AMOK! History

For those who dont know the history of AMOK! here is the true story of who and how it was created, as there has been a lot of disinformation about its origin lately.

AMOK! was founded by Tom Sotis in 1992 in Easton, Massachusetts, USA. Initially organized as the International Blade Fighters Guild (IBFG) and was comprised mainly of several knife arts. Within a few years we suspended practicing and teaching all previously learned methods and developed an ultra-functional methodology called AMOK! Combatives. We are presently the world’s leading edged weapons training company.

In 1994, Tom traveled to Russia and trained the famed Spetsnaz and other government groups, appeared on Russian television and newspapers, lectured at University, and taught at military bases and executive protection academies. To this day Tom remains close friends with his then-interpreter Abbas Gallyamov who has achieved the distinguished position as the Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Bashkortostan.

Tom first went to the Philippines with Greg Alland in 1996 who introduced him to Jerson Tortal and Leo Gaje Jr., and it was also at this camp where he met Dave Gould. Tom was to return with his own group to study with Tortal, Gaje, and the blademasters of Negros Occidental. Tom became the first (perhaps only) Caucasian accepted into the Dogeaters Warrior Tribe by Baldwin Garrucho, Rommel Tortal, and Sam Ibe.

In 1998, Tom introduced AMOK! to South Africa and returned every year for 10 years touring the country teaching workshops. South Africans, because of their ultra-violent environment,  took to AMOK! very quickly and a number of training groups formed.  Lifelong and accomplished martial artists, Eddie Dorey and Wally Blumenthal operate a dedicated training group out of Pretoria and have trained regularly for many years. Tom has forged many strong friendships during his trips and remains in close contact with them.

Since 2001, when Steve McHugh organized the first tour, Tom has traveled to Australia several times where AMOK! has since firmly rooted. Peter Ballaben in Adelaide has been a very successful Instructor who has helped many people develop a high level of skill.  Andrew Smith, another of AMOK!’s instructors, runs a strong group in Canberra; and Siang Teoh operates a solid group of hard-fighting men and women in Melbourne.

In 2002, José María Gutiérrez invited Tom to teach in Madrid, Spain where he met Vasilis Vezyrgiannis and Samiotis Panagiotis from Athens, Greece. Since that event, Tom had returned to Spain and Greece a number of times.  Culturally speaking, the Spanish have a love affair with the blade so AMOK! has firmly rooted in that country.  Greece, of course, has a rich and colorful history of Warriors where Vasilis and Samiotis have operated their group for 10 years. Tom has also worked closely with Tim Politis and his teammates the Hellenic Coast Guard who fight on the front line of violence every day.

Tom introduced AMOK! in Sonora, Mexico in 2002, and returned several times to that area, but it was Rafael Mojica who visited a number of times to train Alex Garduno in Zacatapec, who has since established a solid reputation and strong network of knifers. Alex has a long and distinguished background in several martial arts and has worked relentlessly since he discovered AMOK!    Mexico is among one of the most violent and severe countries in the world and the very harsh training for Amoks in Mexico is a reflection of their cultural need. We are proud of the excellent ways in which Alex represents our company.

Since 2003 when Tom Sotis introduced AMOK! in Thailand, Randy Hodges decided to remain and establish groups throughout Southeast Asia. Randy and Nok Hodges established a full time academy in Bangkok before they moved to Udon Thani. Randy introduced AMOK! in Nepal and made a number of trips to Malaysia. The annual Thailand Camp is our company’s biggest training event, typically 6-7 days of training, and is comprised of people from all over the globe.

In 2004, Tom and Mattias Persson introduced AMOK! in Sweden where it has since gained a solid following. Mattias traveled often to train with Tom and while at home, developed a solid group in Malmoe. After training with Tom in Thailand, Johan Skalberg from Gothenburg started his group. Then Kris Gorensson trained with Mattias and Tom and developed a solid group in Arboga. Ingmund Forberg was the first to plant the flag in Oslo, Norway. Matt continues spreading AMOK! throughout Scandinavia and Europe.

In 2008 Gus Reina established an AMOK! training group at LSA Anaconda, Balad, Iraq. Gus helped a lot of people who lived and worked in harm’s way, and because of his leadership, the group trained steadily in unsteady circumstances for a long time. No longer in Iraq, Gus is presently working with members of the special forces community in Afghanistan. We are proud of Gus, thankful for his service, and respect the significant contribution he is making.

In early 2012 AMOK! left its footprint in Cambodia. Tom Sotis, Andrew Smith, and Joe Howard introduced AMOK! to the Cambodian Special Forces and the country’s most elite Law Enforcement Counter-Terrorism personnel. They conducted training for GSS Private Security (owned by John Muller), who guard the country’s vault of gold bullion, and operate throughout Southeast Asia. GSS is presently using our program for its highest level operatives and supervisors. We will return later this year to initiate further consulting and training services.