New York
MFA Headquaters
509 Hicksville Rd
Massapequa, Long Island, NY 11758
Founder/Chief Instructor
Guro Andrew “Tattoo" Filardo
Since opening M.F.A., Guro, or Coach Andy as his fighters call him, has trained many aspiring amateur and professional fighters. His fighters have had successes in the New York Daily News Golden Gloves, Kickboxing, Full Contact Stickfighting, MMA, and have also captured some titles on the way. Guro has brought his fighters all the way to the semi finals of the Gloves, and to the Mecca of Boxing's Madison Square Garden's New York Golden Gloves Finals.
Kickboxing Instructor
Coach Joe Stewart
Coach Joe runs the Jr. Boxing / Kickboxing Program at the MFA Academy. He is an accomplished kick boxer himself. Coach Andy's protégé he started training under Coach Filardo as a teen, and became the USKBA Super-lightweight Champion. He is also certified by USA Boxing and N.Y. Metro Boxing,
as well and assists Coach Andy with training all the fighters and working the corner with Coach in the fights. Joe is also a N.Y.C. Physical Education teacher in Manhattan and has run many sports programs including Kickboxing for the N.Y. Education Dept.
Advanced Instructor
Guro Roger Podell
Guro Roger has over 25 yrs. experience in the martial arts. He studied Tae Kwon Do, and is a Black Belt under World Champion John Chung. He trained in Japan and has over 10 years training with the Jo ( Japanese stick ) and is a Black Belt in the "Jo" as well. He has trained with Professor Presas in the past, and has trained in Arnis at the MFA Academy for over 20 yrs. He is one of only 3 people to receive Instructors Certification from Guro Filardo and has earned his "Advanced Instructors Certification”.
He is a regular Instructor at all the Arnis training sessions and assists Guro Filardo in seminars and demonstrations. He also conducts invitation only private training sessions to advanced students.
“Iron" Mike Cardile
Mikey started out training in MFA's Junior Boxing/Kickboxing program in 2005 when he was 12 years old. Very dedicated from the beginning, Coach Joe saw his determination right away along with qualities you can't teach, like his discipline and heart. Mike had his first fight a week after his 17th birthday and has been fighting ever since. He has also won the WKA Eastern Regional Lightweight Title in 2011 and the Topkick Superfights Lightweight Title in 2012. He currently has a 19-1 recorded and recently fought in 2018 for the World WKA Lightweight Title against an opponent from Ireland. He is an assistant coach in the Jr. Boxing/Kickboxing program and continues to train for fights.
Advanced Student
Coach Joe Paolucci
Coach Paolucci has been training at MFA Gym in Kickboxing and Arnis for over 10 years., and also has an extensive background in Weight Training and Power Lifting. He too assists in the training of the fighters at MFA, and is a regular assistant to Coach Andy in the corner as well. He has recently earned his “Advanced student certification”
He is a regular training partner of Coach Filardo, and has become a trusted friend and confidant as well.