Connecticut · Statewide & Beyond · Since 2002
Real Skill.
Taught Properly.
Four serious self-defense training methods, taught separately and at depth — Jeet Kune Do, Krav Maga, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Filipino Martial Arts. Private and semi-private instruction from a black-belt instructor with 40 years on the mat and a master’s degree in how people actually learn.
24
Years Teaching
4
Black Belts Earned
8
Arts Credentialed to Teach
20+
Arts Studied
1000s
Students Taught
Why people come to MSDC
Most martial arts schools ask for years before you get anything useful.
We started from a different question in 2002: what if you could walk out of your very first lesson with a skill you didn’t have when you walked in? Then we built every lesson after that the same way.
That isn’t a shortcut — it’s instructional design. Our head instructor holds a master’s degree in curriculum and learning design from Purdue, and he uses it. Sequencing, feedback, retention under stress: these are solved problems in education, and almost nobody in the martial arts world applies them.
The result is training that feels calm and friendly while it moves fast. No hazing. No injuries collected as badges. No belt treadmill. No fear-selling.
Promise 01
Usable skill from day one
Every lesson is built backward from a capability you’ll own by the end of it. You leave with something, not with homework toward something.
Promise 02
Safe, sustainable training
Training that wrecks your body or feeds your paranoia is a nonstarter. We train for a longer, better quality of life — the fitness and the confidence are baked in, not pasted on.
Promise 03
Adults treated like adults
You set the goal, the pace, and the frequency. We tell you honestly what’s on the menu, help you pick what’s right for you, and then get you good at it.
Four separate programs. One complete picture.
Pick one. Or build your own combination.
These are not a blended “self-defense system.” Each is a complete art with its own lineage, curriculum, and rank structure — taught at a high level by an instructor credentialed in all four. Train one. Train two. Train all four. Your call.
Since 2003
Jeet Kune Do
Bruce Lee’s method, not an imitation of his moves. A framework for reading a situation and adapting to it — taught here at Level 2 instructor certification under Professor Roy Harris.
Since 2002
Krav Maga
The hand-to-hand system built for people who need results fast and under stress. Taught by an instructor certified by the IKMF — the original global Krav Maga federation, founded by the creator of Krav Maga.
Since 1997 · Gi & No-Gi
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
White belt through black belt, gi and no-gi, for self-defense, competition, or MMA. Black belt lineage under Professor Roy Harris — the “teacher’s teacher” of BJJ.
Since 1991
Filipino Martial Arts
Modern Arnis (Lakan under Grandmaster Remy Presas), the Inosanto Blend of Kali, and Kalis Ilustrisimo. Stick, blade, and empty-hand-against-weapon at a serious level.
Four ways to work with us
Choose the format that fits your life.
MSDC is built around customized-for-you instruction, not around a class schedule you have to organize your week against.
Most Popular
Private Lessons
$120
/ hour in central Connecticut
- One-on-one with a black-belt instructor — the entire hour is about you
- Any topic: a full program, a single skill, or a specific problem you’re trying to solve
- Book 30- or 60-minute blocks; meet once or every week
- Train at our location, your home, or your office
- Remote HD video and live VR options available worldwide
Semi-Private Lessons
$120
/ hour, split up to 5 ways
- Bring your spouse, your kid, a friend, or your training partners — up to 5 people total
- Same individualized coaching, split cost per person
- Ideal for couples, families, small teams, and study groups
- Built-in training partners, which some skills genuinely require
- Same scheduling flexibility as private lessons
Seminars & Workshops
From $120
/ hour, custom quoted
- We bring an expert instructor to your location, anywhere in Connecticut and beyond
- Corporate, university, healthcare, public agency, nonprofit, and martial arts school groups
- Curriculum built for your audience — not a canned presentation
- Any group size: our record so far is 300 people at once
- Trusted by Wesleyan, Trinity, SCSU, Mitchell College, Suffield Academy, and more
Online Courses
Self-paced
Lifetime access
- Full curricula in self-defense and in each of the four programs
- 1080p HD video plus one-of-a-kind virtual reality training
- Practice templates and follow-along drills, not just demonstrations
- Any device, any time zone, 24/7 — keep it forever
- Designed by an instructional designer, which is why they actually work
Why trust the instruction
Credentials you can check.
Anyone can call themselves a self-defense expert. Here is the paper trail — every rank traceable to a named teacher and a real organization.
Ranked, not self-appointed
Black belts in Kenpo Karate, 4th degree (Lee Lowery, 2001), Modern Arnis Lakan (Remy Presas, 2001), Budoshin Ju-Jitsu (George Kirby, 2011), and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (Roy Harris, 2012 — ten years after restarting the art from white belt under him). Krav Maga instructor certification and G1 awarded by the International Krav Maga Federation (2023). Instructor credentials in eight arts total.
Published and covered
Author of Knack Self-Defense for Women (Globe Pequot), available in bookstores everywhere. Instruction featured on the front page of the Sunday Middletown Press, the NBC Connecticut evening news, and twice on the ABC News homepage.
Hired by institutions
Designed and taught the self-defense course for Wesleyan University’s Athletics Department for several years as their only non-faculty instructor. Also: UConn, Trinity College, Southern Connecticut State, Mitchell College, University of Saint Joseph, Suffield Academy, and corporate and government groups.
Going to the source
Phenomenal Training Opportunities Since 2002
Photographs from four decades of training with the people who shaped each discipline — most of them taken at MSDC, where we’ve hosted many of these instructors for seminars since 2002.
Getting started
Four steps, and none of them involve a sales pitch.
There’s no contract, no membership tier, and no trial-class-to-hard-close funnel. You tell us what you want; we tell you honestly whether we’re the right fit.
Send us the form
Two minutes. Tell us what you’re interested in and what your schedule looks like.
Have a real conversation
We reply personally — usually within one business day — to talk through goals, constraints, and what’s actually going to help you. Including telling you if we’re not the right answer.
Take your first lesson
You leave it with a skill. That is the whole design goal.
Decide what’s next
Once, occasionally, or weekly for years. Some clients take three lessons and are done. Some have trained with us since 2002.
Common questions
Straight answers.
Do I need to be in shape or have experience?
No. Our clients range from athletes to people who haven’t exercised in a decade, from teenagers to people in their seventies. Private and semi-private instruction is the format for this — the lesson is built around your body and your starting point, not around the average of a room.
Where is Modern Self-Defense Center located, and how far do you travel?
MSDC is based in central Connecticut and serves clients throughout the state — Hartford, New Haven, Middlesex, Fairfield, and Litchfield counties — plus greater New England. We also travel nationally for seminars and workshops, and teach remotely worldwide by HD video and virtual reality. Reach out and we’ll tell you exactly what’s practical for your location.
What does private self-defense training cost?
Private and semi-private lessons are $120 per hour in central Connecticut, billed by the lesson — no membership, no contract, no package requirement. Semi-private groups split that rate up to five people. Live VR lessons are $75 per half hour. Travel outside the local area and seminars for groups are quoted individually.
Can I train more than one art at a time?
Yes, and many clients do. The four programs are taught separately and at full depth, so you can pursue rank in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu while also working Krav Maga, or spend a block of lessons on Filipino weapons work and come back to it later. Because instruction is private, you control the mix.
Is this going to hurt?
It shouldn’t. Safe training is a design constraint here, not an afterthought — our instructor is Level 2 certified in the Functional Movement Screen and builds sessions that develop skill without accumulating damage. You should feel like you worked, not like you got beaten up.
Do you teach women’s self-defense specifically?
Yes. Chris Martell is the author of Knack Self-Defense for Women and has designed and delivered women’s self-defense programming for universities, wellness offices, and private groups for over two decades. This is available as private instruction, as a semi-private group with friends, or as a workshop for your organization.
Go to bed tonight with skills
you didn’t have this morning.
Tell us what you want to be able to do. We’ll tell you how to get there — and whether we’re the right people to help.