These letters were written by students of Sifu Martin Kelly, as testimonials for his training methods and the Self Care Arts curriculum.
December 19, 2006
Self Care Arts was the 5th kung fu school I looked at, and now I’ve been with Self Care Arts for nearly three years. Sifu Kelly is a great instructor, and I truly enjoy learning from him. Sifu Kelly has had no trouble adjusting to my deafness.
I recently attended an Empty Hands and Knife Defense seminar taught by Grandmaster Maier, which I enjoyed. I’d love to see how his blind and wheelchair black belts have learned ninjutsu!
When I think about how much I have to learn, I see a long hall filled with books. That’s how much I have to learn.
I feel very privileged to be under Sifu Kelly’s tutelage. When I found out his Grandmaster also taught Bruce Lee, I felt even more privileged.
M. Dowds
July, 2006
At 46 years of age my body had begun to let me down. After all the training I had done in the military I felt that my body simply wasn’t cooperating.
As a Non-Commissioned officer I was responsible not only for maintaining an extraordinary level of fitness but also teaching my men to do the same. We all worked hard to max the PT test and I regularly scored 300 pts, the highest score possible.
I continued running and weight training over the years but as I approach middle age I feel real changes in the way my body feels and recovers from stress. Tennis elbow in both arms stemming from my work in the HVAC industry had stopped me from doing many of the activities I had enjoyed like weight training and mountain biking. Often I was plagued by plantar fascitis and was forced to wear special insoles in my shoes to keep the pain at bay. Having been acquainted with Tai chi practice years ago I decided to investigate the teachers here in Colorado Springs in order to find authentic training.
After training at Self-Care Arts under the guidance of Sifu Kelly I began to get positive results. Not only did my pain diminish significantly after only a few months of training, but I was having a real ball doing it! The atmosphere cultivated by Sifu Kelly is one of friendly helpfulness. The senior students are more than ready to help a beginner understand and apply the techniques and forms making learning extremely enjoyable.
In addition to the health benefits of training in Tai Chi I also found something that had been missing in previous martial art training, that of the spiritual side of the practice. Sifu Kelly shows us the inner journey as well as the outer, encouraging us to look inside ourselves to find the spiritual gifts we all possess. As of this writing I have also begun Sifu Kelly’s “Fighting for Fitness” program and find my level of fitness getting better and better. In many ways I feel healthier than I ever did during my years of grueling Infantry training, and look forward to maintaining an exceptional level of fitness and well-being regardless of aging.
Thanks Sifu Kelly!
Mark S.
Contractor and former US Army Infantry Sergeant
6-11-94
This is a letter of appreciation for what Martin Kelly has done for me in the teaching of my ladies self defense class.
Throughout the years I have enrolled in several karate schools in an effort to become more confident and competent in self defense. Martin Kelly is the only instructor who taught pure self defense and a method of self defense by a woman for women.
The other schools which I have been involved in taught karate and how to defend against certain attacks. You had to be very physically fit, agile and remember which defense tactic to use. I am no longer a 20 year old who is physically fit and quick on my feet. I have no wish to become an expert in karate in order to have enough practice to remember which hold applies to which attack.
Martin Kelly’s teaching methods have given me the confidence that I very definitely can defend myself. His methods are simple. They do take practice, but not nearly the practice and years it takes to master a specific hold against a specific attack and remember how to do it in the right sequence, and of course, maintaining the right tone of conditioning to pull it off.
In my opinion, Martin Kelly’s course is a must for every woman. Most men could benefit as well.
DTW
February 6, 2004
To Whom It May Concern:
I began training in Wing Chun with Martin Kelly in June of 2003. I decided to train in Wing Chun to get a better understanding of martial arts and to enhance my performance. I have been training in Karate since May of 2000 when I was 48 years old. Last year when I started Wing Chun I had decided to begin competing in tournaments and I figured that at my age I could use all the help I could get. I plan to begin competing this summer and I will compete in forms, sparring, and weapons. After more training I would also like to compete in grappling. Wing Chun has helped me to understand body mechanics and redirecting force and also has given me a different approach to the overall principals of martial arts that has helped me in my competition training.
I am 52 years old now and have concerns about staying healthy, fit, and without injury. Self Care Arts has helped me to understand my limits but has also helped me to increase my fitness level safely while having fun. I plan to continue training in Wing Chun to black sash. I hope to continue in martial arts for the rest of my life. For me, training in martial arts has been fun, active, educational and has given me confidence as well as increasing my endurance. I would recommend training at Self Care Arts to anyone, regardless of age, as a lifetime endeavor.
SJP