08/16/2026
I want to clarify something, and this will ruffle some feathers. My departed teacher SGM Ted Sotelo has a Kajukenbo line called "Fi Kuen" translated to Flying Fists.
There are many people under his LINE. I had asked him if they were all his students. His answer was "No, I only have 3 students. You and 2 others". I study Fi Kuen, another does Doce Pares, and the last guy just does boxing and mitt work. So, I continued to ask why they were in his LINE if they were not students. He explained that they didn't have a teacher, so he put them under him...but he did not have a student/teacher relationship with them even though he gave them rank. I just went and promoted someone to 8th degree as he didn't have a teacher, but likewise, he is not my student, so I understood this.
He was very clear on who his students were.
To this date, there is only 1 student who is certified in the Fi-Kuen Method because I helped to create a format to it (as you can see in the attached email from 2018 to SGM Mitch Powell, who was instrumental in writing it up. I spent just over 7000 waking hours with my teacher up till his death to create this system that he would demonstrate at seminars but not really format in any way shape or form.
The reason I bring this up is that there are people out there labeling what they teach as Fi-Kuen, when it actually isn't. Fi-Kuen is NOT a self-defense system, but a Concept, Methodology, coupled with Fight IQ for fighting. Additionally, my own students don't even get to learn Fi Kuen until they reach 3rd degree.
I love that people are trying to carry on the torch and keep his name and system alive. I offer to those would want to legitimately learn and understand it and get certified to teach it, to reach out. Otherwise, it's just YOUR interpretation of what you believe the system is, and it is likely pretty far off.
