Shihan Tom Scott
5th Dan, NCK
NCK Executive Board Member
Chief Instructor, NCK of Omaha
" The ability to give of myself to my students, both in the Martial Arts, and in life lessons is the greatest privilege I have had in my life."
After graduating high school in 1974 I joined the Navy and served as a medic for 4 years after which I returned to Omaha and met my future wife of 29 years, Melody.
I was a student at the University of Nebraska at Omaha for 2 ½ years studying a double major in Journalism and English Literature. Had I graduated I most likely would have gone on to teach at the college level.
Melody and I decided very early on in our relationship that when the children came it would be of the utmost importance to raise them as we had been, with a stay at home mother. This required my quitting school and I have worked as a licensed plumber and business owner to provide for the family, and afford my children the same chances that I had. I kept active in my love of teaching by instructing young plumbers both in the field as apprentices, and as an instructor at the local trade school.
My first exposure to the Martial Arts was as a young child when my father enrolled me in a judo class at the local YMCA. The throwing and tumbling, working with the medicine ball was very exciting. Because of this fond memory I began taking Kenpo classes full time in 1996 in an a modified Karazenpo Go Shinjitsu system. After almost 4 years in the System I was offered the opportunity to open a school and did so for the chance to teach in this field.
The opportunity to learn and be a part of the NCK family came about by quite unexpected circumstances. Without going into details, it was learned that the head of the schools I was a part of was in trouble with the law. Finding the details entirely unacceptable, and to uphold my family values that I've taught to my children and my students, I resigned from the organization shortly thereafter.
I then approached Professor Nick Cerio’s organization and asked them for a chance to train in their system, since the system that I had been learning was an offshoot of NCK. Shihan John James graciously accepted my offer and agreed to come to our school in December, 2000. Upon seeing myself and my students, Shihan James agreed to accept me as a student with the condition that I travel to train with him twice a year at his dojo in Littleton, MA and he in turn comes to Omaha twice a year to continue my training. This was more than acceptable with me, and I then started my journey in NCK, logging countless airline miles along the way.
Thanks to the dedication of Shihan James and alot of hard work, Omaha, Nebraska is now enjoying a truly internationally recognized system of Kenpo with superb standards of instruction in the Martial Arts, and moral standards for behavior in and out of the dojo that are beyond reproach.
Through the years since, with Shihan James' guidance, the NCK of Omaha school has been reconnecting with Professor Cerio's Instructors and has hosted some of the most famous and exceptional Martial Artists of our generation. A few examples of this are Shihan Fumio Demura, Tadashi Yamashita Hanshi, Chosei Motobu Sensei, and most notably Master Bill Chun, Jr., successor of the Kenpo/Kempo system from which we came from. The NCK of Omaha school has had a continuous relationship with Master Chun, Jr. since 2002 and has been the first commercial school in the country to be accepted as students of Master Chun, Jr. (for a detailed summary of our seminars, please go to our News/Events page).
Shihan Tom Scott receiving Shihan title
I have also been humbly rewarded with testing for both my Sensei and Shihan titles with Shihan James and endorsed by the NCK Executive Board. I had the surprise of my natural life when, at the Professor Chow Memorial in San Francisco in February, 2007, Shihan James and Master Chun, Jr. both bestowed upon my a plaque endorsing and further recognizing my Shihan title.
Shihan Tom Scott receiving his Godan rank with NCK Exec. Board Members Sensei Maryann Weeden & Shihan John James
Today, I continue to do what I love and that is to teach others and pass along the gift that I was so fortnuate enough to have given to me.
