_People start martial arts training at various ages and for different reasons. Some of us start that training during our adult years, but these days, most start training in early childhood.  Mr. Fauth was lucky enough to start his first training in martial arts at the age of 13 under the excellent tutelage of Shihan Phillip Brain in his native Australia. The valuable training he received in Judo stood him in good stead as he went on to the police academy and subsequently started training in Karate and Tae Kwon-Do.

Last week, we were honored to welcome Shihan Brain to Austin and were treated to an awesome week of Judo training at The 4th Degree. Adults and junior students alike learned so much from his skillful training leaving us all hungry for more. For Mr. Fauth, it was an eventful ten days spent reminiscing and training with his very first role model in the martial arts. For the rest of us, it was a way to gain perspective on the impact that Judo had on Mr. Fauth’s development as a martial artist.

Shihan Brain started his Judo training in 1952 and has been inducted into the Australasian and US Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He still remains active in teaching select kata classes today. He has passed on his martial arts legacy to his own son Stewart who now coaches the Olympic judo team from Australia. It was inspiring to meet and train with Shihan Brain and to marvel at the unique bond between him and Mr. Fauth; a bond forged over 40 years ago and still perfectly intact to this day. It was a real privilege to train with a master of Shihan's calibre and we hope that we get an opportunity to train with him again.