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Meet our Instructors

Highly trained and very friendly, Ekata's instructors will help you achieve your goals.

Edward Monaghan - Head Instructor

• Xuan Tong Gung Fu
• Jeet Kune Do
• Muay Thai
• Savate
• Qi Gong

Both an expert martial artist and a UCLA Professor, Sifu Ed Monaghan is uniquely suited to his role as Head Instructor of Ekata Martial Arts & Fitness, located in Valencia, California.

At UCLA, Professor Monaghan studies the effects of movement-based awareness training on children and adults to improve their ability to focus and learn more effectively. To learn how this research is applied in Ekata Martial Arts & Ftiness Kids Programs, click here. As a professor, he teaches mind/body connectivity through the study of movement in the Department of Theater, Film, and Television, as well as applied exercise science and Eastern philosophy. He is responsible for the physical conditioning of students on a department-wide basis.

As a martial artist, Sifu Ed is a full instructor of Jeet Kune Do, personally trained by Sifu Jerry Poteet, one of Bruce Lee’s original students. Sifu Poteet was designated by Inside Kung Fu magazine as "unquestionably the greatest Jeet Kune Do Instructor in the world."

Ed has studied a variety of martial arts for over 30 years, holding a black belt or equivalent rank and instructor’s certification in Jeet Kune Do, Savate, Muay Thai, Jiu-Jutsu, Karate and Kung Fu. He has competed in numerous full-contact competitions, including full-contact karate, kickboxing, Savate, Muay Thai and "no rules" tournaments.

He has taught defensive tactics to various police divisions, including the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and the DEA. He has privatley trained many celebrities, including Val Kilmer, John Malkovitch, Alicia Silverstone, and Julianne Moore, among others.

Certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine as an Athletic Trainer, Ed was chosen one of America's Top 100 Trainers in 2005 by Men's Journal magazine, and one of the top 5 in Los Angeles

In 2010 Ed was inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame and voted "Martial Arts Leader of the Year".

Sifu Jerry Poteet - Jeet Kune Do Master Instructor

• Jeet Kune Do

Branded by Inside Kung Fu magazine as "the greatest Jeet Kune Do instructor in the world," original Bruce Lee student Jerry Poteet is known by many as "the conscience of Jeet Kune Do."

Since his teacher's premature passing, Jerry has stood firm, refusing to water down the art that had such an enormous impact in his life. In fact, Jerry credits his teacher, Bruce Lee, with giving him the tools to survive, "the fight of my life", when he was compelled to undergo a liver transplant in 1995. Today, Jerry teaches Jeet Kune Do to the next generation of students and Instructors, who will keep the flame alive.

Sifu Poteet has been teaching martial arts for over 40 years. Like many young men in the '60s, Jerry began his martial arts career in Kenpo, and became a black belt under renowned Kenpo Instructor Ed Parker.

Contrary to popular misconception, Jerry did not meet his famous Jeet Kune Do teacher in Los Angeles, but in Oakland, at James Lee's house. Later that year, he was fortunate enough to be chosen as the second student admitted to Bruce Lee's Chinatown School back in LA. He was also selected to be in a "closed door" group of five students, who trained with Bruce Lee twice a week. In the years since, Jerry has used his martial arts expertise to train the Dallas Cowboys football team, executive bodyguard Hollywood celebrities, and choreograph the fight scenes of several motion pictures.

But his proudest achievement is the fact that he was chosen as the person best able to train the actor who would portray his teacher, Bruce Lee. Over the years, Jerry has refined a teaching method that, like the art of Jeet Kune Do itself, strips away the inessentials. It was this method he used to train actor Jason Scott Lee for the role in DRAGON, THE BRUCE LEE STORY. For Sifu Poteet, it was the ultimate way "to give something back to my teacher."

Whether teaching an individual or a group, Sifu Poteet is easy-going, yet intense, truly embodying the principle of Yin/Yang, or opposites co-existing harmoniously. He is friendly and casual in manner, yet he demands precision in movement and attitude. Laughing and joking, yet all business when it comes to the training results. He wishes to elicit from students only what his teacher demanded from him: their best. It is amazing to see how many surpass not only his expectations, but their own as well.

This is why Jerry Poteet is proclaimed as "The Source" for the truth in the art of Jeet Kune Do.

JoAnn Wabisca - Instructor

• Savate
• Muay Thai
• Jeet Kune Do

Sifu JoAnn Wabisca makes a habit of breaking with convention. The British Columbia native migrated south to Southern California in the mid 1980’s to work in the film industry as a make up, hair, massage and design specialist. After a long and successful career working with many A list stars on top productions, she decided to follow her heart and pursue her love of physical expression through the study of martial arts. After training for several years she became one of the first women in the United States to receive the coveted rank of "Silver Glove" (Black Belt Equivalent) in Boxe Francaise Savate. Shortly afterward she was voted the first female president of the American Federation of Boxe Francaise Savate. JoAnn continued training earning instructor’s certification in Muay Thai (under Kru Surapuk Jamjuntr and Kru Saekson Janjira) and Jeet Kune Do (under Sifu Jerry Poteet and Sifu Fran Joseph). Even after suffering a debilitating knee injury which led to a complete ACL replacement, in 2003 she won the US Championship in Boxe Francaise Savate Assaut, which later led to competition in the World Cup of Boxe Francaise Savate in Plovdiv, Bulgaria where she claimed the title of World Vice-Champion (number 2 in the world) after fighting 5 times in less than 24 hours!

But that’s not all: After winning her world title at age 45 JoAnn decided to turn her attention to Figure Competition. This method of athletic competition entails showing the body's aesthetic lines. The criteria is similar to body building but women are judged on symmetry of the body as related to athleticism and not the size of musculature. Again JoAnn pulled it off and won two regional championships and the California State Championship Open Division against women half her age. JoAnn has an uncanny ability to teach and communicate information so that others can enjoy success in reaching their own personal goals.

Fran Joseph - Jeet Kune Do Senior Instructor

• Jeet Kune Do

Fran is a protege of famed JKD Instructor Jerry Poteet, and she has been teaching Jeet Kune Do for over 20 years. She is only one of two Instructors with a Senior (Masters) Level in Jerry Poteet's JKD Association. Fran holds black belts in several martial arts, and is an expert in Wing Chun, Escrima/Kali, Hwarang Do, etc., but she focuses on the art and philosophy of Jeet Kune Do.

Like her husband, she is a film fight choreographer and trainer. She taught Jason Scott Lee the double nunchucks for the movie, "Dragon, The Bruce Lee Story", and has worked with Kurt Russell and Kevin Sorbo, among others. She teaches Jeet Kune Do to men and women in the Los Angeles area, and strives to make each class exciting, inspirational. Fran has the outstanding ability to make every person or class she teaches feel special, while having a blast!"

Aaron Zaffron

• Xuan Tong Gung Fu
• Jeet Kune Do
• Muay Thai
• Savate

Aaron Zaffron has studied Jeet Kune Do under Sifu Ed for over 13 years. He is ranked as an instructor in Jeet Kune Do, a 2nd degree black belt in Gung Fu, a 3rd degree black belt in the Degerberg Blend and a white glove in Boxe Francaise Savate. Aaron is a wonderful teacher for children and has studied the art of pedagogy for many years with Sifu Ed.

Diana Tran – Assistant Instructor

• Xuan Tong Gung Fu
• Jeet Kune Do

Diana Tran came to the study of Jeet Kune Do after earning her black belt in Vietnamese martial arts and competing in numerous full contact kickboxing matches. She holds a PhD from UCLA in theoretical mathematics and loves teaching children. Diana also played high school football (that's right, against the boys and she wasn't a kicker) and was captain of UCLA's women's rugby team.

Apprentice Instructors

Ekata's Apprentice Instructors have all completed a training course designed to teach serious students, how to teach. Each apprentice completes a 10-week course and must assist instructors in class for 1 year before assuming the duties of an assistant instructor. Apprentice Instructors lead warm ups, teach introductory lessons, assist in class and substitute teach.

Junior Apprentices