David is Pramek’s Director of Martial Art and Combat Sports Training, bringing Pramek to the traditional martial art and combat sports world.
David has been involved with martial arts in one form or another for the past 20+ years, and studying Pramek since 2006 when he hosted Matt Powell for a seminar with his Army unit (204th MI BN) at Fort Bliss, Texas. He is a veteran of the United States Army where he served as an Intelligence Analyst (MOS 35G) and unit level Modern Army Combatives (MACP) instructor. Following his military enlistment he spent an additional decade working as a defense contractor as a tactical Intelligence Specialist and has worked for multiple DoD and Federal Agencies along the way. In the course of his work he has spent significant time in the Middle East/Central Asia and South America supporting national security and defense interests. He recently moved back to metro Detroit where he is enjoying a quiet life working as a Director at an IT company.
His introduction to Pramek was a paradigm shift in his approach to martial arts and combatives training, causing him to view his own training through a conceptual framework instead of as a collection of techniques. Prior to his introduction to Pramek he dabbled in the Russian Martial Arts of ROSS and Systema which ultimately led him to Matt Powell. Outside of his ongoing involvement with Pramek, David trained extensively in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with his friend and mentor BJJ Black Belt and Modern Army Combatives Instructor, BJ Bradley who awarded him a Purple Belt in Jiu Jitsu. He is a Combat SAMBO instructor under Michael Galperin and a lifetime member of the United States Combat SAMBO Federation (USCSA). In addition he has a background in Judo, and trained extensively in the Chinese martial arts of Xingyiquan and Taijiquan under the late Kelvin Stewart and Tim Cartmell.
Pramek stands alone in our development of science and teaching programs. But, that science and those programs need to reach more of the martial art world. In the past Pramek has not been focused on traditional ‘martial art’ or competition. As Director, Dave’s focus is on developing programs for more traditional and competitive arts, bringing Pramek to the martial art world through seminars, training programs, and media.
Dave’s Pramek club website is: http://www.pramekdetroit.com/
Dave can be contacted: ddempsey@pramek.com