Jeremiah Brownlee
Born and raised in Spokane, Washington I was 16 when I discovered martial arts. I was often chastised by my Tae Kwon Do teacher for using non-traditional attacks during spar time. I studied there for a year before I discovered Jeet Kune Do, and immediately fell in love with it. Everything I learned was along the “non-traditional” path I tried to explore previously. Unrestrained by style, The focus was on what worked, not an adherence to tradition for tradition’s sake. In 2012, I discovered Northwest Jeet Kune Do, and Nick Ellis, and continued my training in earnest.
Later, as I certified in Action Strength attribute development, I was often challenged by my smaller stature when competing and training alongside (much) larger people. It wasn’t until a word of advice came from my teacher that my perspective changed. “You need to change your paradigm, and understand that if you pass the tests that these bigger guys pass, then pound for pound you’re one of the strongest people on the planet.”
It was then I started to change my paradigm about that and a lot of things, and from where a lot of my experimentation came.
Father
Father to three wonderful kids, I experience first hand the weight and importance to raising little humans to be good and upright people. Our faith in God providing the compass and foundation, and martial arts providing the physical adaptation of these truths to apply to daily life. My time and effort spent teaching kids is fueled by my desire to see my own kids thrive and excel.
Bouncer
I spent four years bouncing at a local bar to put to the test what I had learned in training. A vast majority was conflict resolution, staying cool under pressure, being bored, and teaching my team how to do the same. There were times when things got rowdy, and it was a great learning opportunity. This afforded me a lot of chances to learn and modify my skillset with actual experience in an often chaotic environment.
Student
Since October, 2012 I have been a proud member of Northwest Jeet Kune Do (NWJKD). My time in training under Sifu Nick Ellis have been the most transformative of my martial arts career. It was (and is) here that I discovered the greatest things, both about myself, and about this wonderful art of Jeet Kune Do that we study. It should always be the goal of any teacher to first be a student, and I continue to learn and grow in many ways.
Teammate
During my time with NWJKD, our team has formed a bond forged in sweat, blood, and tears, literally. The NWJKD Instructor team trained by Nick Ellis, we have battled through challenges, sparring sessions, life, and ourselves, all in the pursuit of bettering ourselves, and seeking they better version on ourselves. It is an honor to look left, and look right, and see men that I trust. Men I’d lay my life down for, and who I know would do the same for me. Together we are stronger than the sum of our parts, and together we achieve that which we could never achieve alone. Encouraging each other, and lifting each other up, we will complete the objective together and then…
One more and we all go.
Husband
On July 11th, 2009, I married my beautiful bride. Together we have navigated many a minefield, had many more laughs and adventures, and brought into the world three beautiful, intelligent, amazing children. Marriage has taught me so many lessons (that I thought I already knew) about putting another above yourself. Tanya has been a great example of a loving mother and a dedicated wife. I cannot imagine what course my life would have taken had I not met her, and met her at the exact time that I did. I look forward to many adventures yet to come as we grow old together.
Athlete
As a youth, my sport of choice was wrestling. It was really there that I developed some of the fighting spirit I carry with me today. Through state and city tournaments I learned to enjoy the 1 on 1 challenge of the fight. I also learned the value of great strength and conditioning. Later, when I delved into Action Strength, I was amazed at how much improved my grappling was with a new perspective on strength training.
Performer
Around the time I started my martial arts journey, I was invited to audition for a school play. From there I starred in several shows, and later joined The Blue Door Theater as an improviser. The joy of performance and the spontaneity of improvised theater was a fair companion to the open and non-traditional work of martial arts that Jeet Kune Do offers. I lost sight of the performance portion of my art until very recently, and have now brought the two ideas together. The lightsaber escrima class is one glimpse into the merging of performance and martial art, and I am very excited for where that will lead.