Mike Skinner Sr's journey began all the way back in 1969 when he attended a 10-week introductory class in Shaolin Kenpo which was taught by Mr. Wayne Toy, who was one of the first Black Belts produced by Rick and Maria Warwick.
     
     Martial Arts were quite different in those days, and it wasn't unusual to keep training until you were utterly exhausted, bleeding, or both. Mike recalls that after the first class, with all the pivoting and stance changes that his feet were raw and bleeding...so he did what any baby boomer would do and taped them up and went right back to learning Kenpo! He was hooked on what would become the first stage of a nearly lifelong journey.
     
     Mike would shortly thereafter begin training with Wayne Toy, Rick and Maria Warwick at the Warwick home in the Wishkah Valley. He stayed true to Shaolin Kenpo throughout. Time would march on and sometime around 1973 enough students would show interest that it became time to have a formal training space.
     
     This training space was in the basement of the historic Weir theatre, part of which Arby's now stands on in Aberdeen, Washington. With props from various productions, and limited space, this was not an ideal home for Kenpo. Maria Warwick's teaching abilities were drawing students in at a rate that was quickly outgrowing the venue.
     
     Mike Skinner, along with lifelong friend Barry "Bodie" Alexander, began searching for a more suitable place to train. Less than a block from the Weir, Mike and Barry found a defunct dry-cleaning business, negotiated a lease with the owners, and got to work - building the space, complete with separate dressing rooms and restrooms, and a large canvas mat on the floor. Aberdeen Kenpo Karate would open it's doors in early 1977. It took Mike and Barry nearly a year to remove all the equipment and remodel the space for the new studio!

     In May of 1977, Mike Skinner Sr. would become Maria Warwick's very first Black Belt and begin assisting her with the many classes taught at the school. Sadly, Maria Warwick needed to stop teaching for medical reasons and Aberdeen Kenpo Karate would close its doors in 1983. The end of an era certainly, but definitely not the end of the story. Ralph Castro created the International Shaolin Kenpo Association in 1981, four years after Mike Skinner Sr. received his Black Belt.

     Mike Skinner Sr, along with Wayne Toy and Ray Warwick would periodically assist Clay Micheau in the teaching of a hybrid system composed of Freestyle Karate and Shaolin Kenpo. This occurred between 1984-1986. At the end of Maria Warwick's time as an active instructor, Clay Micheau had been taking on a significant amount of the class schedule. Mike Skinner Sr. at this time was also assisting with instruction at Grays Harbor Community College teaching Kenpo to a class facilitated by Dick Landberg, one of Rick and Maria Warwick's first Black Belts who also happened to be an art professor at Grays Harbor College..

     In 1987, Mike Skinner Sr. began teaching Kenpo to a Tae Kwon Do Black Belt by the name of Doug Hinsley at Harbor Health Club. Doug was fascinated at the unique way that Shaolin Kenpo flowed from one technique to the next. Doug had previously been assisting Clay Micheau at his school on Heron Street. Training space would eventually move to Market Street at the location where Dan's General Jeans used to be. This partnership would last until 1990.

     Also, during the middle-to-late 80's, Mike Skinner Sr. began working with Wayne Toy and Ray Warwick to put the sizeable Kenpo library on paper. Keep in mind that this was before the Internet was born! Mike Skinner Sr. at this time was also learning to code so that he could build web pages and be one of the first to have a presence on the World Wide Web! He created and maintained a website called Karate1.com.

     Late 1989/early 1990 saw the advent of John Kraft taking private lessons from Mike Skinner Sr. after being connected by Hanshi John Kraemer who taught Shim pu Ren Karate (old name for Butokukan-an Okinawan hard style). John Kraft had been a student of Maria Warwick for approximately six months in 1978 and had reached the rank of Purple Belt.

     John Kraft continued his private lessons with Mike Skinner Sr. and reached the rank of 2nd Degree Brown Belt while asking his instructor to open a school so he could receive a more formal method of instruction. His wish was granted in September of 1992. 

With the blessing of Maria Warwick, Mike Skinner Sr opened Aberdeen Kenpo Karate at 303 West Market Street. This space was opened alongside Hanshi John Kraemer, who taught Shim Pu Ren. The Kenpo classes were held on M-W-F, and John held his classes on T-Th-Sa.

     Aberdeen Kenpo Karate had as many as 100 students and as few as 20 students in the first couple of years. Mike Skinner Sr. promoted his eldest son to Black Belt in December of 1992. John Kraft was promoted to Black Belt in July 1993. Present for both promotions were Maria and Ray Warwick, Sue Messenger, and Adam Lin.

     John Kraft opened a school six blocks from Aberdeen Kenpo and departed with approximately half the student base. He aligned himself with the International Shaolin Kenpo Association that Ray Warwick had purportedly attempted numerous times in vain to contact between 1987-1993.

      The International Shaolin Kenpo Association visited Aberdeen in 1995 to conduct a seminar. Following this seminar, Maria Warwick was promoted to 5th Degree Black Belt, Ray Warwick to 4th Degree Black Belt, Adam Lin to 3rd Degree Black Belt, and also recognized were Sue Messenger, John Kraft, and Mike Skinner Sr. as 3rd Degree Black Belts. John and Sue collectively had approximately 4 years of recent training time when recognized. Adam Lin had been training in Wushu in Seattle, but his recent time in Kenpo was limited.

Mike Skinner Sr. was offered to be recognized as a 3rd Degree Black Belt, but behind John and Sue in succession even though he had been the primary instructor for John and also a Black Belt Instructor to Sue and Adam. Mike Skinner Sr. declined this offer and Aberdeen Kenpo Karate became a Ronin school. Ronin is a term meaning "masterless Samurai".

The Christian Martial Arts Association, headed by 9th Degree Vance Steele adopted Aberdeen Kenpo Karate and its students and during the lifetime of the school, Mike Skinner Sr. was recognized as a 5th, and then a 6th Degree Black Belt in the CMAA for his sizeable contributions to the furthering of his art. At the time of his promotion to 5th degree, Mike Skinner Sr. assumed the title of "Shihan" which is the Japanese equivalent of Sibok to exhibit respect to Vance Steele for adopting the school.

In 1998, Mike Skinner Sr. received a CDL and turned the operation of the school over to his eldest son as he was on the road driving semi-truck for 6-7 weeks at a time.

     Aberdeen Kenpo Karate operated as a school until early 2001 when Mike Skinner Jr. departed Grays Harbor County for Las Vegas, Nevada to pursue greater employment opportunities.

     Mike Skinner Sr. deserves the lion's share of the credit for keeping Shaolin Kenpo active in Washington State after the retirement of Maria Warwick, but was not afforded the recognition that he worked very hard to earn.