Glen Rathbone
From Martial Arts Wiki
Name: Glen Rathbone
Birth Name: Glen Rathbone
Birth Place: Cleveland, Ohio
Occupation: Musican, Teacher, Author
Spouse: Catherine Rathbone
HomePage: Glen Rathbone
Glen Rathbone (August 15, 1949) is an American Musican, Author, and Teacher.
Contents |
Current Projects
Glen's extensive travels world-wide with his family and in the Military has created in him a great respect for diverse cultures and philosophies. This has fueled an interest in Martial Arts History, and in recent years, his friendship with Mr. Frank Landers has compelled him to begin the arduous task of documenting the history of Martial Arts in America. Glen is currently writing the Autobiography of Senior Grandmaster Frank Landers as well as the biography of Great Grandmaster of Eskrima Arts, Isidro P. Javier, who, at the age of 98 is the oldest Living Grandmaster in America and possibly in the world.
A documentary of American Martial Arts and it's impact on traditional Martial Arts in the last 50 years.
(for more information see)
The Rathbone Blog
Frank "Argelander" Landers
Frank Landers
Isidro P. Javier
Music my Passion
Read more: 1965 Hootenanny
Personal Life
Born August 15 1949, Cleveland, Ohio
Father: Tom G. Rathbone (Deceased)
Mother: Anna May (Stoller) Rathbone (Deceased)
Half brother and sister from Tom Rathbone’s first marriage to Tressa Bridenbach, deceased, 1944, after 25 years of marriage:
Tom G. Rathbone Jr. (Deceased)
Dorothy Rathbone (Deceased)
Two brothers from Tom Rathbone’s second marriage to Anna May Stoller:
David (Deceased)
Dennis (Deceased)
Bio
Tom G. Rathbone, age 53, was Regional Representative in charge of 11 states, Dept. of Vocational Rehabilitation, Federal Government, when Glen was born, 1949, in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1953, when Glen was four years old, the family including older brother, Dennis moved to Washington D.C., where Tom Rathbone was appointed Director of Vocational Rehabilitation for the District of Columbia.
Glen attended Elementary School and lived a fairly normal life until 1958, when his father decided to accept an offer by the government of Guam to establish a Vocational Rehabilitation program on the island. The family traveled across the U.S in their 1953 Oldsmobile, and left from San Francisco on Glen’s first airplane flight, bound for Hawaii. While in San Francisco, Glen met his half brother Tom G. Rathbone Jr. (Tommy), and his Half Sister, Dorothy for the first time. Tom Jr. was a WWII Navy combat Veteran still in the active Navy Reserve, and Dorothy, also a Navy Veteran, was a housewife living in San Jose.
Upon arrival in Guam, June 1958, the family had much to adjust to, starting with Spartan living conditions in an old WWII era Quonset hut, and life in the tropics. Glen and brother Dennis soon became fascinated with WWII surplus, and live ammunition left over from the war. They would often roam miles into the jungle, looking for souvenirs. When they found live shells, grenades, bazookas and landmines, they would unload the devices themselves, then trade the items with other “stateside” kids. The brothers were fearless in spite of some close calls, dealing with the live ammo.
In 1960, after completion of his first two-year contract, Tom Rathbone signed a second contract and used the bonus money to take the family on a trip around the world. Leaving Guam on June 11, 1960, they flew to the Philippines, Japan, then down through Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. The trip continued through India, Pakistan, Egypt, and the Holy land. They traveled the Mediterranean, stopping in Greece, Rome, Venice, and took and extended tour through the French Alps, into Europe. They finally returned to Guam in October, four months and twenty-three countries later.
Glen entered sixth grade, and immediately encountered a wrenching difficulty when he befriended a child suffering from Down’s syndrome. Having been taught to treat the handicapped as normal people, he found himself defending the child from vicious attacks by the other children. He came under attack himself, often having to fight to defend both himself and the child. School officials finally intervened and the child was removed from public school. Glen was never accepted by his schoolmates and remained alone until the end of the school year.
Four days after Christmas, 1961, Dennis Rathbone, Glen’s older brother, attempted to unload a Japanese Mortar shell, and was killed when it exploded. Dennis was only 15 years old, and though his parents desperately tried to prevent the boys from “messing” with the WWII souvenirs, both Dennis and Glen continued to sneak out on weekends to look for the items, which had been left all over the island. The tragedy prompted the government and Military to launch a campaign to remove live munitions collected by hundreds of civilians since the end of the war. Dennis and Glen had enough munitions under their house to “blow up the entire block” according to Navy Demolition experts.
In November 1962, Typhoon Karen with sustained winds of 220 mph, one of the most powerful typhoons in recorded history, ravaged Guam, destroying 90% of the island’s infrastructure. Tom Rathbone was appointed Director of Education and ordered to rebuild the school system, and get the children back to school as soon as possible. Rathbone, known throughout the U.S. Federal Government as a crisis manager, soon proved his skills by opening schools only 72 hours after the storm had passed. He decided to send Glen and his mother back to Seattle Washington immediately following the disaster, and they remained there for nine months before returning to Guam.
Tom Rathbone finally retired in the summer of 1964 and moved the family to San Luis Obispo, California, where he was asked to run a Vocational Rehab. Program called Achievement House. Glen entered high school and graduated in 1968. He enrolled in Junior college and earned his AA degree in 1970. He was accepted into the Deputy Reserve sheriff Academy, intending to become a police officer. While in the Academy, his father returned to Guam at the age of 74 to continue working on his beloved Voc. Rehab. Program. Glen soon encountered the Military Draft, and was forced to leave the Sheriff’s Academy three weeks prior to graduation. He Joined the Army in March 1971 and trained as a Military Police correctional specialist. His tour of service was in Germany, where he auditioned for and was accepted into the U.S. Army Band as a guitar player.
After his discharge from the Army in 1974, Glen pursued his interest in music, working in a music store, and playing in local bands. In September of 1978, he enrolled in the Berklee College of Music, in Boston, Massachusetts, graduating in 1980 with a BM in General Music. Glen returned to San Luis Obispo, California and resumed his music interests.
He married Catherine Tolle in 1983, and has two children, Leslie, born in 1987, and Gavin, born in 1988. Catherine also has two sons, Kevin and Ryan from a previous marriage. Glen currently plays in local bands, and enjoys his interests in composing and arraigning. He is a guitar instructor at the TeVelde School of Music, and Lightning Joe's Guitar Heaven In Arroyo Grande, California, where he gives advanced lessons in Performance, Music Theory, and Composition. He is also working on a major project, involving a documentary film and publishing his novel, “Islander Gold…Fools Rush In”. This novel is based on his father’s exploits as a Deputy U.S. Marshal in Alaska, 1934. and the salvage of SSIslander, a luxury liner that sank off the coast of Alaska in 1901, reportedly carrying millions in gold.
A new endeavor for Glen has begun through a long friendship with Senior Grand Master Frank Landers, one of America’s greatest Martial Artists. Mr. Landers is known for his lightning speed and heart-stopping demonstrations with the Samuari sword. His list of achievements is much too long to recite here, but a few include: Founder of Seishindo Kenpo, numerous competition wins in tournament Karate and Kickboxing (World Kickboxing Heavyweight Champion, 1979), trainer and bodyguard to music entertainers, TV and movie stars, major tournament promoter, musician and producer (Atlantis Records), actor and stuntman in movies and TV series. GM Frank Landers is the son-in-law of Great Grand Master Isidro P. Javier who, until his passing in September, 2010 was at the age of 98, the oldest Martial Arts Grand Master living in America, and most likely in the world. GGM Isidro P. Javier was a master of the Philippine martial art of Eskrima (Escrima), or Eskrima/Arnis, a form of close combat employing the use of sticks and knives. This ancient art is centuries old and passed as a family art from father to son. GGM Javier bore the scars of actual battles fought in the streets of Tagudin Philippines. In the family tradition, GGM Isidro P. Javier named Frank Landers as successor to the Javier Family Fighting Art and appointed him Senior Grand Master.
Glen has been commissioned by Frank Landers to write his (Mr. Lander’s) biography and also that of Isidro P. Javier. Glen is also working on a documentary/history of martial Arts in America.
References
Rathbone Photo. The Tribune Photos From the Vault is produced by David Middlecamp, a Tribune staff photographer since 1986.
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