Probably one of the most unique individuals in the martial arts world, Bob Breen is renowned for his teaching abilities and his knowledge. He has captained his country in international competition in two differing martial arts and has been at the forefront of martial arts development throughout his career. To many, Bob is an inspiration; a period of health problems led him to have a double hip replacement and he continues to suffer from severe food allergies. However, he is still in training, fighting and having fun and leads a superb team of staff and Instructors.

Bob is renowned as a specialist in close quarter fighting. He teaches a synthesis of empty hand, stick and knife work, using integrated principles for all three areas. He is regarded by many, including Dan Inosanto, as being superb at close quarter and one of the world's best knife defence experts.

Bob began martial arts training in 1966 and from early 1967 began studying Wado Ryu under Tatsuo Suzuki. He continued in Wado Karate for a number of years and passed his black belt in 1970, passing his second degree in 1972. He continued to study Karate and associated arts, moving to Japan in 1974 where he trained under a variety of Senior Masters.

Bob competed internationally in Karate on a number of occasions. He was captain of the Amateur Martial Arts Association (AMA) team which beat the Japanese in 1974 - a new thing then. Bob then moved into boxing and groundwork and was one of the pioneers of full contact in Europe, both fighting and promoting.

In 1978 he started Eskrima with Jay Dobrin and in 1979 hosted the first Dan Inosanto seminar in the UK. Since this inspirational look at Jeet Kune Do and Filipino martial arts, he has been a disciple of Guru Dan Inosanto, a student of JKD and Kali concepts, and their use in combat. He is qualified as a Full Instructor in JKD and Kali under Dan Inosanto.

Bob is regarded as the father of JKD and the Filipino martial arts in Europe. He was the founder member of the World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation in 1987 and founder of the European Arnis Kali Eskrima Federation in 1992. He fought in the first World Championships in the Philippines in 1989, as well as being team coach. He continued as coach in 1992 with a very successful team.

What sets Bob apart is his reputation as a teacher, producing many of the top instructors in the UK today. In 2000 Bob founded Jeet Kune Do-Kali International, an organisation dedicated to expanding the high quality teaching of Jeet Kune Do and Kali throughout Europe.