Our Instructors

Maestro Rich Acosta is the Chief Instructor of Kuntaw Kali Kruzada. He has over 30 years experience in the martial arts including Kali Arnis/Eskrima, Kuntaw, Jujutsu, Karate, and Aikido under his brother Grandmaster Rico Acosta. 

He has also received private training in the Philippines under some of the foremost experts of the Filipino martial arts such as Senior Grandmaster Vicente Sanchez (Kali Arnis International Federation), Grandmaster Samuel Bambit Dulay (IMAFP Modern Arnis), Grandmaster Jose G. Mena (Doblete Rapelon Arnis), and in the U.S. under Pantas Maestro Louelle Lledo (Amara Arkanis FMA Education).

Maestro Rich Acosta has been teaching the Filipino Martial Arts since 1996. He has taught members of the military, Army special forces, Federal bodyguard intelligence, NYPD special operations and correction officers in Manhattan. He was inducted into the UFOMA Hall of Fame in 2010, and in 2014 he was appointed the Director of New York for Sword Stick Society International, and serves as an official advisor for the United Fellowship of Martial Artists.

Guro Lakan Jay Shin is the current representative and instructor for the NYC branch of Kali  Kruzada, training under Shihan Rico Acosta and Maestro Rich Acosta for  the past 19 years. Guro Jay has earned a 3rd degree black belt in Kuntaw Kali  Kruzada and a 1st degree black belt in Lightning Scientific Kali Arnis. This is another style of Kali Eskrima that emphasizes speed and power.

Additionally,  he is ranked in Pachi Tanglang kungfu under Master Su Yu Chang and Sifu  Mike Martello, and has trained in Japanese Kendo at the Ken Zen  Institute.

Guro Jay is passionate about his Kali practice, finding it practical in its applications for daily New York City life. He values its open-ended, flexible approach to dealing with a range of scenarios and encounters and the way it translates to a range of real-world encounters.