John Whitman (author) facts for kids

John Whitman is an American author and a skilled martial arts teacher. He is known for starting the Krav Maga Alliance. He also used to be the president of Krav Maga Worldwide.

John Whitman's Early Life

John Whitman was born on February 13, 1967. He went to the University of California, Berkeley, from 1985 to 1989. There, he earned a degree in literature. Later, he studied at Boston University from 1990 to 1991. He received a master's degree in creative writing.

When he was younger, John Whitman faced some scary situations. These experiences made him want to learn how to defend himself. In October 1991, he saw his first demonstration of Krav Maga.

Learning and Teaching Krav Maga

John Whitman started the Krav Maga Alliance. He has been teaching Krav Maga since 1994. For eight years, he was the president of Krav Maga Worldwide. He was also the first person in the world to get a Senior Instructor degree from the Wingate Institute.

Whitman teaches Krav Maga to everyday people and to military members. He also helped create training programs for other Krav Maga instructors. He has written two books about this martial art. He continues to teach Krav Maga today.

He holds instructor degrees from several places. These include the Krav Maga Association of America, Krav Maga Worldwide, and Wingate University. In 2017, John Whitman earned a sixth-degree Black Belt in Krav Maga. He also helped create the Krav Maga Pro app. He has also been the CEO of Focus Self Defense and Fitness.

John Whitman's Writing Career

From 1991 to 1999, John Whitman worked as an editor for Time Warner Audio books. He also wrote scripts for different Star Wars radio shows. He even helped finish scripts by another writer, Brian Daley, after Daley passed away.

Star Wars: Galaxy of Fear Series

Between 1997 and 1998, Whitman wrote the Star Wars: Galaxy of Fear series. These were horror books for young readers, set in the Star Wars universe. The books were inspired by the popular Goosebumps series. Originally, only six books were planned. However, Lucasfilm asked Whitman to write twelve books instead.

Whitman was asked to include a character named Mammon Hoole in the series. Most of the other characters in Galaxy of Fear were created by Whitman. But the books also featured characters from the Star Wars movies. Whitman even had to get permission from George Lucas to have a character named Dr. Evazan die in one of his stories.

Other Books and Games

John Whitman wrote other Star Wars books too. These include A Droid's Tale, Luke Skywalker's Race Against Time, and The Greatest Battles. He also wrote dialogue for the Droid Works video game.

Beyond Star Wars, he has written books based on the 24 TV show. He also wrote adaptations of Digimon and The Mummy Returns.

In 2023, Whitman started writing again. He published Disunion: Book One - The Mantiz Gambit. This is the first book in a new science fiction series.