Brent Hamby began his training in martial arts at an early age. As a teenager he earned a black belt in full-contact Karate and trained extensively in boxing and kickboxing. He competed in dozens of tournaments. In his later teens, his interest in Taoist and Buddhist philosophy and meditation drew him to Chinese martial arts. Inspired by reading the 'Chronicles of Tao' Brent moved to San Francisco to study with Taoist master Kwan Sai Hung. Kwan is the subject of the popular book 'Chronicles of Tao' and a legend in his own right. Kwan's school, located at Fort Mason, was closed to the public and the training session were 4 hours in length. The emphasis of the training was rigorous body conditioning, internal development through chi kung, yoga and meditation, and philosophical study. Around the same time Brent also graduated from UC Berkeley. When Kwan moved away from the Bay Area, Brent sought out his next teacher in Wong Jack Man who was also teaching at Fort Mason. Sifu Wong is a Northern Shaolin grandmaster from the Jing Mo association who has been teaching in San Francisco since 1961. Although famous for his fight with Bruce Lee, Wong's true character and skill are known by few. Wong's level of skill and mastery is beyond any normal standards. Under Wong Brent learned the Sun style Hsing I system, Yang style Tai Chi system, and Northern Shaolin system. It is Wong's system that Brent teaches at the EBM Kung Fu Academy.

In 1993 Brent and two other top students from Wong's school started the EBM Kung Fu Academy, an educational non-profit organization devoted to the promotion of Chinese martial arts. In 1998 Brent formed the Oakland San Shou Team. As a fighter Brent has captured several titles in the 80 kilo class, including a silver medal in the 1998 USAWKF Nationals and the Gold medal at the 1999 USAWKF Nationals. Earning over 30 titles in San Shou over the past several years, Oakland San Shou Team has become one of the top US teams. Brent also served as one of the two coaches on the (USAWKF) US San Shou Team with Gao Jian Mei in Macau China in 2003 and with Cung Le in Hanoi Vietnam in 2005. Brent continues to grow as a martial artist, a fighter, and a teacher, through daily practice and devotion. Brent presently lives and teaches in Oakland California.