A WAY OF LIFE
Soke Bobby Briggs was born in Spruce Pine, NC and was raised on a small, family farm in the Newdale Community of Yancey County, North Carolina. He entered his first karate class at the age of 6 and earned his first black belt at the age of 16. Soke Briggs not only learned karate, but he embraced it as a way of life.
When interviewed for this website, it is evident that Soke Briggs prefers to focus on his marital arts career, but for the reader, one should understand his background to fully appreciate the level of expertise and skill that Soke Briggs brings to his students.
Soke Briggs has always had a passion for teaching. He was an assistant karate instructor before graduating high school and opened his first karate school in Bald Creek, North Carolina before he was 20 years old. It was during this time that he became a fire fighter and made a choice to serve his community. However, Soke Briggs had a stronger calling to serve and was commissioned to join the United States Army on September 11, 1982. Over the course of an incredible 24 year military career, Soke Briggs attended many military schools that enhanced his martial arts / self-defense training including Ranger School; Jump School; SERE school; Sniper Training (for both the FBI and the 7th Special Forces Group); Air Assault School; FBI SWAT school; 19th Special Forces Hostage Rescue School; Desert, Jungle, & Winter Survival Schools; Recondo School, PSO (Protective Services Operations, both military and civilian) School, and Drill Instructor School. Soke Briggs also worked as a Criminal Investigator with the Federal Government while on active duty in the military. With such elite training, Soke Briggs was part of JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command), AFSOC (Air Force Special Operations Command), the RDF (Rapid Deployment Force) Team and the TRF (Tactical Recapture Force) Team. He saw many combat tours in various countries including Grenada, Panama, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan. While deployed around the country and overseas, Soke Briggs never waivered in his dedication to karate and learning marital arts. He has taught, studied and competed around the world.
His passion for teaching went beyond karate and as such, Soke Briggs found himself teaching both military and police including:
- Defensive Tactics for the Florida Highway Patrol
- Defensive Tactics for BLET (Basic Law Enforcement Training) in Melbourne, FL and Stanley, NC
- SNCO in charge of Air Force Field and Combat Training
- Training Superintendent Air Force Field Training where he taught Combat Tactics and Hand-to-hand Combat
After military retirement, Soke Briggs continued his life of service and joined the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department in 2006. While serving as a CMPD Officer, Soke Briggs worked as a Patrol officer and then transitioned into the Traffic Team with CMPD where he worked as an Accident Reconstruction Investigator. As such, he held many certifications including RADAR, LIDAR, & VASCAR; breathalyzer; and SFST (Standard Field Sobriety Testing) certifications. During his CMPD career, Soke Briggs continued his karate training and commitment to teaching.
In line with his lifelong commitment and dedication for karate, Soke Briggs made the decision to incorporate his love of Japanese-based karate with American Martial Arts and Boxing and created his own style called Kidokime-ryu Karate-do. In 1989, Kidokime-ryu Karate-do was recognized by the World Martial Arts Group as an official karate style. In 2018, Soke Bobby Briggs was awarded his 10th Degree Black Belt (a Grand Master) in the Kidokime-ryu Karate-do style and remains the highest ranking belt in the style to-date.
Along with his 10th Degree Black Belt, Soke Briggs earned many, many more black belts in various styles including:
- Kidokime-ryu Karate-do, 10th Degree
- Okinawa-te, 9th Degree
- Kenpo Karate, 5th Degree
- Shotokan, 1st Degree
- Shitoryu, 1st Degree
- American Gojo-ryu, 1st Degree
- Isshin-ryu, 1st Degree
- American Karate, 1st Degree
- Hapkito, 1st Degree
- Tae Kwon Do, 1st Degree
- Full-Contact Kickboxing Instructor
What's more, Soke Briggs has earned various awards and recognitions over the years including:
- Esteemed Martial Artist
- Bushido Championship Instructor Award
- AMAA Changing Lives Legacy Award
- Who's Who in the Martial Arts Hall of Honors 2022
- Platinum Lifetime Achievement Award and Inducted into the Cynthia Rothrock Hall of Honors 2022
- Diamond Lifetime Contributions Award, Action Martial Arts Hall of Honors Inductee 2023
- Hall of Fame School (Samurai Martial Arts) 2024
- Hall of Fame Style (Kidokime-ryu Karate-do) 2024
- Various Military Awards, Decorations and Medals (Peacetime and Combat)
- Numerous Civic Awards & Recognitions
Soke Briggs has continued his passion for karate and it's way of life. After retiring from the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department, he relocated to Sparta, North Carolina and opened Samurai Martial Arts (SMA). In addition to teaching full-time, as a 10th Degree Black Belt, Soke Briggs sits on multiple promotion boards, teaches various karate and self-defense seminars as a guest instructor, teaches rape prevention classes, women's self defense classes, and full-contact kickboxing.
Since opening, Samurai Martial Arts has competed in various karate tournaments. Without fail, SMA consistently brings home more first place finishes than any other school in attendance. A true testament to the quality of instruction provided by Soke Bobby Briggs.
