The I Am Self Defense program (IASD) began with the realization that the expectations of self defense training standards were not being met. Founded in 2010, IASD is a grass-roots, non-profit, tax exempt (501-C-3), educational organization dedicated to furthering self defense awareness and education. IASD is an international organization, which is run through an executive board with headquarters located in Chicago Il.
Accompanying the board members are regional representatives, committee members and office personnel. The regional representatives promote the growth of IASD and also encourage active participation of the members in their area. Committee members are involved in different tasks, which also help achieve the goals of IASD. The office personnel keep headquarters running smoothly by processing members, answering phone calls, keeping the referral network up to date, etc. All board members, regional representatives, committee members and office personnel are strictly volunteers and any money IASD earns goes directly towards benefiting the members.
IASD is funded by membership, corporate sponsorships and donations. IASD Executive Board are dedicated volunteers.
To advocate self defense training, helping women find empowerment through education.
IASD welcomes anyone who supports the growth and improvement of women's self defense. Self defense instructors, law enforcement professionals, rape crisis counselors and other workers in victim services agencies find IASD a source of information and networking. All male applicants are required to submit a brief resume plus a letter of Intent explaining reasons for applying for IASD membership. Please contact us with any inquiries.
IASD does have its specific training programs drawn from martial arts, however we encourage training in various self defense options ranging from empty handed self defense skills to training in the use of lethal weapons.
Thank you for your interest in "I AM self defense", we will keep you informed of our upcoming events. To be placed on our email list or if you would like to schedule personal self defense training, please fill out the form below.
info_iamselfefense.com
We would like to thank our sponsors who are part of the backbone of our organization. To join our growing group of sponsors please contact us.
Dominick Izzo
Dominick Izzo, Lead Instructor of Izzo Training Systems, is a Self Defense expert and Certified Personal Trainer with over 20 years of Martial Arts experience in Wing Chun Self Defense, Wresting, Shotokan Karate and Tactical Law Enforcement Physical Training.
Dominick Izzo patrolled the streets for 8 years as a Police Officer, has been a member of Illinois' NIPAS Mobile Field Force Tactial Response Team and worked for over 10 years as security in Chicago night clubs, including private security for celebrities.
It is one of my greatest passions in life to help people reach their fullest potential as individuals... I strongly believe that one of the most successful ways for a person to start on such a journey of self discovery is through Martial Arts.
It is my passion to offer friendship first and knowledge second. It is my truest hope that your journey in life will be as exciting and adventurous as mine is...and that you have the great fortune of finding help along the way from the greatest people as I have.
Our greatest responsibility in life is to seek knowledge...knowledge of both ourselves as individuals and ourselves as a link to the connection of others! In life, I truly believe that if you do everything to the best of your ability with integrity, intensity, compassion, character and love...you will never fail at anything you try!
Syed Ahmad
Syed Ahmad is the owner and head instructor of Chicago In Home Self Defense. He began his journey in the martial arts 14 years ago and has experience in close-quarter combat training incorporating Muay Thai, Jujitsu, and Wing Chun Kung Fu.
Syed has participated in international seminars on Wing Chun Kung Fu and has even traveled to China, the birthplace of the art, for his advanced training.
In 2003 Syed began teaching in the Chicago-land area. He has conducted training sessions with a very wide range of individuals, corporations, non-profit organizations, security and law enforcement personnel, battered women shelters, youth organizations, high schools, and even grade schools.
In the years that have followed, Syed has changed the landscape of martial arts in Chicago with his distinct style of straight-forward, aggressive, and practical self defense techniques that have evolved from a centuries-old tried and proven martial art.
For Syed, martial arts and self defense are a passion and a way of life, he hopes that everyone is able to follow the path to find their passion as well.
Ryan Parmelee
In 1999 Ryan Parmelee began his journey to fulfill a lifelong dream of learning martial arts. The style he chose was Wing Chun Kung Fu, a style studied and made popular by his childhood hero, Bruce Lee. It did not take long for Ryan to realize that this would be a part of him forever.
Through his training he became an expert in close-quarter combat with a special emphasis on multiple attacker engagement. Ryan has worked special event security in various locations around Chicago and the Midwest. As the years progressed, however, he knew that there must be a more useful outlet for his training.
A fateful call came in 2007 from fellow Wing Chun practitioner Syed Ahmad; they were concerned about the rising instances of violent crime in the neighborhoods where their friends and family lived. During that call they decided to start Chicago In Home Self Defense.
As co-owner and instructor of Chicago In Home Self Defense, Ryan has found a way to share the gift of personal safety with students all over the Chicago-land area. Ryan has taught individuals, group classes, corporate wellness events, nonprofit organizations, youth groups, and high schools.
It has been a dream fulfilled for Ryan to be able to pass along his training to help those who seek to protect themselves and their loved ones.
The I Am Self Defense program is different from other self defense programs in that the primary focus is YOU. IASD focuses on the "self" in self defense rather than the traditional aspect of defending yourself against a potential attacker. In the physical sense of training, IASD teaches the individuals to be offensive rather than waiting to react to an attacker. The training consists of scenario based training, body structure awareness, situational intent and positional awareness, all of which combined makes you the focus of the techniques.
The basis of the IASD training is awareness training which embraces the the concept of personal responsibility for self defense. It is up to us as individuals to learn to protect ourselves and our loved ones. Understanding the importance of ourselves and personal value the IASD primary training concept toward adopting the mindset and focus of never becoming a victim.
It is our right and responsibility to learning self defense.
