Four separate programs. One complete picture.
Not a Blend.
Four Real Arts.
A lot of schools stir several arts together and call the result a system. We don’t. Jeet Kune Do, Krav Maga, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Filipino Martial Arts are each taught as themselves — with their own lineage, curriculum, and standards — by an instructor formally credentialed in all four. Train one. Train two. Train all of them.
1991
Filipino Martial Arts Since
1997
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Since
2002
Krav Maga Since
2003
Jeet Kune Do Since
8
Arts Credentialed to Teach
Our position
Blending is what you do after you understand the pieces.
Every serious art solves the problem of violence differently, and those differences are the point. Krav Maga’s answer to a threat and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’s answer to the same threat are not the same answer — and both are correct in their own context.
When a school mashes them into a house style, students lose access to that reasoning. They learn a set of moves without learning the logic that generated them, which means they can’t adapt when the situation doesn’t match the drill.
So we keep them clearly identified. You learn Krav Maga as Krav Maga, taught as the curriculum your instructor was certified in. You learn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, ranked in the Roy Harris lineage. And because you’re learning them from one instructor who holds credentials in both, you get something rare: an honest, informed comparison between systems, from someone with no reason to sell you one over the other.
That’s also the answer to “which one should I do?” — ask us. We have no incentive to steer you.
How to choose — the short version
- Want practical skills fast, with minimal complexity? Krav Maga.
- Want to be genuinely hard to beat, and enjoy a deep, technical, lifelong practice? Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
- Want to understand why techniques work and build your own approach? Jeet Kune Do.
- Want weapons, disarms, and the best hand-speed and coordination work in the martial arts? Filipino Martial Arts.
- Still unsure? Book one private lesson and say so on the form. We’ll help you experience all four, so you can find the right mix for you.
“The purpose of a self-defense instructor is threefold: to let you know what options are on the menu, to help you choose the ones that feel most appropriate for you, and then to help you develop those options.”
Chris Martell
The programs
Four doors into the same building.
Program 01 · Taught here since 2003
Jeet Kune Do
Bruce Lee’s method, not a museum of his techniques. JKD is a framework for reading a situation and adapting to it — a way of thinking about combat that makes every other art you touch more useful.
If Krav Maga is the Cliff’s Notes of self-defense, Jeet Kune Do uses the whole library, carefully curated. It’s the program for people who want to understand the machinery, not just operate it.
Credential: Level 2 Jeet Kune Do Instructor, certified in 2003, 2010, and 2011 under Professor Roy Harris, Harris International.
Best for
- Experienced martial artists who want to break out of one style’s assumptions
- Analytical people who need the “why” alongside the “how”
- Anyone building a personal approach rather than inheriting one
- Instructors and coaches who want better teaching frameworks
Program 02 · Taught here since 2002
Krav Maga
The hand-to-hand system developed for the Israeli military, built on one requirement: it has to be learnable quickly, performable under high stress, and retained long after training stops.
Your instructor is certified to teach Krav Maga by the International Krav Maga Federation — the original global organization, founded by the creator of Krav Maga himself. Our methodology is built for exceptionally safe training while developing skill at an accelerated pace: the right fit for professionals who cannot afford injuries or ego contests.
Credential: Krav Maga instructor certification and G1 awarded by the IKMF (2023); original instructor certification under Master Rhon Mizrachi (2002).
Best for
- Busy professionals who want a real skill built quickly
- People with zero martial arts background and no interest in acquiring a hobby
- Anyone whose job involves unpredictable people
- Training partners who want to avoid injury and competitive attitudes
Program 03 · Taught here since 2002 · Gi & No-Gi
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
The elite, battle-tested grappling system preferred by combat athletes and militaries alike — offered here at all levels, white belt through black belt, with and without the gi.
MSDC was teaching BJJ in Connecticut in 2002, when schools in New England were few and far between. Train it for self-defense, for grappling competition, for MMA, or simply because it is one of the most rewarding physical practices a person can take up. Rank is awarded on demonstrated skill against the standard of the lineage.
Credential: Black Belt awarded 2012 under Professor Roy Harris, Harris International — widely known as the “teacher’s teacher” of BJJ — ten years after restarting the art from white belt under him in 2002. Also Associate Level Instructor in gi and no-gi grappling, certified 2006.
Best for
- Anyone who wants demonstrable, testable skill against a resisting opponent
- Smaller or less athletic people — BJJ was built for exactly this
- Competitors, gi and no-gi
- People who want a lifelong practice with real depth and a real belt
Program 04 · Taught here since 1991
Filipino Martial Arts
Modern Arnis, the Inosanto Blend of Kali, and Kalis Ilustrisimo — weapons systems admired worldwide for their efficacy with sticks and blades of all sizes, and for empty-hand disarms against weapons of all kinds.
FMA is also, quietly, the best coordination and attribute training in the martial arts. The stick work builds hand speed, timing, and left-right integration that transfer directly into empty-hand skill. And weapons awareness is not an exotic specialty — it’s a practical gap in most people’s training.
Credential: Lakan (Black Belt) in Modern Arnis, awarded 2001 by the late founder Grandmaster Remy Presas; Level 1 Filipino Martial Arts Instructor, certified 2011 under Professor Roy Harris; direct study of Kalis Ilustrisimo with Mang Romy Macapagal.
Best for
- Anyone serious about weapon awareness, defense, and disarms
- Martial artists who want dramatically better hand speed and coordination
- People who want something genuinely different and deeply fun to train
- Instructors seeking a rare, credentialed lineage in the US Northeast
Side by side
An honest comparison.
Written by someone credentialed in all four, with no reason to favor any of them.
| Program | Time to useful skill | What it’s genuinely best at | What it doesn’t cover well alone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Krav Maga | Fastest — first lesson | Simple, aggressive responses that survive panic. Crisis prevention and rapid disengagement. | Extended ground fighting; weapons work. |
| Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu | A few short months to real competence, and it never stops improving | Controlling a larger, resisting person. Verifiable skill. Physical and mental depth. Combat sport, for those who want that too. | Multiple attackers; weapons; striking exchanges. |
| Jeet Kune Do | Depends on background — fastest for experienced martial artists | Adaptability, distance management, and understanding why anything works. | It’s a framework, not a fixed curriculum — less linear for those who like a structured checklist. |
| Filipino Martial Arts | Weeks for functional weapon fundamentals | Weapons, disarms, coordination, hand speed, and empty-hand-vs-weapon problems. | Ground fighting; sustained grappling. |
The obvious conclusion
- The gaps in each column are covered by the other rows. That’s not an accident — it’s the reason MSDC teaches all four separately under one roof.
- A very common path: start with Krav Maga for skills built quickly, add Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for depth, then use Jeet Kune Do to make sense of both and Filipino Martial Arts to close the weapons gap.
- An equally valid path: pick one and go deep for twenty years. We have clients doing both.
Also available by request
Beyond the four core programs.
Because our head instructor holds teaching credentials in eight arts, these are available to private clients on request.
Budoshin Ju-Jitsu
White belt through black belt. A traditional Japanese ju-jitsu curriculum for students who want a traditional experience. Black belt awarded 2011 under Professor George Kirby.
Kenpo Karate
4th Degree Black Belt, awarded 2001 under Professor Lee Lowery, Middletown Kenpo Karate Studio — where our head instructor trained and taught for nearly twenty years.
Boxe Française Savate
French kickboxing for sport, fitness, or self-defense. A discipline of finesse that deceives opponents with changes of rhythm, distance, and angle. Green Glove, awarded 2008.
Movement & Conditioning
Functional Movement Screen Level 2 and Functional Capacity Screen certified. Useful on its own, and the reason our training doesn’t accumulate injuries.
Guest instructors we’ve hosted since 2002
- Roy Harris — 7th degree BJJ black belt
- Roy Dean — 4th Degree BJJ black belt
- Dr. Mark Cheng — functional movement and kettlebell expert
- Jason Lambert — UFC veteran, WEC champion
- Mang Romy Macapagal — Kalis Ilustrisimo
- Armando Basulto — Boxe Française Savate
- Sayoc Kali, Aikido, Wing Chun, and other experiences to enhance our students’ training
Hosting nationally-recognized guest instructors in central Connecticut for more than twenty years. We keep a keen eye out for training that will enhance the skills of our students, offer them a fresh perspective, or give them some additional tools in their personal safety toolbox. While the instructors at MSDC are always continuing to learn new things and expand their teaching skills, we also recognize that the world is full of expertise that we don’t have – so we find it and we bring it here to share with all of you.
Not sure which one?
That’s a good reason to call.
Tell us what you want to be able to do and we’ll tell you which program gets you there — even if the honest answer is “not us.”