Starfire is a scientist, educator, and healer who has studied the martial and healing arts for 30 years. His lifelong fascination with energy led him to study Physics at U.C. Berkeley where he was an alumni scholar. After graduating with a B.A. in Physics he spent several years working as an engineer in Silicon Valley. A meeting with a Cal Tech professor sparked an intense interesst in the study of how subtle energies in the body cause health or disease.

Studying an extensive array of healing modalities led to certifications in herbology and massage therapy, as well as a Ph.D. in Nutritional Science from the College of Life Science. Starfire received specialized training in Applied Kinesiology, a system of healing that restores balance to a person's unique energy field, allowing them to heal from many different conditions. He has worked with many people, some of who were considered "incurable". Starfire is certified by the California Board of Education to teach this form of holistic healing known as Touch for Health and has taught hundreds of people, including doctors, psychotherapists, dentists, chiropractors, and bodyworkers at community centers, colleges and massage schools in Hawaii and California.

Starfire's martial arts training started with Tai Chi in 1975 and has included training in Judo, Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Kung Fu, and Kickboxing. He holds a blackbelt ranking in Hapkido from U.C. Berkeley where he competed in mixed martial art tournaments. He began teaching Tai Chi in 1983 and has taught over a thousand people ranging in age from 9 to 94. His philosophy of exercise is, "use safe, natural movements that create harmony and health for the body. Learn a form that is enjoyable and interesting so it can be practiced for a lifetime. Make the movements a meditation so the mind is trained in addition to the body.