Style History

Style History by Master Mitch Halsell President and Founder

My name is Mitch Halsell.  I started studying the martial arts in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1979, at David Germans TAI Karate studio.  TAI stands for Transitions Actions Incorporated.  In the beginning I had a hard time even learning the arts, I sure never thought of starting a new style.  Nine years into the arts I began pondering the ideas being taught to me by my TAI Karate Instructors.  I was fascinated by the way Master David German and many of his instructors could flow from one art to another, and their ability to separate them at will.  The concept Grand Master David German had told me about bridging the cracks between the martial art movements, started me on the path in the development Unbroken Circle. Master German said, “TAI Karate could encompass any style of martial arts that it was a method of memorization and could be put into any style or any style could be added to TAI.” I noticed that Master German could just create at will and was incredibly good at blending Kenpo and Ju Jitsu, but the way it was being taught to the students at the time, did not have a lot of the transitions from one art to another.  There was too much focus on just the Kenpo side.  For this reason I began taking what I had learned up to that point and integrated the system even further. I started thinking how I could teach my students more effectively.  I just loved the concept of TAI, after seeing it work for me in the street it was amazing to me that I could finally defend myself.   After feeling that success, I wanted to make myself even better.  I really wanted my students to have that same success.  I began to study from other practitioners as well; most of them had come into the TAI system from other styles and would show me the art they had studied.  I would incorporate any effective style or movement I could find.  Some of the other styles that were not a part of the TAI system that I enjoyed learning were Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  These are the two most prominent additions to the TAI system that I have added.  However they are not the only styles incorporated nor will they be the last.  For the past twenty three years I have continued my development of Unbroken Circle Integrated Martial Arts, which is in short a subsystem of the late Grand Master David German’s TAI Karate System of Martial Arts.  Unbroken Circle is and always will be a work in progress.  So if you love the arts and like the idea that knowledge is power, look no further you have found what you are looking for.

Unbroken Circle Integrated Martial Arts uses multiple styles and bridges the cracks between the styles by combining certain movements from the footwork of Boxing, Muay Thai, with the angles of American Kenpo and White Tiger. By using Fai Jin Soo to bridge the cracks in the hand to hand combat.  These arts are some of the keys to bridging the cracks in the arts.  Unbroken Circle is made up from these styles, TAI Karate, White Tiger Kung Fu, Muay Thai, Boxing, Budo Ju Jitsu, American Kenpo, Chin Na, Fai Jin Soo, Submission Wrestling, Judo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Combat Ju Jitsu, Kick Boxing, Aikido, Kali, and Kendo.  Unbroken Circle employs linear and circular movements.  It can be soft or hard or a combination of both. Unbroken Circle utilizes kicking, kneeing, striking with a wide range of hand strikes, elbows, head butting, shoulder striking, inside arm striking, throwing, sweeping, choking, cranking, joint locking, holding and tying.  Unbroken Circle has techniques for standing, clinch, ground, empty hand against weapons, weapon to empty hand, weapon to weapon, standing to ground, ground to standing, multiple opponents, etc.  Many of the styles taught are not theory, some date back 3000 years of proven techniques and are still proven effective today in MMA tournaments.