Koo Self Defense
Welcome to our award winning site one of the most popular visited martial arts and self defense site on the internet! The Koo Self Defense site is ranked in the top ten for most of the popular search engines such as Google, Yahoo, AOL, ASK, MSN, Alta Vista, Gigablast, Kartoo and others for many different keywords.
Since 1996, the number of visitors to the Koo Self Defense site has steadily been increasing and has currently reached 30,000+ new visits and 1,000,000+ hits per month!
Site Updated May 5, 2008
Free (Wi-Fi) Broadband Wireless Internet Access for members and their familes at our Cartersville studio. Bring your own notebook/laptop
Training Programs Offered:
Belts / No Belts
Below is a list of all the benefits from our workout
KSD Kickboxing Aerobics
KSD Anaerobics
Anger Management
Awesome Knockout Power
Balance
Boxing Movements
Concentration
Co-ordination
Crunches
Dirty Fighting
Endurance
Health
Fitness
Flexibility
Interval Training
Jump Rope
Kick Boxing
Mental Focus
Mobility
Muscle Fibers
Fast-Slow Twitch
Muscle Tone
Physical Therapy
Plyometrics
Power Drills
Push-ups
Resistance Training
Rhythm
Self Defense
Sit-Ups
Speed Drills
Stamina Drills
Stomach Crunches
Stretching Static/Dynamic
Street Combat
Street Fighting
Stress Reduction
Strength
Total Body Workouts
Weight Reduction
Yoga
Cartersville, Metro Atlanta, Georgia, USA, Home of the World Youngest Black Belts
VIDEO CLIPS Taken April 2002
Master Koo's personal bag workout up to 3 minutes nonstop
Master Koo's speed pushups
More of Master Koo's personal bag workout up to 3 minutes nonstop
Master Koo's non stop kicking bag work
Master Koo's jumping pushups on knuckles
A Lunch time Class - Stamina Legs
Jorge Manrique - Fast Combination Hands
David Center practising for black belt test - 3 plastic rebreakable boards
David Center practising for black belt test - 4 plastic rebreakable boards
David Center practising for black belt test - 4 plastic rebreakable boards
David Center practising for black belt test - 4 plastic rebreakable boards
David Center practising for black belt test - 4 plastic rebreakable boards
David Center practising for black belt test - 5 plastic rebreakable boards
David Center practising for black belt test - 3 plastic rebreakable aboards
Michael Roberson breaking 4 brand new plastic rebreakable boards at his 1st. Degree test September 28, 2002
Michael Roberson performs very fast hand combinations 18 hits in 6 seconds
Eliza Casey breaking 1 black plastic rebreakable board takes 366 lbs. to break
Video clips below taken April 22, 2003
David Tillman achieved his black belt at 6 years old on November 1 2003! Another one of The World's Youngest Black Belts from Koo Self Defense!
David Tillman (brown belt), 6 years old breaking 1 plastic rebrekable board with left side kick
David Tillman (brown belt), 6 years old breaking 1 plastic rebrekable board with downward kick
David Tillman (brown belt), 6 years old breaking 1/2 plastic rebrekable board with right round kick
David Tillman (brown belt), 6 years old performs 2 against 1 shield sparring
David Tillman (brown belt), 6 years old performs left side kick on shield knocking down his partner
David Tillman (brown belt), 6 years old performs free choice drills on shields
David Tillman (brown belt), 6 years old performs 2 against 1 shield sparring
From April 2002, you will be able to view more action photos and video clips of KSD students from Cartersville studio in action on their web sites
A new and interesting search engine "Kartoo.com"
It is worth a visit
Master Koo and his students have appeared on numerous television channels (1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998) both in the United Kingdom and the USA.
This article on Koo Self Defense appeared in "The Daily Tribune Newspaper" on Monday, June 9, 2003
This article "The Art of War" appeared in "The Bartow Neighbor" on Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Congratulations to my son Gregory Koo ranked in the top 10 percent of high school scholars in the USA!
Congratulations to my son Gregory Koo for achieving 4th place in The Post Level of the American Legion High School Oratorical Contest. Article appeared in The Daily Tribune February 1, 2005
Photo of Shela Landers appeared on the front page of The Bartow Neighbor Newspaper, February 2, 2005
Photo of Kimberly Castillo and Brandon Rice appeared in The Bartow Neighbor Newspaper, Wednesday, January 4, 2006The following article entitled "Pursuing a total body workout program" by Sara Crawford appeared in The Daily Tribune's special supplement on 'Health and Fitness', Sunday February 26, 2006
Photo of Dax Edwards, 7 years old Kicking in the article on Koo Self Defense which appeared in The Bartow Neighbor Newspaper, Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Article on Gemma Koo which appeared in The Bartow Neighbor Newspaper, Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Photos of new Black Belts in The Bartow Neighbor Newspaper, Wednesday, December 19, 2007For other published newspaper articles CLICK HERE
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Koo Self Defense is definitely not a traditional martial art nor a mixture of different styles of martial arts. Koo Self Defense has a different approach to training its students for health, fitness and street self defense! There are hundreds of different martial arts' styles in the world today. All of them are variations of each other except for Koo Self Defense which is not a style but was uniquely created from an out of the box approach which is from a street fighting viewpoint. All martial arts training systems have been created with artificial movements that do not even relate to the real world except for one, Koo Self Defense. Koo Self Defense offers the complete total body cardiovascular workout program (mind & body) for martial arts training, self defense, health, fitness, physical therapy, street fighting and devastating knockout power! Koo Self Defense offers the most intense and vigorous exercise program. Every student trains at their own paces according to their level of fitness and builds up. You will not find a workout like Koo Self Defense anywhere in the world! An undisputable fact, a small portion of the world's population is born naturally gifted in sports, music, arts, sciences, academics, savants and geniuses. The same principle applies to natural street fighters. These individuals have no training of any type and yet posses natural knock out powers where they will demolish their opponent in seconds with simple boxing like punches. Everyone is born with different physical and mental abilities. What we do in Koo Self Defense is to enhance an individual natural ability by increasing their power through our rigorous KSD 'hyper-aerobics' a mixture of aerobic/anaerobic and power drills executed onto focus mitts/ shields at every single class. That's what makes Koo Self Defense cardiovascular training drills so unique as to enhance these natural movements' allowing the individual to challenge their body beyond its limits (if desired) and not through the unnatural mechanical techniques as found in other styles of martial arts. The late Bruce Lee was correct in his analysis that traditional and non traditional martial arts tends to follow the same path in their training curriculum and set themselves as a STYLE which in turns becomes a rigid system of training. He stipulated that a martial art training system should be as simple as possible and to the point without any kind of mysticisms or complicated movements. As Jeet Kune Do progressed, Bruce developed a system of training that involved full contact sparring which eventually he would find that his students would suffer enormous injuries should he have continued on the same path but he closed his three schools to focus on the movies instead. Although Jeet Kune Do broke all traditional martial arts' concept, it still contained blocks, sparring, wing chun techniques and so forth. Bruce Lee's book on Jeet Kune Do is full of analysis just like traditional martial arts. Master Roger Koo created Koo Self Defense from a completely different approach. Although he was trained in various martial arts, his unique concept was to develop a training curriculum NOT A STYLE based purely on a simple premise: A Martial Art & Self Defense training system = Extreme Physical Fitness + Devastating Power This is what Koo Self Defense represents. In our daily workouts, we do not focus on techniques as such, we focus on developing every student fitness level to the highest level that each individual student set as their individual goal. Complementary to that fitness training (Koo Self Defense Kick Boxing Hyper-Aerobics) which is inbuilt in the training program is the development of devastating power ( Anaerobic - Power Drills executed onto focus mitts and shields ). Since the creation of Koo Self Defense in February 1992, it has not ceases to evolve with more challenging KSD hyper- aerobics and anaerobic drills. With the development of this SIMPLE concept of training came great amounts of health benefit as noted in this web site from students who have trained in a short period of time. The premise of all martial arts and self defense system that has been taught for hundreds of years is totally wrong. Why? Because the movements they teach such as forms (katas), blocks, punching from the hips, rotation of the fist, stances, sparring, tournaments with rules bear no resemblance to what people actually do on the streets in real life situations. This is an UNDISPUTABLE fact! This is a definite shocking statement to all martial arts' practitioners. Master Koo has been in the martial arts for more than 39 years and developed Koo Self Defense based upon many unanswered questions which came from the general public while he was in traditional martial arts. Some search engines category editors place Koo Self Defense under the wrong subcategory. Koo Self Defense is NOT Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Kung Fu, Jeet Kune Do, Judo, Kuk Sul Won, Aikido, Kempo, Choi Kwang Do etc or any Korean, Chinese or Korean martial arts. Koo Self Defense is unique and should be categorized as Sports/Martial Arts/Koo Self Defense. While other martial arts despite their different names have much of the same curriculum such as katas (forms), sparring, stances, blocks and so forth and they also look alike except for they way they execute their movements. Koo Self Defense's curriculum is totally opposite to every martial arts currently in existence! The unique blend of KSD's aerobics, flexibility and anaerobic in one single class is truly unique compared to all other workout programs in existence. This unique blend has resulted in tremendous health benefits for all of our members as you will read throughout this web site which is ranked in the top 10 for most keywords in many popular search engines. History of Koo Self Defense Koo Self Defense was developed in Cartersville, Georgia, USA by Master Roger Koo. Through his 39 years of training since the age of fifteen, Master Koo discovered that most of the techniques he had been taught and sought to perfect were not practical and did not translate into real life situations. All martial arts find their roots in other martial arts styles. Koo Self Defense is no exception. Master Koo while in his search for a progressive and practical martial arts found Choi Kwang Do but after only a short time found it to be very limited. It, like other martial arts styles emphasized on one look for all students rather than one that fits each. Choi Kwang Do is similar to traditional martial arts in its concept of training curriculums as they still do forms (katas), blocks, self defense scenarios, exact/precise execution of techniques, punching/kicking airand lots of forms during colored belt and black belt testing. He found that all martial arts systems tried to duplicate the movements of its founder which severely limited individual achievement. Their cardio and fitness workout is limited as in traditional workouts. Master Koo abandoned this antiquated approach and developed a revolutionary, progressive and more importantly realistic and varied methods of training and target hitting drills for his students. While others sought to adopt from other styles, Master Roger Koo eliminated all traditional techniques which found no real translation into real self defense situations. Koo Self Defense is leading the way in the much needed evolution of martial arts and self defense systems. Master Roger Koo left Choi Kwang Do in 1991 because of its unethical business practices which he exposed in his 22 page letter of resignation. Choi Kwang Do chief instructors have left the CKD organization in 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and for 2007, there have been many from the USA and the UK. January 2005 (see copy of email from Smitha Vijaykar, General Secretary for Choi Kwang Do in India whose organization under Master Jugnu Nanda has been with Choi Kwang Do Martial Art International since 1992). May 2005, Rod Cook of Cairns, Australia resigned from Choi Kwang Do Martial Art. Update November 20, 2005, There has been so many criticisms coming from both CKD students, parents, assistant instructors, chief instructors and ex CKD members on the martial arts planet forum on Choi Kwang Do for the past few months that the forum on CKD has now been removed. Read Rod Cook's exposure of the lies and deception that have come from Marshall Pereira and others within the CKD organization. All of the ex-CKD Chief instructors that are known are listed on this web site under the resign's page and there are those who have disappeared quietly and yet more continue to leave to this day! If you wish to be added to the list, please email Master Koo. Why Master Koo and many others CKD instructors have left Choi Kwang Do with scanned documentations. This page is frequently updated as more ex-CKD instructors reveal themselves with their stories CLICK THIS LINK FOR UPDATED LIST OF THE INSTRUCTORS WHO HAVE LEFT TO DATE! So far 40+ CKD chief instructors has left in 2007 that in all previous years! Read the latest Scams from Choi Kwang Do Martial Art: Email received April 9,2008 From Dwight Werner, Ex-CKD Instructor, Michigan, USA To: kooselfdefense@yahoo.com Subject: ckd Date: Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:00:45 -0400 From: shuaijanarmy@aol.com Add Mobile Alert Dear Master Koo, The following is a brief summary of my experiences with the organization CKDMAI. We originally joined CKD back in 1988 and were impressed with the fluid techniques and patterns that the founder Kwang Choi demonstrated to us. After about 9 years we were fed up with the restrictions and demands financially that were placed upon us with very little value received for the monies paid so we resigned. We built up a strong school afterwards and were doing very well financially but missed belonging to an international organization so we contacted CKD again in 2005 to see if things had evolved. Kwang Choi invited us to Atlanta to discuss the possibility of rejoining the organization. Upon arriving with my son we were treated to a two day private training with Choi where he complimented us on our techniques, promoted us to 4th dan and invited us to rejoin. We expressed our concerns regarding testing fees etc. Choi told us that the organization was in a much better place financially and did not depend on testing fees any longer and to just make a contribution when we could. He also informed us of a retirement plan that he had put in place for the instructors which he called a rebate plan. Choi also told me that he would come to Michigan and personally teach my son, my daughter and myself and that he considered us like his brother, son and daughter. We left Atlanta excited and committed to rejoin. Once back in Michigan we made a conversion at our school. Many of my students were very skeptical though and we ended up losing around 30 students because of this. Nevertheless we continued with the plan and had a certification for instructors and ended up certifying 4 Chief Instructors. At our school we have a non-competition agreement we ask all people we certify to sign. This has nothing to do with CKD but is something that MATA and the other organizations we belong to recommend. After we certified these people Marshall Periera ended up talking to them and convinced three of them to leave our school and open up schools of their own. When two of them started to violate terms of the non-competition agreement they had signed by recruiting some of my top black belts to come to their school to teach/train for free and ignoring the territorial rights spelled out in the contract they had signed, I contacted headquarters and my attorney to complain. I was informed that Periera had told them they did not have to deal with me any longer and could go through headquarters and that CKD did not have non-competition agreements. My attorney disagreed with this and sent a threat letter to these people ordering them to comply with what they had signed. They retained an attorney and started threatening me saying I had lied to them and violated minimum wage laws by having them assist at classes without paying them, that they didn't realize they had signed a contract etc. Periera then said he could solve this problem. He signed three of them up on the Faculty program for tens of thousands of dollars and told me I would get a commission. We both dropped our legal actions. No commissions were ever paid to me. Choi repeatedly then contacted me and tried to convince me to join the faculty myself telling me that the international needed me to be a leader in the organization. I had mixed feelings about this. At first it sounded good but I was getting a bad feeling about my decision to rejoin this organization. I was told that only the top people were to be invited but I noticed people with only a year or two in the martial arts were also invited so I declined. I then traveled to Malaysia and Korea with some other instructors to help with a seminar. While there Choi convinced me to join the faculty and I ended up paying $4000 towards the $10,000 fee. At the seminar in Malaysia after paying for our hotels, flights etc. We were still required to pay $50 for the privilege of assisting at the seminar. I really started to have second thoughts now. Since that time many of the people who had attended this trip have seen the light and resigned. When we resigned the first time we started exploring other martial arts and trained with many top Grapplers and weapons experts and had incorporated this into our program. Now Periera and the international started putting pressure on us to stop doing these things and exclusively stick with the CKD curriculum. We cut back on these things but still continued one or two classes per week. They also wanted us to stop using the legal name of our business Monroe Martial Arts and wanted us to rename our school Choi Kwang Do Monroe. This was the final straw. We had built up quite an amount due to us in the rebate/retirement fund that was in some kind of account some where. We were told that whenever the amount reached $500 that it would be distributed. We only received one check for $700 and nothing ever again. In my opinion CKD tricks people into certifying instructors with the promised rebates and then tries to force them out with unreasonable demands so they do not have to pay them. At least that is what happened to me. Just recently Periera has been in contact with some of my students inducing them to leave me. Now it has come to my attention that he is telling other instructors that I have closed my doors and am not in business any longer. In fact we have just moved our location to a much better facility and are stronger than ever. They lied to us regarding the testing fee reduction. They lied to us about the faculty program. For the $4000 I received one book entitled smart moves and a grading of a book critique assignment by Choi (attached). They lied to us regarding the rebate program, (outstanding monies owed attached). They lied to us regarding the personal training we would receive. They appear to have induced my students to violate non-competition agreements and actively tried to steal my students and instructors. In my opinion CKD was a good idea initially but the lust for money has destroyed the integrity of the art. One of my former students with about three years in the martial arts is now at the top levelof the organization and is in fact testing for his 3rd dan this month. I was just going to leave quietly once again but since Periera is still at it, the truth must be told. If any good has come out of my experience the second time around I think it must be that after leaving the first time I thought I might have made a mistake. This time I know I am doing the right thing. Dwight Werner Master Roger Koo is not the only one exposing the scams of Kwang Jo Choi and Choi Kwang Do martial art. There is another site created in July 2006 exposing The Full Story on Kwang Jo Choi Philosophy of Koo Self Defense The philosophy of Koo Self Defense is to allow any individual to achieve his or her maximum potential (and beyond) regardless of age, sex, physical ability, disability or level of fitness from our total body cardiovascular workout program that promotes health, fitness and devastating hitting power. Whatever area of our training one's wants to focus on, one's potential can be realized and contrary to all other martial arts system it does not take a lifetime of training to achieve! What makes Koo Self Defense Different from other types of martial arts and self defense training? Unlike other martial arts training, Koo Self Defense reenforces natural and instinctual movements developed through evolution by thousands of years for survival conditioned responses to 'real life street situations' while maximizing your cardiovascular conditioning. and producing awesome hitting power often surpassing that of 'professional boxers' and kick boxers. Koo Self Defense training focuses on individual development rather than competition. Koo Self Defense offers the ultimate cardiovascular workout program that will challenge everyone from beginners to Olympic athletes. No other exercise training program comes close. You decide the level of fitness you desire. Whether your goal is health, physical fitness, street self defense or to become a better martial artist, Koo Self Defense is for you! Jesse Frankson of Alaska with no prior martial arts training broke the world records for the highest jumping kick 9 feet 8 inches on Guinness World Record, Primetime on Fox Television Channel which was aired on Thursday, September 6, 2001. The previous record was 8 feet 9 inches. While Koo Self Defense was in transition back in 1994, we used to have a demonstration team similar to traditional martial arts demonstrating amazing feats such as high jumping kicks and power breaking, we had two black belts gifted students Daxton Edwards, 14 years who jump a record of 9 feet 2 ins. and Matthew Huskey, 14 years old reached a height of 9 feet 1 inch both breaking a plastic rebreakable board. For high flying side kick, they both can achieve 8 feet 4 inches. His amazing feat was published in our local newspaper on June 24, 1994. According to the Guinness World records, the highest martial art kick stood at 8 feet 9 inches, we were not even awared that such a record existed otherwise Daxton would have entered for the event back in 1994! Both of them could also break 6 new plastic re-breakable boards with a side kick during that same time period. The Workouts Koo Self Defense Offers. Every (1 hour) class is structured into 3 different segments: 1. KSD Hyper-Aerobics - there are 5 different types of KSD aerobic workouts, each one target different parts of the body. (15-26 minutes non stop, depending upon level of intensity). Latest scientific research published in the February 2003 issue of the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences has demonstrated the benefits of Aerobics on the brain. KSD Hyper-Aerobic #1(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f) - 26 minutes: 90% Kicks KSD Hyper-Aerobic #2(a)(b)(c) - 26 minutes: 3,000+ punches KSD Hyper-Aerobic #3 - 26 minutes: Jump Rope (6 diferent types of footwork), Pushups (8 different hand positions), Crunches KSD Hyper-Aerobic #4(a)(b)(c) - 15 minutes: 25 different types of Sit-ups/Stomach crunches KSD Hyper-Aerobic #5 - 15 minutes: Jump-Rope (6 diferent types of footwork) 2. Flexibility (12 mins of YOGA) 3. Power Drills - Anearobic Drills (20-30 mins. of hitting Focus Mitt/Shields with maximum power). There are 35+ different power drills with some of them consisting on a combination of aerobic, anerobic drills for stamina, endurance and power. Master Koo leads all KSD aerobics #1 through to #4 in order to maintain his high level of personal fitness. In any given week, Master Koo would perform 600+ push ups, 3,000+ variety of crunches, 9,000+ punches, hundreds of kicks and thousands of jump rope (including several hundreds double jumps) with variety of footwork. Our training program allows anyone to go to the extreme and our unique drills works on fast and slow twitch muscles fibers. There are no martial arts style, self defense, kickboxing or physical exercise workout program that has a training curriculum like KSD anywhere in the world! Every student can train at their own paces. For example, in the 'jump-rope' class, a new beginner with no previous physical workout for the past 20 years would execute 30+ jumps in 1 minute, whereas another student who has been training regularly for several months might be executing 60+ jumps in 1 minute while another who has been with Koo Self Defense for a couple of years might be executing 120+ jumps in 1 minute. This applies to any of KSD aerobic workouts #1, #2, #3 or #4 and during our power workout drills (hitting focus mitts/shields). KSD students develop their awesome power by hitting focus mitts and shields at every class by a unique hybrid of 'aerobic/anaerobic' drills that Master Koo has developed over the years. With other types of workouts you soon become bored and get use to it. With KSD, it's forever cardiovascular challenging! Koo Self Defense's UNIQUE workout program has Physical Therapy Benefits'. Koo Self Defense overall training program does more for your body and mind than you imagine. Our training program will improve your health and fitness level regardless of your current physical condition. Students with prior injuries sustained in other sports many years ago have reported disappearance of discomfort from regular KSD workouts. Here are some examples. Anne Rapp states "I have scoliosis, and have never been able to stay with any aerobics or exercise program. After a year with Master Koo, I am still at it. The yoga stretches and strength building have made the difference for me." She signed the KSD's guest book, records #52. A student who twice had Hodgkin's Disease (Cancer of the Lymphatic System) Phil Murelli's Koo Self Defense was given a new life with KSD workout drills. Two KSD students, Jay Platt and David Center, both former U.S. Marines had rotator cuff problems prior to joining and within a few weeks, their rotator cuffs (a supporting and strengthening structure of the shoulder joint that is made up of the capsule of the shoulder joint blended with tendons and muscles as they pass to the capsule or across it to insert on the head of the humerus) problems had disappeared. Jay Platt, (also a cancer survivor) thought he needed surgery before he joined, he is glad he did not. Send him an email and ask him about it yourself! Jay appeared on television channel CNN's Sunday Morning show between 9:15-9:25am on Sunday, June 3, 2001 as part of "Cancer Survivor Day." Read the testimonials of three medical doctors who have trained in Koo Self Defense, Dr. Larry Kjedlgaard's Koo Self Defense, an Orthopedic Surgeon, Dr. Gary Haag's Koo Self Defense, an Anesthesiologist and Dr. Russell Pruitt's Koo Self Defense, a General Surgeon Janet Brooks joined Koo Self Defense on March 15, 2001 suffering from a heart condition which she inherited called Arrhythmia: Tachycardia, meaning too fast a heartbeat. She has been physically active for years in various aerobics and weight training programs to no effect. One her first day at KSD, she performed a 'kick drill' class (training at her own pace) and the very first round her heart beat registered 200 beats per minute and struggled to complete her workout. Remarkably on her 3rd. class, her heart beat registered 170 beats per minute and performed another 'kick drill' class with ease. Her heart beat hovered around 130-150 beat per minute during her 17th class at Koo Self Defense, remarkable! My pulse rate went from 85 beat per minute to 56 in just 3 months, truly amazing and for my age 46 years old, that is excellent! 'The Moser Family Koo Self Defense What other martial arts' students soon discovered when they switched to Koo Self Defense John Morgan, a former black belt in Choi Kwang Do soon discovered that the lower ranks of Koo Self Defense Students have more power than he ever felt in his previous style! Another former Choi Kwang Do student, Paul Quillen states "The next thing that was evident was how hard his lower belts could hit. Nobody that I'd ever worked with at the other studio (including several black belts) could hit anywhere near as hard. I wish there were some way that I could put into print how hard these low-belt Koo students hit. I couldn't believe it, newbies hitting harder than many of the other studios' black belts. An extract from an article written by Lance Clements who has studied several different martial arts "You can tell someone that Tae Kwon Do evolved from Tae Kyun and Shotokan, or you can tell them that Bruce Lee used modified Tae Kwon Do kicks he learned from Jhoon Rhee or my personal favorite is the hardcore grappling advocate who watches too many Ultimate Fighting Championships (It is a sport, it has rules geared to give the grappler the advantage. One of the world championships was won when a contestant put his hand over his opponent's mouth and smothered him. If the guy had done that to Mike Tyson, rules or no rules, he would not have any fingers left!). It goes on forever people want to believe in Space Aliens, Bigfoot, crop circles and that their system is the result of thousands of years of ancient secrets handed down from monks living in a cave." Koo Self Defense's unique objective black belt test is definitely the most demanding test in the world, read the experience of one of the student Kurt Zettlemoyer Koo Self Defense. See photos and video clips of Kurt breaking brand new plastic (polymer) re-breakeable boards. He broke a total of 86 boards ranging from 1 board to 4 boards using both hands and feet. Mr. Kurt Zettlemoyer wrote an article which was published in The Daily Tribune Newspaper in the Special Edition of 'Health and Fitness', Friday February 28, 2003. Extract from arcticle - But the most important thing, is the workout itself. It begins with a simple warm up that is easy to do, but so important to avoiding strain or injury. Then an aerobic workout, of which there are many varieties. There are workouts that focus on the legs, on the abs, arms, workouts that build timing, jump rope workouts, calisthenics style workouts, and the list goes on. They are all challenging, and they are always changing, staying fresh and interesting. After aerobics comes stretching, but not stretching like you often see. Koo Self Defense stretching is a unique blend of techniques incorporating yoga, hitting all the muscles and joints, and even improving breathing and balance. And finally we come to the meat of the workout, the self defense training. Koo Self Defense teaches full power strikes, punches, and kicks performed on focus mitts and shields. Like the aerobics, there is an ever changing stable of self defense work outs from speed punching drills to stamina kick drills to street self-style defense work outs. Yes, I do mean work outs. The exercise does not stop when the kicking starts. There is no punching in the air or stationary blocking drills. The self defense portion of the class is just as challenging, or even more challenging, than the aerobic portion. It focuses more on anaerobic conditioning, speed, power, agility, grace and footwork in perfect compliment to the aerobic workout. And not only is it a great workout, but you�re learning to defend yourself at the same time, instead of just learning how to push weights into the air, or program the stationary bicycle machine. This article is primarily about the fitness aspect of the program, but allow me to assure you, the self defense training is the best I have ever seen. Read our ARTICLE which will give you an insight as to what other martial arts do not want you to know. View our GUEST BOOK or Read the comments of Mr. Tony Marie, 6th Degree (former UKTA/UKTF Tae Kwon Do Instructor) and what other martial arts students/instructors from all over the world on Koo Self Defense and the home training video series! Health and Diets In the United States, we are spoilt in the land of plenty. With regards to food, the portions at fast food establishments and restaurant keeps increasing in size. One tends to become greedy in a buffet style (eat all your want) establishment because one has paid a good sum of money for it. The more one eats, the larger the stomach expands so the next time, one eats more due to larger stomach and the process continues. Compared to the lifestyle pre World War II, today's kitchen cupboards are stocked up with junks food made up of carbohydrates, sugar and fat snacks which have little nutritional value. It is just there to nibble while we are watching television or rented movies. This is another phenomenon which is affecting obesity in America today, unnecessary snacks between meals are the greatest problem facing our society. The majority of commercials on our cable networks are about food. We are being programmed to eat ourselves to death! As we grow older, our metabolism gradually slows down BUT our consumption of food continues to increase, thus resulting in weight gain. Americans have serious obesity problems from very young children and up. The children of today are less physically active due to television, video/computer games, the Internet, and the lack of play time in schools. Parents are overworked with long hours and they choose the easy way out, fast foods. We also live in a society heavily influenced with automobiles thus making us too lazy to walk. It is amazing to see people circling a parking lot just to get a parking space near the entrance to where they want to go. Weight gain is a gradual process due to a combination of eating too much, snacking between meals and a great reduction of physical activity because we live in an era where machines do most of our chores. It takes several years to take effect and will render your overall health at risks which also results in lack of energy, tiredness and good quality sleep. Yet we see a lot of quick fix diet fads which do not work long terms. There are also many magic diet pills such as Metabolife, Advocare, Metabolite, Metab-Rx Ultra, and numerous other diet supplements, muscle enhancers, appetite suppressants, and other products containing Ephedrine, also called Ma Huang, Ephedra, Ripped Fuel, epitonin, and/or Chinese ephedra under the umbrella of herbal supplements that works but the side effects are extreme. They are all under the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning list. Sure, you might lose weight in the short term BUT without a complete change in LIFESTYLE and regular exercise your overall health and fitness will not improve. In order to improve one health, it would require strict discipline to alter one lifestyle, reduce the portions' one consume and exercise regularly. To get the maximum benefit, one should train at least four or five times per week. It took years to gain weight but it will take some time to reduce it, to increase one's metabolic rate and to maintain it at a healthy level. There is no magical quick fix diet pill out there! Exercising regularly has another benefit, it keeps the doctor's away. On October 16, 2002 Good Day's show on television channel Fox5 WAGA-Atlanta, under Morning Housecall, Dr. Stan Winokur says the key to preventing colds could be exercise. He says a recent study conducted on five hundred men and women, by a researcher at the University of South Carolina found that the people who exercised most, had fewer colds. He says those respondents who said they exercised at least thirty minutes, five days a week had the least amount of colds. Those who responded by saying they never exercised had fifty percent more colds than those who got regular workouts. His conclusion is that your immune cells, which fight off common infections, increase after a good workout. Latest News Congratulations to the following students: Mia Vinson on her wedding to Greg Gilstrap on Saturday, April 7, 2001 Photo of wedding. Best Wishes to both of you from Master Koo and all other KSD students! Mia has been training with Master Koo since October 1998 at least five times per week! Congratulations to Anne Rapp for enduring 11 STAMINA classes during the week of Monday, May 14, 2001 through Saturday, May 19, 2001! Congratulations to Mr. Kurt Zettlemoyer and to Doug LaVigne on their production of an Amateur Horror Film entitled "Seige of the Dead" Congratulations to Paul Barrett, 59 years old who recently had a medical physical test, to the amazement of his doctor has a resting pulse rate of 56 (fit as an athlete). He originally joined KSD in 1998 at age 57 due to high blood pressure and had not worked out since he was in high school. His blood pressure has greatly reduced! Congratulations to my daughter Gemma Koo on her graduation as an honor student for the class of 2003 at Cartersville High School! Congratulations to Anne Rapp who performed 850 non stop power kicks on the shields in 50 minutes on Tuesday, September 9, 2003! Congratulations to Jay Platt who performed 1,000 non stop power kicks (500 forward and 500 backwards Kicks) on the shields in 50 minutes on Tuesday, September 16, 2003! Congratulations to Michael Spaulding who performed 1,150 non stop power kicks (575 forward and 575 backwards Kicks) on the shields in 60 minutes on Tuesday, October 21, 2003! Congratulations to Josh Minton who performed 1,400 non stop power kicks (700 forward and 700 backwards Kicks) on the shields in 60 minutes on Tuesday, October 28, 2003 while other students performed 400 non stop kicks on shields in 30 minutes! Congratulations to Michael Spaulding who performed 3,360 non stop power punches (in multiples of 3,6,9,12,15,18 &21 jabs, round/vertical punches, palms, reverse knife hands, uppercuts to head/body targets) on focus mitts in 25 minutes on Friday 20, February 2004! Congratulations to Anne Rapp for achieving 1,000 classes on August 26, 2004. She is the second student at Koo Self Defense to achieve this event! Congratulations to Gregory Koo on scoring 5, the highest score available on the Advancement Placement Tests for US History, top 10 percent of high school scholars in the USA! The tests were taken in the 10th Grade (sophmore - 2004). Congratulations to Gregory Koo, AP Scholar on scoring a 5 on AP Calculus AB and a 4 on English Literature/Comp, on the Advancement Placement Tests. The tests were taken in the 11th Grade (junior - 2005). Congratulations to Mr. Welby Archer for achieving 1,000 classes on September 9, 2005. Mr. Archer is the third student at Koo Self Defense to achieve this event! Congratulations to Josh Minton for achieving 1,000 classes on April 6, 2006. Josh is the fourth student at Koo Self Defense to achieve this event! Congratulations to Ron Mooney (DJ Service - Absolutely A1 Entertainment), 49 years old for performing 3,360 punches in 24 minutes onto focus mitts at a Super Stamina Class on Wednesday, January 10, 2007! Ron takes an average of 8 classes or more per week at the Cartersville Koo Self Defense Studio. He began his training in April 2006 and has already achieved a knockout punch within 6 months of workout at KSD! Congratulations to Stoney Smith, 31 years old for performing 3,360 punches in 24 minutes onto focus mitts at a Super Stamina Class on Friday, January 26, 2007 equaling the record of Ron Mooney! Congratulations to my daughter Gemma Koo, honor graduate in Echocardiography, Class of 2007 at Coosa Valley Technical College! She is employed as a Sonographer at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Pediatric Hospital. Congratulation to Gemma Koo and Lana Seymour who became heroes when they rescue a man on I-575 truck fire! They both appeared on Fox TV News on Thursday, June 21, 2007. See the Video News Rome News-Tribune covered the story on Tuesday, June 26, 2007 with a link to FOX TV News video clip. An article on Gemma Koo appeared in the Bartow Neighbor on Wednesday, July 11, 2007. You can read it on the left column of this page. Congratulations to Mr. Dax Edwards, 8 years old, the second member to achieve 'The Perfect Score' on the Koo Self Defense Black Belt Test on Saturday, November 17, 2007 Remarkable Koo Self Defense Students Koo Self Defense produces The Highest Quality Black Belts in terms of EXTREME FITNESS & POWER, less that 100 Black belts in 15 years and no one has survived our CONSTANT INTENSE WORKOUTS beyond 2nd Degree Black Belt in that time! Read Dr. Russell Pruitt's (General Surgeon at the Cartersville Medical Center) article plus photos and video clips published on Thursday, February 28, 2002 in The Daily Tribune newspaper's Special Supplement on Health & Fitness entitled "My experience at Koo Self Defense." Extract from article: "I had observed Master Roger Koo's self defense classes in the past, but never made the committment to enroll. Then a friend of mine convinced me to give it a try. The first class was a real eye opener. Watch out Billy Blanks, Master Koo's class was turbo Tae-Bo." The Koo Self Defense's Cartersville studio has been at the same location for more than 16 years. During that time, there has been seven martial arts studios that have opened and closed down. There has been a Choi Kwang Do studio which has changed ownership 5 times before they closed down in 1998. It was first opened in 1988 by Kwang Jo Choi who over the first 4 years sent the following Chief Instructors: Bob Lowery, Tommy Cho, Eric Hennings, Kelly Chandler, Larry Key, Michael Cook, Marshall Pereira, Bob Devore and others. The studio was then sold to Kenneth and Iris Harper. They sold it to Dennie Lantzer. He sold it to Kirk Robbins who eventually closed the Cartersvile Choi Kwang Do studio in 1998. All of these Choi Kwang Do Chief Instructors and owners failed to succeed after 10 years in Cartersville! Choi Kwang Do has reopened in Cartersville and within a few weeks changed ownership and the current owner Michael Wilson who initially started by himself has now taken a partner after his first year, not a good sign? A United Karate Studio (UKS) which lasted three years (closed 2002); an American Tae Kwon Do Association (ATA) Studio which lasted two years (closed 2002) and a Jeet Kune Do (Bruce Lee)/Kung Fu studio which lasted three years (closed 2001). Another Kung Fu studio opened and closed within months in 2006. Willow Way Karate lasted for two years (closed 2007). Moreover, there have also been numerous who wants to be' professional martial arts instructors who ran part time schools renting places twice a week at various locations in Bartow County who eventually closed down too. Koo Self Defense Home Training Video Series Koo Self Defense Video Library Series produced professionally on a 3 chips, Sony Digital Camera is available in NTSC, PAL & SECAM Format. CLICK HERE to Check your country's video system/format prior to ordering your video! 
 View All 20 Koo Self Defense Video Covers CLICK HERE  Click Here To Order Koo Self Defense Videos Some quotes from Master Roger Koo The vast majority of martial arts have the wrong premise. The movements practiced in their studios such as blocks, punching from the hips, forms, sparring and so forth do not relate to how people actually fight in the real world! The most serious flaw in all other martial arts styles, self defense, kick-boxing aerobics training is the belief that punching and kicking "air" develops POWER! You join a martial art's studio for health, fitness and street self defense. Do you get all of your workouts there and then? How often have you been told to go home and practice your techniques? Do you have to do additional cardiovascular workouts outside the studio on your own for physical fitness? We live in a very busy world with tight schedules! Whom have all the extras time to workouts? All martial arts put too much emphasis on belts (especially the black belt) as if it's magic. It is only a piece of cloth. Your ability to defend yourself does not depend upon your rank or a lifetime of training! What good is a piece of cloth when you have stopped training, you lose your power, stamina, endurance, timing, coordination and so forth plus you have gained weight over the years from inactivity. Koo Self Defense has no blocking techniques! Do boxers, kickboxers, toughman contestants, fighters in ultimate fighting championships (UFC) or street fighters block punches like martial artists? Watch 'tough man contest' on television or real fights in bars, do you see any types of blockings? All other martial arts system states 'it takes a lifetime of training in order to be perfect' and training really starts from the black belt level and up?" Does it take a lifetime to produce an Olympic champion or a world champion boxer? Does it take a lifetime of street fighting for the street punks to be good at what he does and how many techniques has he polished? The real test of what you are practicing is not in tournaments amongst martial artists but in the real battlefield, the streets and bars. Be weary of martial arts styles or systems that make you worship too much on the Grandmaster or Master physical ability and power. You pay a good sum of money in order for you to learn to be as powerful and fit so that you can use what you learn on the streets in the shortest possible time frame. The alphabet has 26 letters. How many words exist in the English dictionary? KSD has 26 techniques!! That's why KSD has many variety of workouts with a few techniques!! It was once a belief that the earth was the center of the universe and flat? Now we know the truth! It is the same for martial arts and self defense training. The methods and techniques taught from thousands of years ago until today does not reflect how people actually fight on the streets! Conflict and war has been on this earth since the beginning of the human race. History records the way battles were fought, it changed with time. New types of warfares includes hijackings, guerillas, kamikazes and terrorisms! The performance of professional boxers and Olympic athletes today, outperformed those of previous years due to improve training methods. The paradox in the martial arts is techniques and method of training remains unchanged to this day. Why? KSD's training is 99%Cardiovascular and 1% Technique, meaning we spend more time in actual cardiovascular training than 'perfecting' techniques! Copy form the KSDI's Guestbook Tuesday 11/21/2006 9:19:49pm Name: Ron Mooney E-Mail: ron1mooney@aol.com Location: Cartersville, Ga Comments: I have been attending training at KSDI since April 2006 at the rate of about 8 classes per week. To date I have lost 28 pounds and my resting heart rate has dropped to 56 bpm. I am 49 years old but these workouts keep me feeling much younger. I have learned to jump rope and my flexibility is improving. But let me tell you what I like best about the training. It is the power that I have developed. When I first started I could not break a single board with a punch and I could only break 1 board with a kick. Now I am breaking 3 boards at once with a single straight punch and my goal is to break 4 by Christmas 2006. I am not a real big guy I am breaking the boards by apply the principles of focused power and proper technique. While in the US Army I attended and graduated from the Master Fitness School and the Exercise To Music Course. This is the equivalent to being a Certified Personal Trainer and Aerobics Instructor in the civilian world. The same fitness principles the military teaches are used in every workout at Master Koo's school. The workouts are challenging and tough, they are diverse and will provide you with aerobic as well as anaerobic conditioning. Together with a balanced diet you will lose weight, I am proof of that, 28 pounds in 6 months ain't bad. I encourage everyone, men and women, and of course children, to come by and observe a class. Don't be scared off by the martial arts theme, it is a no pressure environment where you can learn at your pace, it is just important that you make attending classes a habit and stick to it consistently. Families can do it together. TV, video games, and other distractions won't seem so important as you become fitter and your family works together to accomplish goals and stay healthy. Now days, families go out to dinner (very expensive) or go shopping (really expensive) as a form of entertainment, I challenge you to break that routine and bring the family to workout, live like no one else and you will live like no one else...healthier and fitter. No more excuses, let's workout. I'll see you there! Guestbook Record 33 Name: Cliff Vaughan Email: suzcliff@oz-online.net HomePage: http:// Where are you from: Ft. Riley, kansas Comments: My name is Cliff Vaughan. I am a Sgt. in the U.S. Army and former student of Master Koo. I obtained my black belt from him in Nov. 1995. Recently, I was asked to coach the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division's boxing team for an October post boxing tournement. With less than 6 weeks to train soldiers with absolutely no boxing skills, I immediately employed all of the hand technique drills used by Master Koo. The result was absolutely incredible. Most of the soldiers with absolutely no fight experience went into the ring and either delivered a knock out blow or had the fight stopped by the referee because the other fighter could not fight back against the onslaught of punching combinations being thrown by them. I do not condone the use of Koo self defense techniques in tournements because the rules of any controlled fight always take away from the effectiveness of the techniques being taught by Master Koo. I never told any of those fighters where the techniques came from until after the fight. All were amazed that there was a martial art school teaching such devastating techniques. Believe in this system! It Works!! January 19, 2000 02:29:16 (GMT Time)
41 South Public Square, Cartersville, Metro Atlanta, Georgia 30120, USA. Telephone 770.386.5878  kooselfdefense@yahoo.com |
