Our Mission
Family Martial Arts functions to help people grow stronger, both mentally and physically. Our goal is to give each of our students the opportunity to gain all the benefits that involvement in our school has proven to provide. Here's what we have to offer:
- Self Confidence: Break out of your shell and be realistic about your judgment, ability, power, etc.
- Focus: Gain control over your thoughts and be able to put your full attention the task at hand.
- Patience: Train yourself to bear restlessness without complaint and replace it with perseverance.
- Teamwork: Learn to interact and do your part in a coordinated effort as part of a team.
- Character: At Family Martial Arts, developing character is the number one priority. Promotions are not only based on martial arts skill, but diligence, effort, and responsibility
- Physical Fitness: Keep up with your health, both to become physically fit and to stay that way.
- Coordination: Improve the focus of your body to execute precise and effective actions with ease.
- Self Defense: Know how and when it is appropriate to protect yourself against possible attack.
- Awareness: Develop the ability of being in tune with your surroundings to detect danger.
- Instructors: Our instructors not only bring enthusiasm to each class they teach, but each instructor also regularly pursues the furtherance of his or her own martial arts training.
- Friendship: Meet new people and build lasting relationships with other students and teachers.
- Fun: Always remember to have fun in what you do! We often have exciting games and sparing drills.
- Unique: Family Martial Arts was the first school in CT to teach children the art of Kali, and one of the only to teach children Mixed Martial Arts.
- Family: Family Martial Arts is so named because of it's family atmosphere. Not only do many families train together at our school, but we are family as well. We spend time with one another outside of the school for camping and laser tag.
Our Curriculum
We teach a program of Mixed Martial Arts which covers all aspects of self defense, including striking, grappling, and Kali:
- Striking: Our striking arts are a combination of boxing, kick boxing, Muay Thai, and filipino empty hand arts.
- Grappling: Our grappling arts are a combination of wrestling, Judo, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
- Kali: Kali is a Filipino style of martial arts that incorporates empty hand and the use of weapons such as sticks, knives, and swords.
Our History
In the Spring of 2003 Dean Franco broke away from M.A.I. Karate and formed Family Martial Arts. Looking to incorporate more functional martial arts systems, he broke away from the norm of traditional curriculum for children that was focused on forms, one-step sparring and point or "tournament" sparring.
After holding a demo at Total Fitness, and receiving positive feedback from the parents, he began to incorporate stick training from Kali, and through trial and error developed a curriculum that included concepts and techniques from Kali as well as Jeet Kune Do, Thai Boxing, and various grappling arts. Family Martial Arts became the first martial arts school in Connecticut to offer a full Kali program to children.
From there the program began to evolve and with the addition of Bethany Carpenter, the grappling curriculum continued to improve with success. They were able to effectively utilize various components of striking (kicking and punching) and grappling (ground fighting) arts as well as dealing with weapons (knives and sticks) to develop a truly effective MMA and self defense program Our program continues to consistently adapt itself as the various martial arts themselves evolve.
Dean and the rest of the Family Martial Arts staff are very pleased to be able to teach the martial arts that they love and are passionate about. From the "gym days" to the present location on Water Street, we want to thank the parents and students that have saw the development of the program and have continued to support it.