The Self Defense Company Of Fort Worth
About
Hello. I do not teach standard karate or formal martial arts. From day one students learn practical and tactical self protection principles, and hands on tactics to protect themselves from the type of assaults that occur in the real world. After 25 years of trying different types of martial arts, I realized what I really wanted was actual self protection tactics - not useless forms or pointless board breaking demonstrations! You don't need to spend years attaining a black belt to learn to defend yourself. You do not have to be big, bad, or scary - you do not have to be a military veteran, or MMA champion. You can survive (or avoid) a fight or an assault by learning and practicing realistic responses to violence.
I love sharing my years of experience and knowledge with my students. Since I am a full time school teacher I do not have to rely on teaching self defense for my main income - this let's me charge reasonable prices, with no contracts, and no pressure on students to take more and more classes, pay for testing, ranks, uniforms, etc. I can focus on teaching realistic self defense strategies and tactics that are totally practical in a real life fight or self defence situation. Students don't waste any time learning unrealistic and impractical techniques that are completely useless in an actual assault. I love teaching self protection and my students can see that from day one - I am enthusiastic because I am doing something I genuinely believe in. Let me add that we also emphasize avoiding potentially violent situations, and also practice how to stay calm and how to attempt to de-escalate a potentially violent encounter. The greatest victory is the fight you never have. To achieve all of this requires physical and mental effort and commitment on the students part. You must be willing and able to engage in physical and mental exertion and interaction both standing and on the ground. We also do role playing in order to prepare for real life scenarios Most of the training is outside (weather permitting). We also try to make training fun and friendly! See me on facebook at The Self Defence Company of Fort Worth (read the About section). Stay safe!
Highlights
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Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
The first class I discuss the principles that are at the core of what I teach. Then I demonstrate the tactics that apply the principles. I usually demonstrate on one of my students. Then, when the new student is comfortable they get to try a few tactics themselves - they practice on me - I make a great training dummy! :)
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I have taken numerous types of self defense over many years, including 4 years of Jeet Kune Do and Filipino Martial Arts (Senior student and demo team member); three years of Shaolin Hun Gar Tiger Crane Kung Fu; Combatives: 2 years of KFM (Keysi Fightng Method); 7 years of The Self Defense Training System (Instructor rating); Seminars and instructor rating with Hock Hochheim's Force Necessary Combatives system; 1 year Combat Application Tactics (military based hand to hand combatives); plus many, many training seminars.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
$15 per lesson with small group at my home or local park; Same rate for private lessons at my location.
$20 per lesson at client's home or location of choice. I am in the south Ft. Worth area and this rate applies to travel within 15 miles of my location.
Group discount for more than three students.
How did you get started teaching?
After years of being a student I obtained teaching credentials through The Self Defense Training System, and with the Force Necessary Combatives system. I only felt ready to teach once I learned the "combatives" style of self protection which prepares people to defend themselves in realistic scenarios, as opposed to only knowing how to do karate style sparring which does NOT resemble real self defence at all. I have tested my knowledge and ability by attending seminars that allow students to spar using their skill set against others, who may have a totally different background - I was very successful and have had other participants ask me "what style are you doing, it is really effective."
What types of students have you worked with?
Many totally inexperienced students - they are easier to teach as they don't have a lot of preconceived ideas. I have also taught some experienced martial artists and they are impressed at how effective and "no nonesense" my methods are as compared to their traditional style of fighting is.
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
I earned my Basic Instructor level certification at a seminar about three years ago. The certification is based on demonstrated proficency in several different skills - not on doing kata (forms), breaking boards, or other demonstrations, which have no use in actual self defence. It validated that I was on the right path in my own fighting skills and my ability to teach others.
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
Simple, do you want or need: traditional martial arts training where you learn to do lots and lots of kata (forms), lots of impractical techniques which don't work in a real altercation, breaking boards (pointless); signing a contract so you can spend years paying to earn meaningless belts that don't demonstrate actual fighting ability...? Or do you want/need to learn how to actually fight and/or defend yourself against actual violence? Don't be intimidated by my words - while I teach real self defence, it is done in a very friendly and sociable way.
What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?
As already described, you need to know what you want out of your training. If you want to wear a nice karate outfit and train at a strip mall dojo with lots of other people, and spend time and money earning meaningless belts, then I'm not for you. If you want to train with a friendly, but serious instructor who can teach you how to actually fight and/or defend yourself against real world violence, give me a call!