Patrick Vuong is the founder of and chief instructor at Fluid Fighting Systems, a training group based in Southern California.
He began studying self-defense in 1995 and has been teaching since 1999. His studies range from combat sports and traditional martial arts to reality-based self-defense and tactical firearms training.
Training Background:
A complete training resume and copies of his instructor certifications are available upon request. His credentials include (but aren’t limited to) the following:
Authorized Instructor in Pekiti-Tirsia Kali
* Instructor: Tuhon Jared Wihongi
* This Filipino art specializes in bladed and blunt weapons, with applications for empty-hand striking and grappling.
Lead Instructor / Co-Founder of Tiga Tactics Combatives
* Co-Founder: Dr. Conrad Bui
* Tiga Tactics Combatives is a science-based self-defense program that is the distillation of a combined 60-plus years of continuous training, 12 advanced instructor ranks, and dozens of combat sports championships shared between Patrick and his co-founder, Dr. Conrad Bui.
* This street-effective system encompasses almost all ranges of close-quarters combat — from striking and grappling to firearms and edged weapons.
2nd Degree Black Belt in Lai Chung Chuan Fa
* Instructor: Sigung Hal Weiss
* This hybrid Southern Shaolin Kung Fu system melds traditional techniques from Hung Gar and Choy Li Fut with modern combatives to address today’s reality of weapons and mixed martial arts.
1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate
* Instructor: Master Margitte Hilbig
* Based on Japanese Karate, this American system fuses together punches, kicks, blocks, and joint locks. Patrick was a direct student under the late Master Margitte Hilbig, Canada’s first female karate black belt.
Certified Pistol Instructor
* Instructor: T.J. Johnston
* As a firearms enthusiast and former senior editor of RECOIL Magazine, Patrick has trained with various weapons platforms by current and former U.S. Army Special Forces, U.S. Navy SEALs, and police SWAT operators.
Instructor of Women’s Self-Defense
As founder and head instructor of Fluid Fighting Systems, Patrick has been teaching and empowering women since 2008. His reality-based program focuses on lifestyle choices, situational awareness, and life-saving combatives.
Founder and Head Instructor of the CSUF Martial Arts Fitness Class
This hybrid kickboxing class combined the strikes from kung fu, karate, and Muay Thai with plyometrics and calisthenics. It was held at California State University, Fullerton, from 2008 until 2017.
Student of Pentjak Silat Serak
Serak is a close-quarters combat system from Indonesia that utilizes bladed weapons and empty-hand combatives, exploiting extreme leveraging to devastating effects.
Student of Muay Thai
Muay Thai (or Thai Boxing) is a brutal form of kickboxing from Thailand. It originates from ancient military warefare and has since involved into one of the premier striking systems in combat sports.
Student of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
This form of Japanese grappling by way of Brazil utilizes throws, takedowns, joint locks/breaks, and various chokeholds/strangulations to control and subdue an opponent at extreme close-quarter — both standing and on the ground.
Subject Matter Expertise:
In addition to teaching combatives, Vuong has also appeared in award-winning publications in various capacities — writer, photographer, model, onscreen host, and subject-matter expert. He continues to write the knife review column, “The Unusual Suspects” in RECOIL Magazine, as well as contributing to numerous other media.
