Alvin Raúl Cardona Alvin Raúl Cardona holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication, Media and Theatre from Northeastern Illinois University and a Master of Science in Journalism from Roosevelt University.
Cardona has accumulated over 30 years of martial arts training. His journey through the martial arts began in 1976 under Master José Zuñiga of The Dragon Academy of Martial Arts in Chicago, a traditional Shori Goju and Kung Fu school. Cardona opened the doors to his own school in 1989. After several years of running a school and teaching martial arts, Cardona had the honor of meeting and becoming a direct student of the Grandmaster of Northern Shaolin Eagle Claw Kung Fu, Lily Lau. Cardona is a direct student of Grandmaster Lau and he is the Chief Eagle Claw Instructor of her Chicago school.
Cardona has also trained in Israel at the Israel Military Institute, learning the techniques of Krav Maga (Israeli Hand-to-Hand combat) as well as developing skills in VIP security and anti-terror protocols. He has taught a number of workshops and seminars in Israel, Germany, Italy, Puerto Rico, Colombia and Mexico. He has also taught summer programs for children and self-defense workshops at various colleges and universities.
Believing that it is important to stay involved with the community, Cardona has worked as a youth mentor for the JUF (Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago), donated proceeds from his martial arts events to the St. Jude Children's hospital, organized food and clothing drives for impoverished Israelis, held meditation workshops for cancer-survivors and has raised money for people living with HIV by participating in the AIDS Marathon training program and running in the Chicago Marathon.
