We do not… Teach tournament or sport karate. Allow children to train in the adult’s class. Make it easy on you. Promise you a black belt in two years.

We do… Require hard work and dedication. Provide an education. Teach real world street-wise self defense. Tend to precipitate a life-style change.

When you begin your study of the martial arts, you actually start a journey of discovery. The path you tread will lead you to places – physically, mentally and spiritually – that will cause you to change your outlook on life… if you are willing to give yourself up to the journey. Martial training leads to self-discovery, and to a real respect for the sanctity of life. You learn things like tenacity, patience, perseverance, compassion, history, philosophy, the difference between fear and respect… and the list goes on.

When you study the science of self-defense, you learn things like body mechanics, targeting of vital points, kinematics, strategy, adrenaline response conditioning, weapons, alertness and awareness habituation, de-escalation skills, anatomy, physiology, psychology… and again, the list goes on.

On a purely physical level, the two concepts can be equated as a single course of study. After all, almost every martial art school in the world claims to be teaching self-defense. But philosophically, the difference is like night and day (or, yin and yang). That’s because the purpose of studying the martial arts is to learn how to respect yourself, and through that process, how to respect and help others. Therefore, martial art training involves traditions, rules of conduct, standards of behavior, and an emphasis on control that allows one to train diligently and earnestly without endangering or hurting your fellow students. Martial arts are about the pursuit of perfection through controlled, balanced movements: Movements based on combat applications in a perfect world.

Self-defense focuses on the science of combat-situation survival in the real world – be it battlefield or urban streets. The rules are simple; keep it simple, and learn to use and do whatever necessary to survive.

Chinese Kempo Karate is a self-defense oriented martial art, but it has traditions, philosophies, and rules of conduct that allow its practitioners to train seriously in all aspects of the martial life-style while focusing on the reality of personal safety and self-defense.

The reality of martial art training for the dual purpose of self-improvement and self-defense requires an understanding of a basic truth: most martial arts programs simply do not prepare the practitioners for the reality of urban self-defense. A great many of the defensive techniques being taught - and that work so well in the controlled classroom (dojo) environment - will not work in the unpredictable world of reality. Martial art training makes a good augmentation to self-defense, and vice-versa, but in and of themselves most martial art programs are at best only semi-effective for self-defense purposes.

For this reason, FSSD utilizes a dual training program that teaches the Chinese Kempo as a complete martial art while at the same time providing corollary instruction on how to modify select martial art techniques into simple and effective natural-movement based techniques that are quick and brutally effective in real-world application. The ‘Strictly Self-Defense’® curriculum is exactly that – a program of study devoted to honing street survival skills. No movements requiring fine motor skill, no high or fancy kicks, no tournament or sport techniques – just straightforward, proven techniques based on natural stress response movements.

At Fullen’s School of Self Defense, we want you to be able to improve the quality of your life both physically and spiritually. We want you to gain an appreciation for the beauty of the martial arts lifestyle. But, just as importantly, we want you to be truly able to defend yourself if necessary.

Fullen’s School of Self Defense

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