ABOUT US & INTRODUCTION

Originally opened in July of 2000, the Faith Temple Christian Martial Arts Academy has changed it’s school name to the Dubuque Christian Self Defense Academy.  Located in Dubuque at Faith Temple United Pentecostal Church, this Academy offers a variety of Martial Arts styles and includes a Friday evening Cardio Kick Class which is done with Christian high tempo music.

Senior Instructor Gery Ryan is a 4th Degree Black Belt in the style of Hap Ki Do (Korean Martial Art), with over 30 years of Martial Arts Training.  Some of his accomplishments include, National Black Belt Leagues Bayou Conference Fighter of the Year (Executive Black Belt Division), SLAM (Southern League Associated Martial Artist) Fighter and Kata Champion of the year 1995, Coached  THE 1990 Red Diamond Classic Team Champions (Fort Polk, La NASKA Rated tournament), and Won the Grand Champion Fight for the King of the Ring Tournament in Dubuque, IA for 2007 to name a few.

Mr. Ryan is an active member of Faith Temple United Pentecostal Church, recently retired from the United States Army with 22 Active years of service. While in the military Mr. Ryan spent his last few years dedicated a majority of his time training in the Modern Army Combatives Training area.  Mr. Ryan has successfully completed Level I Training and was a certified instructor with the Army. While working with local Army Recruiters Mr. Ryan spent  a lot of his time also working with local schools and organizations teaching free Self Defense Seminars and giving unique Demos that led into his Operation POWER  Program.

Operation POWER which stands for Providing Opportunities with Effective Rewards, was started to help open the eyes of the young students to understand that everything is not always as it seems, but hard work does produce effective results.

Mr. Ryan’s wife Connie is an important part of his life and believes that he could not be where he is today without her help, his kids and most importantly Gods help.  Mr. Ryan has 4 children and 1 granddaughter, Alisha 24, Dustin 19, Shauna 17, Nathan 14 and Shame ( pronounced Sha – Mee).

Alisha and Shame live in Munich, Germany.  Shauna is a Blue Belt in Hap Ki Do and Nathan is a White Belt.   Although Dustin has not technically trained in the class he does have some grappling experience.

Mr. Ryan invites you to come by and check out one of our classes and believes when you do, you will be hooked.  We thank you for visiting our site and look forward to meeting you. May God Bless you.

Gery Ryan

Senior Instructor / 4th Dan Hap Ki Do