Master Brandon H. Durham

     Sifu Brandon H. Durham had always been intrigued with the martial arts. After being been exposed to Bruce Lee and other Kung-Fu movies as a small child, he knew one day he would eventually begin his studies. Fortunately his parents felt that martial arts training was a valuable skill to learn growing up in New York City. Determined, his parents looked high and low for a martial arts school that they could afford. But when they opened the yellow pages, all they saw was 'Karate & Tae Kwon Do.' A few of those ads also listed Kung-Fu, but under closer inspection, they found out that they were just using it to attract more business. Sifu's family was unable to find a reputable school in their neighborhood in the early 70's, so they enrolled him in a Karate program at the local YMCA As time went on Sifu was still unable to find a good Kung-Fu school, (or any Kung-Fu school for that matter), so he joined the closest school he could find. His first formal training began at the age of five in the Korean style, Tae Kwon Do. Sifu enjoyed the training and practiced diligently each day. Since he could only afford to take classes twice per week, he would get up early each day before school started just to supplement his training. After years of training and competing in Japanese and Korean styles of martial arts Sifu moved to Long Island, NY and met the Master of his dreams.

     Throughout the 80's and 90's Sifu competed in several point and full contact tournaments. These early  competitions help Sifu later develop the components of Black Dragon Martial Arts.

     After watching Royce Gracie win the UFC in 1993 Sifu knew that Gracie Jiu Jitsu would one day be a style that he would learn. Almost ten years after witnessing that incredible display of warrior spirit and superior technique from Royce Gracie Sifu had the chance to meet the legend in Tokyo, Japan. In  July of 2003 Sifu had his first official taste of Gracie Jiu Jitsu when Mike Kogan came to Black Dragon to conduct a seminar on the basics of the system. Over the next few years with daily training and discipline he has earned a one stripe purple belt from Royce and continues in his practice of the martial arts.