Editing Ernest Emerson (section)

==Background==
Ernest Emerson was born on March 7, 1955, in northern [[Wisconsin]].<ref name=combs36>{{harvnb|Combs|2004|p=36}}</ref><ref name="barlow">{{harvnb|Emerson|2003|pp=54–59}}</ref> While attending high school he displayed athletic ability as a wrestler and baseball player, being drafted by the [[St. Louis Cardinals]] to play professional baseball at the age of 17 in the [[Midwest League]].<ref name=combs36/>

Emerson began his training in martial arts at the age of 16 with the Korean version of [[Judo]] known as Yudo, traveling from Wisconsin to [[Minnesota]] twice a week to attend school.<ref name="herndon"/> He continued his study of the martial arts while attending the [[University of Wisconsin–La Crosse]] where he earned a brown belt in [[Kyokushinkai]] [[Karate]] and a [[black belt (martial arts)|black belt]] in [[Shotokan Karate]] while competing on the university's karate team.<ref name=combs36/>{{request quotation|date=September 2022}} After graduating with degrees in physical education and world history, Emerson moved to [[Southern California]] for the sole purpose of continuing his martial arts training at the Filipino Kali Academy.<ref name=combs36/><ref name="imb"/> There he studied Jun Fan Gung Fu, [[Jeet Kune Do]], and [[Eskrima]] under the tutelage of [[Dan Inosanto]] and [[Richard Bustillo]] (both protégés of the late [[Bruce Lee]]).<ref name=combs36/><ref name="imb">{{harvnb|Emerson|2006e}}</ref>  Emerson subsequently trained in [[Gracie Jiu Jitsu]] for three years at the original Gracie Academy in [[Torrance, California]], under the founders of the Gracie Jiu Jitsu system, Rorion and [[Royce Gracie]].<ref name="Norman">{{harvnb|Norman|1995|pp=104–108}}</ref> Eventually, Emerson became an instructor in his own right and combined the principles of all these systems.<ref name="BladeU">{{harvnb|Hopkins|1998|p=72}}</ref> It was in Southern California where he met his wife, Mary, who at the time was one of the world's top female practitioners of [[Jujutsu]].<ref name="tieves"/> During this time, Emerson worked as a technician, a machine operator, and eventually a design engineer for [[Hughes Aircraft]] in [[El Segundo, California|El Segundo]].<ref name="pickles">{{harvnb|Pickles|1995|p=73}}</ref><ref name=combs37>{{harvnb|Combs|2004|p=37}}</ref>