the way of sport. That was not what I signed up for. 

I enlisted in the military in 1994, then due to cut backs a while later, I was out. After 12 years, I gave it another shot. I re-enlisted in 2006 with the National Guard. I now have 18 years with them. I have been deployed to Afghanistan, Korea, and twice to the border. It was in Afghanistan that I realized that I wasn't as well prepared to keep myself as safe as I wanted. I had already started searching for something that was more effective than what I had been training for the last few years. I purchased the unarmed combatives program that Hock Hoccheim had on dvd, prior to deployment. I still have the set and review them regularly. This started my decent down the rabbit hole that is known as Combatives. Through research and reading, I was hooked. I discovered WE Fairbain and EA Sykes, the fathers of Close Combatives. I found out about Charlie Nelson, kind of the father of self-defense in America. Rex Applegate, Carl Cestari, Kelly McCann, Jim McCann, Lee Morrison, Peter Consterdine,  Remy and Ernesto Presas, and a whole host of others! This is what I was looking for. I found my home, so to speak. 

It was on my first activation to the southern border that I was able to talk to Mark McKay for the first time. We hit it off from the beginning. This was prior to his founding of Rhino Tactical Defense. When he told me "If the program is crap, I will give you your money back. What do you have to lose?", I gave it a shot. I ran with it. It was a solid program. Mark has since created Rhino Tactical Defense, which is even more inline with what I was looking for. Unfortunately, Rhino Tactical Defense has folded as an organization. Unfortunately, Rhino Tactical had to close shop. The same thing happened with The Self Defense company. I contacted them and talked to George Hutchings, who is in charge of Instructor development. I liked what George had to say and what they were offering for training. Damian Ross started The Self Defense Company based on his training with Carl Cestari, who was at one time considered one of the toughest men in the world (2006 Blackbelt Magazine article). Damian's ties to Close Quarters Combatives are pretty clear. Hock has had his Force Necessary group running for several decades at this point. His training and seminars are some of the best you can ever hope to experience. There is some overlap in each of these three organizations, from a technique standpoint. There should be overlap, if it is meant for real world situations. Aggression, attacks based on gross motor skills, and no fluff. All three organizations are committed to teaching people how to be safe. Yet, each of them offers something different than the other. I am using those different strengths at Bay Area Self-Defense. 

•  The Self Defense Company (Founded by Damian Ross)- this comes from the line of Close Quarters Combatives and self-defense as taught from Fairbairn & Sykes down through the decades to Carl Cestari, via Charles Nelson. The Self Defense Company is founded on what Carl Cestari taught to Damian Ross.  

•  Force Necessary/Survival Sentric (Founded by W. "Hock" Hoccheim)- Hock is an international instructor and author with decades of teaching experience. He is a former MP, retired Law Enforcement Officer, Investigator, and a prolific writer. His unarmed system is phenomenal and practical, but his weapons training is even more impressive to me. Reality is what he does best. He cuts away the fat and serves only what works. If I could make it to every seminar he holds around the world, I would do it....but I would lose my wife and die of starvation. He writes a hell of a western, too! He is there when I have questions and is always ready to lend a hand when I am stuck.

• Independent Martial Arts Federation (Founded by Kirk Simmons, Robert Shook, and Chuck Harrison in 1999)- Close Quarter Combatives and working on Warrior Spirit Jujitsu (created by Kirk Simmons and based on classical WW2 CQC). 

The training I have received with these organizations is truly incredible. I would like to thank all of them for showing me what I have been missing in the way of self protection and how to think outside of the gi. I look forward to many years of continued training with all of you,  if you (and my body) will allow it.

For my certifications, please click the following links.