© Houston Martial Arts Media 2025
Our Philosophy and Instructors
The Houston Martial Arts Academy ("HMAA") specializes in real life self-defense
training. We are dedicated to developing our members' confidence and ability to
defend any type of attack at any range. We also make sure to have fun while we
are training so that we actually enjoy practicing the techniques, drills and concepts
from the martial arts we offer.
Joseph L. Galleon
Joseph is an Instructor at HMAA. He has been
training in martial arts since he was a child, for
over 75 years. His first introduction to the
martial arts was at the age of 6 through his
father, who passed down their family system of
Escrmia to Joe and his brothers. His father was
training parters with Florendo Visitacion and
GM Hipolito. He is a Guro/Full Instructor in
Giron® Arnis Escrima System and an Affiliate of
Bahala Na® Martial Arts Association. He holds a
4th degree Black Belt in Chung Do Kwan with
North American Tae Kwon Do - CDK and a 2nd
degree black belt in Shotokan Karate. Manong
Joe is also a Guro in his Visayan family system
of Galleon Clan Escrima and the head
representative in America. An avid historian
and researcher, Joseph is a wealth of
information on South East Asian history and
culture. Joesph co-founded the Houston Stick
Fighting Association in 2016.
Jason Evans
Jason is the owner and Head Instructor of HMAA. Jason
is a Guro/Full Instructor of Giron® Arnis Escrima and an
Affiliate of Bahala Na® Martial Arts Association. He is
also an Instructor in Galleon Clan Escrima under Guro
Joseph Galleon. He is a 3rd degree Black Belt and
Instructor of Chung Do Kwan with North American Tae
Kwon Do - CDK. Jason is also the Director of the Houston
Stick Fighting Association and Published the HSFA Insider
newsletter. Growing up, Jason learned self-defense,
situational awareness and fire arms instruction under
his Father, who served in Law Enforcement for over 20
years+. Jason continually studies martial arts and is
constantly learning from senior practitioners to further
develop and refine his approach to self-defense, health,
and combatives.
Andy Erich
Andy started training in martial arts in 1984. He trained
in Uechi-Ryu Karate Do, eventually reaching the rank of
4th-degree black belt. Since then he has trained and
taught in numerous other martial arts, including Aikido,
Muay Thai, and Western Boxing.
Looking to learn more of a weapons-based art, he tried
Giron® Arnis Escrima at a seminar in 2008 in Houston,
TX, and has been training ever since. Giron® Arnis
Escrima has a rare blend of “family-style” training, mixed
with formal techniques and discipline of a proven
martial art. Andy graduated from the system in 2016,
and he was recently promoted to Guro. He currently
teaches at HMAA in Houston, where he continues to
learn, enjoy, and share the art.