Barnes has had a varied education, including a secondary education at Los Angeles High School. He continued at Pepperdine University, majoring in Communication Arts. He is a certified hypnotherapist, trained at the Transformative Arts Institute in San Anselmo, California.
His true passion, other than writing, is martial and physical arts. He is a Black Belt in Kenpo Karate, and Kodokan Judo. He holds an instructor certificate in Wu Ming Ta, and has an instructor candidate ranking in Filipino Kali stick and knife fighting. He is an advanced student in Jun Fan Kickboxing, and is an instructor in Wu Style Tai Chi Chuan. He is also an intermediate student in self defense pistol shooting.
He also holds a Brown Belt in Shorenji Jiu Jitsu, and intermediate rankings in Tae Kwon Do and Aikido. He has additional experience in boxing, Western fencing, wrestling, Wing Chun Kung Fu, Shotokan Karate, and French Savate.
He has completed the Yoga Works basic Hatha Yoga instructor program.
He is presently studying Pentjak Silat (an Indonesian fighting system) with Guru Stevan Plinck, and Ashtanga Yoga, an aerobic form of yoga.