American Black Belt Academy

About American Black Belt Academy (ABBA)

ABBA Mission

To make a difference, by empowering others to significantly increase their human performance capabilities through classical martial arts strategies and success principles education.

Terry, Diana and Tiger.

ABBA Philosophy

As children of a gentler era or place, most of us remember our childhood as a happy and tranquil time. But, few children today are allowed the luxury of the same carefree life-style we enjoyed in our youth. Today's young people have been confronted from their very first encounters with a world that is full of fear and violence.

Child experts in Chicago recently stated that they have observed several major psychological problems, which seem to arise in children who grow up in violent environments. These include severe depression, general anxiety and post traumatic stress syndrome (which normally only plagues war veterans). These experts also stated that because children believe that their life spans will be brief they set severe limitations on their own capacities to achieve. This, obviously, produces in them a diminished view of the value of education.

Although most of our local schools are housed in far less violent environment than those the above experts describe, few places today are free of the constant threat of some level of violence. The faces of boys and girls who have been abducted locally are seen by children as they drink their milk each day. The number of sexual assaults was reportedly up 59% last year. And the latest report from the Justice Department showed that they country's violent trend was not going down. In fact, violent crime rose 5.6%.

Also, drugs, gangs and weapons can probably be found in every school in America today, no matter how affluent or poor the community it represents. We can't help but to be concerned about the effect all of this is having on the children entrusted into our care. Their legacy is to become the first generation of Americans forced to live their entire young lives under the constant threat of violence. How they deal with it will determine the future of this nation.

In the mid-50's and early 60's, psychologist Abraham Maslow presented what he believed to be the hierarchy of man's basic needs. He held that as long as lower needs remained unfulfilled, higher needs - such as a quest for greater knowledge - would not be pursued. One of the most basic needs of all is personal safety. Maslow held that everyone needed a predictable and safe world. If a child's need in this area went unfilled, he or she would feel mistrustful and insecure. Mistrust and insecurity would cause him or her to seek to establish, by whatever means possible, a greater degree of security. For many, this quest for security can lead them in a very dangerous direction.

From an educational standpoint, there are at least three problems, which can arise when a child feels - or - is vulnerable to violence. One, his or her performance can be reduced through a lack of focus, created by the necessity to spend an inordinate amount of time and energy worrying about being assaulted. Two, his or her performance in school can be reduced as a result of injuries received from an actual assault. Three, he or she may engage in negative behavior in order to fit in and gain the social acceptance and security of his or her peers. Some children's solution will be to join a gang. Although this may offer them a level of immediate security, it will do so at the expense of involving them in criminal activity - perhaps putting them at a far greater risk than they were before and encouraging them to drop out of school, thereby robbing them of any chance for later success.

The American Black Belt Academy’s Streetwise Self Defense Program offers comprehensive fixed length and on-going courses in personal protection for today's women, teens and children. By learning how to protect themselves, students gain a far greater degree of empowerment over their environment and obtain a decrease in stress level, allowing them to set their sights on higher personal achievement.

Our Emphasis is Always on Avoidance, Not Response

The famous Chinese general Sun Tzu, author of the classic The Art Of War, said that the greatest general is not the one who can defeat 100 armies in 100 battles. Rather; it is the one who can control things so well that the need to fight never arises. We agree. That is why our Streetwise Self Defense Program utilizes our unique Five-Step Approach To Personal Safety. These five steps enables our students, unlike those of other self-defense courses and martial arts programs, to avoid trouble altogether rather than to simply be taught how to respond to it physically.

This unique approach begins by first creating an awareness of various precautions, which a person can take to greatly reduce the probability that trouble, will arise in the first place. Second, it teaches awareness skills which allow a student to spot potential trouble before it can fully develop, enabling him or her sufficient time to take preventative measures. Third, it teaches negotiation skills which a person can use to defuse a possible assault. Fourth, it teaches how to evade an attacker, enabling a person to buy time until help can arrive or an opportunity to escape is presented. And fifth, it teaches a unique multi-level approach to self-defense, which enables a person to respond effectively, and with a minimum of force, when an assault can't be avoided. Again, the emphasis is always upon avoidance because this offers the safest and most sure way of dealing with any threat.

Every Person Deserves a Life Free of Fear

We believe that every person today deserves an opportunity to live his or her life as free of debilitating effects of violence as possible. This is not only in the person's best interest but also those of the nation. This is why the American Black Belt Academy is currently offering on-going programs in over 20 locations throughout the city. Programs include our Child Abduction Prevention Program for small children, and the Street-wise Karate and Self Defense Program for teens and adults. Courses range from a two-hour lecture/workshop to an on going, twice a week "Street-wise Karate" program. Facilities are available throughout the city. Alternatively, some programs can be given at your organization’s site.

If your group would like to host a Streetwise seminar for your organization, or would like more information about the nearest location offering an on-going Streetwise Karate Program, please contact Terry L. Bryan, President for the American Black Belt Academy at (800) 665-7051 Ext. ABBA (2222).

Master Bryan has an undergraduate degree in social work and child psychology, a masters in education and a Ph.D. in Sports Administration. As a 9^th Degree Black Belt and former General Secretary for the National Governing Body for the sport of Karate, Master Bryan is now concentrating his energy on the local community through the American Black Belt Academies commercial locations and by overseeing the Academy’s Streetwise Karate and Self Defense Programs throughout El Paso County and around the state.