GORDON MARTIAL ARTS, INC.
CRESTVIEW, FLORIDA

Gordon Martial Arts (GMA) was established in 2003 by Thomas Gordon and Gregory Bledsoe who are now both master level instructors. Before GMA was in existence, the two ran a school for about five years in another community. They opened away from their home town of Crestview due to politics and ultimately, closed that school due to politics in the martial arts coming back to their home town. Instructors at Gordon Martial Arts are: Gordon Martial Arts is located in the heart of Crestview in the historic district. Opened six days a week with a full line-up of instructors to handle the class load with over 30 classes offered every week. A complete remodel in 2011 gave us a The instructors at Gordon Martial Arts is a lot of reason to be proud with two master level instructors at the helm. Other than two instructors who are still in school, most of the other instructors at GMA are in their 40’s or 50’s with careers and families of their own. The level of maturity and life experience these instructors bring is something that simply can’t be found in most other martial art schools. Thomas Gordon is school owner and Chief instructor at Gordon Martial Arts. He is also the host of the international Korean Martial Art Festival and Gulf Coast Martial Art Championships both which are located in Crestview, FL. Thomas got his first taste of martial arts at a small martial art school at the corner of Highway 85 & 90 next door to Teal & Waters. He was in elementary school at the time and martial arts weren’t geared towards children as they are today. Wasn’t long before the school closed and he got another shoot at martial arts as a young adult when another martial art school opened near his home. That school was part of a closed martial art organization that eventually led to him partnering up with Mr Gregory Bledsoe in opening a school in a neighboring community. After five years of running the school and ten years of traveling throughout the United States to compete, Thomas wanted to get more in line with the original Taekwondo system and open a school in his hometown. In 2003 he was able to open Gordon Martial Arts and align himself with two highly respected grandmasters of GM Hwang, KS (K-9-1) and GM Rudy Timmerman. Since then he has trained & taught in Canada, Korea, Australia, Scotland, England, Netherlands, Mexico, France, and all over the United States. While teaching most every walk of life and profession, being in an area heavy with military, Thomas has trained many levels of military personal including Special Operations, Special Forces, and most levels of law enforcement. Outside of the “martial art world,” Thomas played Offensive Tackle and Center for the Crestview Thunderbirds, an adult semi-pro football team playing his last season in 2012. Thomas also owns & operates an air conditioning business that was started by his parents in 1979. Over the years he has served on the Board of Adjustments for City of Crestview, the Board of Directors for the local YMCA, Building & Grounds Committee at his church, Green Committee for Building Industry Association, Crestview City Councilman, board member of Crestview Community Redevelopment Agency, and Okaloosa RESTORE Advisory Committee (BP Oil Spill). Intrigued by the soft arts, Bledsoe also began study in traditional Ju-jutsu under Soke Harris Warren. The early 2000’s led him in new directions in the martial arts. The study of Hapkido under Calvin Longton was a continuation of the soft arts, and joining the Unified I.T.F. under Grandmaster K.S. Hwang was a dream come true. Gregory joined Thomas Gordon in a new dojang that Gordon opened in Crestview, Florida: Gordon Martial Arts. “When I first began martial art training, it was all about fighting. After quite a few broken bones and numerous bumps and bruises, I realized there is far more to this than I ever dreamed”. After retiring from music teaching in June 2012, Master Bledsoe put his teaching skills to good use as a full time Taekwon-do/Hapkido instructor at Gordon Martial Arts. He was featured on the cover of Taekwondo Times in 2013. Alberto Barbon immigrated to the United States, from Cuba in 1962 as part of the Pan American freedom flights. He is the youngest of three children. His family moved to Miami, Florida where he grew up and completed most of his education. He left Miami in 1980 to attend medical school in Guadalajara, Mexico doing his third and fourth years of medical clerkships at Chicago hospitals. He completed his Pediatric residency training in the mid-west in affiliation with Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. After that, he lived and practiced in the mid-west for over 20 years before returning to Florida. Dr Barbon wanted to study martial arts all his life but was unable to until he was 16-17 years of age when a good friend invited him to join him at the Judo school he attended. He was hooked from day one attending the Banzai Judo School in Miami under the guidance of sensei Lorenzo Mesa. He continued to practice this art until leaving for medical school. The hiatus ended in 2002 when he took up the art of ITF Tae Kwon Do under the guidance of Master Albert O’Neal. In 2006 he joined Gordon Martial Arts. The rest is history. Dr Barbon said, “Gordon Martial Arts and Tae Kwon Do have a very positive influence in my life and have helped me get through some rough times and as a result attained a lot of personal growth. I continue to study under the guidance of Master Thomas Gordon and Master Gregory Bledsoe. By teaching at Gordon Martial Arts, I have the opportunity to give back as much, if not more, than what the school has given me. Fortunately, all of my instructors have been a positive influence in my life. I too, want to be a positive influence.” Below are a few pictures of Dr Barbon in various stages of training, testing, and doing demos. Doing a demo during MIlitary Appreciation Day