Our Instructional Team
Combined, the instructors who lead training at AMISA carry over 120 years of martial arts experience — spanning Kung Fu, Japanese Jujitsu, and Sensei Sovey's distillation of both into Shinchū-Dō (心中道). That depth shapes how every technique is taught, how every rank is earned, and how every student is held to a real standard.
Sifu Troy Hamilton Ransome
53 years of martial arts experience
Known to his students simply as Sifu, Troy Ransome is recognized and respected among the most prominent martial artists and fellow Grand Masters in the Kung Fu community directly trained by Grand Master Jimmy Woo, and has built over five decades of dedicated practice. He is Sensei Sovey's current teacher, guiding him in internal mastery, and the higher-level path of the art: mindset, ki, energy focus, and pressure-point application (Dim Mak).
What stands out most about Sifu Ransome, given his standing in the martial arts world, is his humility. Despite his renown, he remains remarkably down-to-earth, and gives his full support to everything AMISA is building for youth and adult students alike.
Shinchū-Dō is Sensei Sovey's distillation, and Sifu Ransome has reviewed the system directly with him and approves of it — specifically noting that rather than simply combining separate arts side by side, Jacob identified the core concepts underlying them and built a genuinely unified and practically applicable system from that foundation.
Sensei Jacob Herrick-Sovey
30 years of martial arts experience
Jacob Sovey is the Founder and Senior Instructor of AMISA, and the creator of Shinchū-Dō — "The Way of the Centered Mind." Students call him Sensei, a title earned and worn through years of dedicated instruction.
Starting at the age of twelve years old, Sensei has continued to practice martial arts and spent about 25 years of that training living and training at a traditional Japanese Dojo in Sparks NV.
Rather than combining separate martial arts side by side, Jacob built Shinchū-Dō by identifying the core concepts and applications underlying Japanese Jujitsu and Kung Fu, then developing rank-appropriate variations for students as they progress through the system.
Sifu Troy Ransome has reviewed the system directly with Jacob and approves of it — a rare endorsement from a Grand Master with over five decades in the art.
Sensei Jairad Eugene Carlile
25 years of martial arts experience
Sensei Jairad Carlile has trained alongside Jacob Sovey for 25 years, and recently studying under both Sifu Troy Ransome and Sensei Sovey's direct instruction.
Over that quarter-century, he has completed the requirements for his final rank, standing today as one of the most experienced and accomplished instructors at AMISA.
It is also worth noting that amongst Jujitsu and Kung Fu, Sensei Jairad Carlile also participated heavily in the practical application process of the distillation that Sensei Sovey performed while creating Shinchū-Dō — "The Way of the Centered Mind."
This process of distillation took many years of practical application, research, and experimentation that would not have been possible without the assistance of Sensei Jairad Carlile.
Senpai Julian Herbert
14 years martial arts experience
Senpai Julian Herbert's family has a long history of being involved in the martial arts community. His grandfather Gary is a blackbelt in Jujitsu and Julian has followed that path choosing to take advanced training courses and begin instruction on a regular basis.
Senpai Julian Herbert started his training at High Sierra Jujitsu then moved his training to the traditional Japanese dojo in Sparks NV, where he met Sensei Sovey, Sifu Ransome, and others.
Later, he choose to continue following Sensei Sovey's and Sifu Ransome's Instruction and dedicated himself to helping create and often lead the Dynamic Defense Club, which is AMISA's dedicated after school program.
Senpai Julian has a very unique perspective on differentiation of martial arts techniques and his method of communicating such differentiations is highly effective .