What MAKES Fearless Nation?

At Fearless Nation, we get this question a lot, “What kind of karate do you teach?” The short answer is always, “We don’t,” but of course, we don’t leave it without explanation. So, what is Fearless Nation?

It’s easy to assume that all martial arts schools teach, basically, the same thing. It’s also easy to assume that you either do a traditional martial art, or you do MMA, “...that UFC stuff.” Both of these assumptions would be incorrect, however. So, what makes the difference? What makes Fearless Nation’s training different? Really, it’s that we don’t care about traditions. Now, what you couldn’t see is that I ducked, as I wrote that, because I know there’s at least one traditional martial artist who threw something at their computer screen, reading that. So, let me explain.

At Fearless Nation, we embrace a lot of what traditional martial arts have to offer, but we don’t bring with us, the traditions that hold those arts in the past. In the words of Bruce Lee, “Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, add what is essentially your own.” In other words, in today’s world, with so much being offered in the way of martial arts and self defense, it doesn’t make sense to preserve tradition, unless that is, in fact, your goal - the preservation of tradition. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that, but admittedly, it isn’t the optimal route to proficient self defense, in the modern world. This doesn’t mean, however, that martial arts, as they were, don’t have something to offer.

So, at Fearless Nation, we begin with the mindset. Krav Maga was the birthing of that mindset, for me. Having done traditional martial arts, I thought I was equipped to handle whatever someone threw at me, until I walked into a Krav Maga school, and I was met with an entirely new level of aggression. Where I may have had the edge on clean looking technique, they had the edge in completely overwhelming my senses, and overloading my reaction time. There was no way that I was keeping up. When it came time for a stress drill...forget about it. I knew there was something there.

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for Krav Maga, though. Over time, I realized that while they had the right mindset, and they really understood real-world conflict, in a better way than any of my previous teachers had, they didn’t have much in the way of standing toe-to-toe with someone of equal aggression and mindset, but with better techniques. It was then that I realized that, again, I was met with a system that seemed perfect but also had its flaws. I feel, today, that Krav Maga is the perfect system to start with, as a beginner. Once you understand it, however, it’s time to graduate to other things, with your new understandings, and that’s exactly what we’ve done at Fearless Nation.

We blend the arts of Boxing, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Wrestling, and Krav Maga. I know that it seems like a lot, but bare with me. We have 3 categories. We hold striking classes, grappling classes, and self defense classes. In the striking classes, we cover the above styles that contribute to that conversation, to include clinch work and kicking from the world of Muay Thai, and the hands and footwork from Boxing. On grappling nights, we take from the above, what contributes to the conversation, to include takedowns and top control from Wrestling, and ground maneuverability and submissions from Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Lastly, in our self defense classes, we use both our skill sets from striking and grappling classes, as well as the principals from Krav Maga, to touch on the subjects of multiple attackers, weapons, muggings, and much more.

Every student is taught the best version of every technique, which usually holds some form of sport application. This is excellent, because it allows everyone to safely train together, seeing for themselves what works against other trained attackers. So, in a grappling context, they do what we call “rolling,” which is essentially what sparring is for a striking class. We then blend the two worlds, and we will allow those who are ready to spar MMA style, crossing the worlds of striking and grappling. All of this being, said, we make it a point for everyone to understand what does and doesn’t apply in a real world situation (i.e. Triangle Chokes and Spinning Back Fists). We will throw a knife into a grappling situation (fake knives, of course), and we will have a random attacker jump into a sparring match as a two-on-one, to allow the practitioner to simulate reality.

So, what makes Fearless Nation different? We take this stuff seriously. There aren’t many schools willing to tell people the truth about their training, but we always will! We’re not interested in having a fleet of blackbelts, so we won’t let you just buy your way to the top. Everything is earned, and when you walk out that door, you feel like you’ve truly come closer to your goals of being able to defend yourself. Beyond that, though, when you walk into the school, you’re met with such a family of good people who are all looking to make each other better. There really isn’t one direction you could look, in the school, and not find someone who is willing to put in the extra time with you, to help you reach the goals you’ve set for yourself. From fellow students, to the instructors, this is one big tribe, and that is the glue that binds us all together. Good people, good training, and good vibes!

So, if you’re ever in the Trinity, Odessa, New Port Richey area, look us up, and tell whoever you meet that Phil sent you. Kids, Teens, and Adults, you won’t need to pay anything, when you come in, and you won’t be anyone’s punching bag. We’re family, first; we can beat each other up later, haha.

We hope to see you soon!

- Instructor Phil
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