Addy Hernandez - Instructor Profile
Some may dismiss Addy Hernandez as just another pretty face; buff and bodacious, she sports the hard-earned physique of a woman who takes her training regimen seriously. But make no mistake: the hours she has racked up at the gym are not just for show.
Hernandez is all about fitness with function, power with a purpose. A seasoned martial artist, Hernandez has trained under the direct tutelage of Joseph Simonet, founder of Wenatchee, Washington-based KI Fighting Concepts, since 1994. From the beginning, Simonet saw a special spark in his new student and encouraged her to enhance her training by making weekly visits to a Filipino stick-training gym in the Seattle area. At the same time, she was training in Kenpo Karate and following the KI Fighting Concepts curriculum, which included studying Yang-style T'ai Chi and meditation in Simonet's mountain dojo.
It was a grueling schedule, but the hard work would result in multiple black belts. Today Hernandez is a 4th-degree black belt in KI Fighting Concepts, a 4th-degree black belt in Doce Pares under Master Chris Petrilli (being the second person ever to receive a black belt from him), a 3rd-degree in Tracy's Kenpo karate, a 2nd-degree black belt in Escrido under Grand Master Cacoy Canete, a certified instructor in Yang-style T'ai Chi, and a full-time martial arts instructor and part owner at the KI Fighting Concepts headquarters.
Following Simonet's lead as a world-renowned innovator and teacher and aspiring to follow in his footsteps, Hernandez continues to expand her knowledge and abilities by stretching her mental, physical, and philosophical boundaries. She promotes, organizes, and teaches at Wind and Rock, one of the fastest growing, most highly acclaimed martial arts training camps in the country. She has also been an active participant in Simonet's many public appearances and seminars coast to coast. In June 2005, Hernandez was honored to appear on the cover of Inside Kung-Fu magazine.
A highly accomplished martial artist in her own right, Hernandez has made frequent appearances in national martial arts magazines and television shows, including Inside Kung-Fu, Black Belt, Women's Self-Defense, Masters of the Filipino Arts, and VH1. In addition, she has collaborated with Simonet in producing, promoting, and starring in numerous martial arts training videos. The success of these videos encouraged Hernandez to branch out as a voice in the martial arts.
Fight Like a Girl is Hernandez's first public attack on the commercialism of "personal security". Most recently Hernandez has completed a video on Filipino Weaponry. She plans to follow these projects with several more self-defense videos. Widely viewed as a complete and successful martial arts practitioner, Hernandez has embraced the spirit of the white belt: forever the student. She understands that for both men and women, the road to personal security is lined with hard work, dedication, a continual desire and willingness to grow, and she utilizes the foundational platform of realistic martial arts training as a template for advancing this concept.
