The Tough Guy Wisdom series is dedicated to my wife, Yi-saeng, and our daughter, Cosette.  If nothing else, I want to be their “Tough Guy.”

   – Alain Burrese

Besides being a fan of “tough guy” movies and the author of the Tough Guy Wisdom series, Alain Burrese is the author of Hard-Won Wisdom From The School Of Hard Knocks: How To Avoid A Fight And Things To Do When You Can’t Or Don’t Want To.  The book has a foreword by Marc “Animal” MacYoung.  The book was published by Paladin Press, and Alain is currently working on a revised edition that he will publish soon.  Alain has also stared in three instructional DVDs with Paladin Press.  These include: Hapkido Hoshinsul: The Explosive Korean Art of Self-Defense, Streetfighting Essentials: Combining Western Boxing and Hapkido into an Unstoppable Self-Defense System, and Hapkido Cane: Big Stick Fighting From the Dojo to the Street.  (Yes, Alain knows “dojo” is Japanese – he’s lived in both Japan and Korea – but the publisher went with that title believing more people know the Japanese word than the Korean, which is “dojang.”)  Additionally, Alain has done five Lock On: Joint Locking Essentials DVDs with Aiki Productions.  This series is a comprehensive guide to joint locks.  So far, the series includes Volume 1: Wrist Locks, Volume 2: Arm Bars & Elbow Locks, Volume 3: Shoulder Locks, Volume 4: Finger Locks, and Volume 5: Combination Locks and Lock Flow Drills.  He has additional DVDs in the works.

Alain also wrote a novel, Lost Conscious, that is a thriller about a prosecutor who calls up an Army buddy and the two use their military sniping  and martial art skills to go after a child trafficking ring when the law fails to do so.  This book will be available in 2012 and Alain has plans to write more about these two former snipers.

Alain started his martial art training with Fred Neff and Bruce Tegner books in the 1970s.  It was before The Karate Kid came out, but Alain was doing the same thing, following along with the books, learning what he could.  In 1982, Alain had his first formal training in Judo, an art he studied and competed in during high school.  The Judo foundation served him well for real encounters and further training in other arts throughout the years.

As he moved around in the military and after, he studied at various Karate, Taekwondo, Judo, and Hapkido schools.  Of the arts he studied, Hapkido, especially because of the joint locks and the use of a cane as a weapon, was the art he most enjoyed.  (Yes, he admits he was influenced by Billy Jack and The Trial of Billy Jack that featured Hapkido Grand Master Bong Soo Han. And it was a great pleasure when he had the opportunity to meet and train with Grandmaster Han at his school in Santa Monica before he passed away.)

Alain furthered his training in Hapkido by moving to Korea to train in the home country of the self-defense art.  He paid the bills by teaching English which provided him the opportunity to live and train there.  He attended two classes a day and one on Saturday while living there.  On subsequent visits, he’d train four classes a day and some in between.  He continues to go back to train with his instructors there.

Alain’s military background includes two years as a paratrooper with an Infantry Battalion in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C., and working as a sniper instructor at the 2nd Infantry Division Scout Sniper School at Camp Casey, South Korea.  (The military tour was his first time living in Korea, and he has also lived in Japan and toured other Asian countries)

Additionally, Alain has always focused on practical self-defense.  While in the Army, he found himself in a number of fights and brawls, while at the same time he started learning from people like Marc “Animal” MacYoung and Peyton Quinn.  At the time, he didn’t know he’d become friends and teach along side the two and many others.

During his entire life, Alain has always studied and practiced the ways of the warrior.  While his focus for a martial art is primarily Hapkido, he studies from all arts and self-defense systems.  He also studies warrior concepts and how they apply to life as well as the battlefield.

Alain’s formal education includes a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a Management Emphasis and a Communication Studies Minor, and a Juris Doctor Degree from The University of Montana School of Law.  Besides these, he has extensive training in Negotiation and Dispute Resolution.  You can find out more about these areas and the trainings he does at his personal site Alain Burrese.

Alain continues to train in the Korean art of Hapkido, and he teaches an on-going class in Montana.  He also teaches seminars on joint locks, the cane for self-defense, safety, self-defense, and various other martial topics.  Beyond that, he also teaches how to live with The Warrior’s Edge.  He helps people find their Warrior’s Edge to live more powerfully with honor, integrity, and the decisiveness and determination found among warriors.  He is currently working on a pair of books on the concept of Discovering Your Warrior’s Edge that is based on his time living, training, and learning in Korea.

Even though Alain has DVD and book projects going with his martial arts, warrior training, and communication skills for conflict resolution and negotiation, he will continue to work on Tough Guy Wisdom volumes, because he has always been, and always will be a huge fan of “Tough Guy” movies.  To learn more about Alain, visit his personal site Alain Burrese.