CHIEF INSTRUCTOR

Thomas E. Snowden , born in 1951, has spent 8 years active duty in the U.S. navy. He was assigned as an independent duty medical corpsman from 1969 to 1977. He has spent 30 years in the law enforcement community as sworn personnel, most of which was spent on the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and ending up on the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office as a Senior investigator. Tom’s career assignments include; Corrections, Courts, Patrol, S.W.A.T., Prisoner and High Risk Property Transport, V.I.P./Witness Protection, Investigations and Undercover Operations (Narcotics & Vice), and Training as a Basic Academy Training Officer and an In-Service Advanced Officer Trainer. He holds a lifetime community college teaching credential from the State of California . Tom has been involved in study and teaching at an international level and awarded a master’s teaching degree in the art of China Hand from Taiwan , Republic of China.


Tom has been a supervisor, team leader, and instructor in many of these areas. He is instructor certified in Defensive Tactics/Arrest & Control, Use of Force, Chemical Agents, Firearms, and many other areas of Law Enforcement Procedure/Tactics. Tom has been on several state workshops and committees to formulate guidelines regarding Peace Officer Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.). Tom has held the position of Core or Chief Instructor for the San Diego Regional Law Enforcement Academy in the subject matter of Defensive Tactics/Arrest & Control (8yrs.). As a Consultant/Expert Witness in well over 20 cases, tom’s testimony has provided the determining or winning factor for the entity he has been hired to represent. Some of his involvement included extensive medical and scientific research in the area of in-custody deaths. This is to date, particularly in the subject of max restraint ((police hog tie technique), and the effects of OC Pepper Spray on the respiratory system while in max restraint. Tom and his colleagues involved in these studies are published in at least two medical journals.

Additionally, Tom’s knowledge of how techniques are applied and their effect is solidified by his 39 years of study, practice and teaching Martial Arts. He is certified at the instructor level (4^th degree black belt or above) in several different categories of Martial Arts. These include Aikido, Jujutsu, Judo, Karate (2 styles), Taihojutsu (art of body restraint police tech.), and Weapon Arts. He is the Chief Instructor owner and operator of the Martial Arts school known as Aibukan Dojo USA founded by Snowden Sensei in 1988. Snowden Sensei’s Martial Arts certification levels equate to a master instructor level, or a teacher of teachers. For specifics, please review the list that follows this writing.


MARTIAL ARTS & BIO STATUS

THOMAS E. SNOWDEN; CURRENT CHIEF INSTRUCTOR, AIBUKAN DOJO 925 HALE PL. SUITE B-12 CHULA VISTA , SAN DIEGO COUNTY, CA. 92114 Dojo 619-482-8486 e-mail sensei@aibukan.com
BORN: ABINGTON PENNSYLVANIA ,JANUARY 17, 1951
BEGAN BUDO: STUDY AND PRACTICE, JANUARY 1966
MARTIAL ARTS: (PRACTICED & TEACHING)
AIBUKAN AIKIBUDO (AIKIDO,JUDO, IAIDO, JODO)
CHUGOKU-TE SHINDO KENPO ( CHINA HAND/HSING-I)
OKINAWAN GOJU-RYU KARATE-DO
KEISATSU TAIHOJUTSU (POLICE BODY CONTROL METHODS)
RANKS HELD:
AIBUKAN AIKIBUDO (SAYA ORG.)	8TH DAN
TAIHOJUTSU (POLICE TECHNIQUE,SAYA ORG.)	7TH DAN
CHUGOKU-TE KENPO HSING-I JIYUSHINKAN	6TH DAN
HSING-I INTERNATIONAL CHINA HAND ASSOC.	5TH DAN
AIKIDO JIYUSHINKAN	4TH DAN
YOSHIN-RYU AIKIJUJUTSU (SEIBUKAN NO KAI)	4TH DAN
OKINAWAN GOJU-RYU KARATE-DO (SEIBUKAN)	4TH DAN
KODOKAN JUDO (JIYUSHINKAN)	4TH DAN
OKINAWAN GOJU-RYU KARATE-DO MIYAZATO JUNDOKAN	3RD DAN
YOSHINKAN AIKIDO	2ND DAN
IAIDO (A.J.I.F.)	1ST DAN
JODO (A.J.J.F.)	1ST DAN
BUDO TEACHERS:
CHUCK CLARK ( U.S.A. )
HSU HONG CHI ( TAIPEI , TAIWAN )
KAI KUNIYUKI ( JAPAN )
PLACES OF STUDY:
USA , TAIWAN , JAPAN , OKINAWA
CAREER:
SAN DIEGO LAW ENFORCEMENT 30 YEARS, SDPD , SD SHERIFF AND SAN DIEGO D.A.’S OFFICE. ON THE JOB ASSIGNMENTS INCLUDE: CORRECTIONS, COURTS, PATROL, INVESTIGATIONS, S.W.A.T., AND TRAINING. SERVED AS THE CHIEF INSTRUCTOR & EXPERT WITNESS ON DEFENSIVE TACTICS, ARREST & CONTROL, USE OF FORCE (CORE INSTRCTOR AT REGIONAL ACADEMY ). CURRENTLY ASSIGNED TO THE DA’S OFFICE SPEC-OPS DIVISION PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS UNIT.
PRIOR MILITARY:
1969-1977 8 YRS. ACTIVE DUTY US NAVY INDEPENDANT DUTY MEDICAL CORPSMAN.