Fred VillariVillari Martial Arts Centers
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| | | | |
Charles Mattera Bagely/Bryant/Nohelty Cal Carozzi Robert Lamattina Jim BrassardUnited Studios Masters SelfUnited Shaolin Tokyo Joe's Studios of Self-DefenseDefense CentersKempo Karate of Self Defense
(West Coast)
| |
| Fred Bagely
Steve DemascoMasters of
United Studios Karate
of Self Defense
(East Coast)
|
|
Ken Warner
Ben Thomas
Kempokan
This very limited and incomplete tree shows some of the major offshoots of
Grandmaster Fred Villari's Shaolin Kempo Karate.
Charles Mattera was a Shaolin Kempo 7th dan before he left. He has
since received an 8th dan ranking in American Kenpo from the Late Cerio Kenpo
Grandmaster Nick Cerio, and is currently lists himself as a 10th dan GrandMaster
in Shaolin Kempo.
The United Studios of Self Defense are mostly located on the American
West Coast.
Steve Demasco was a Shaolin Kempo 7th dan before leaving the
Villari organization.
He has since joined the United Studios of Self Defense, he picked
up another three dan ranks and runs their schools on the east coast. This
brings the USSD GrandMaster count up to two. After all of his Connecticut
schools shut down or decided not to do business with Mr. DeMasco anymore,
he is limited to about 4 schools on Long Island.
Fred Bagely was a Shaolin Kempo 8th dan before breaking off with a
dozen or so New England
Villari Self Defense
Centers to form Masters Self Defense Centers with Masters
James Bryant & Robert Nohelty. Master Bagely has since left that organization
and founded the Masters of Karate schools. Masters Bryant & Nohelty
have expanded the Masters Self
Defense Centers curriculum to include weapons training. Both Masters
Bryant & Nohelty have also received instructor certification in Nick
Cerio's International Martial Arts Association. Masters Self Defense
Centers is limited to 4 schools at last count. The others have either
closed or gone independent.
Cal Carozzi was a Shaolin Kempo 7th dan under Fred Villari before
he founded the United Shaolin
Kempo Karate schools. Master Carozzi's dojos are mostly in New Hampshire.
He has added his years of experience to his knowledge of Shaolin Kempo and
now a 10th dan GrandMaster, teaching his style of Shaolin Kempo.
Robert Lamattina was a Shaolin Kempo 6th dan before founding Tokyo Joe's
Studios of Self Defense. He started with one school in Nashua NH, and has
expanded slowly over the last few years to 6 schools, spread over 3 states
- in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine.
Ben Thomas & Ken Warner were part of the East Coast United Studios
organization before breaking away from Steve DeMasco and starting their own
system. Ben Thomas now has his own
Kempokan school.
Jim Brassard was a Villari fifth degree before breaking off. Since
then he received a 10th dan from the USA Martial Arts Alliance.
New England is dotted with independent schools that also teach Shaolin
Kempo Karate. Most are descended from the organizations listed above.
Note that United Studios of Self-Defense is the original name Grandmaster
Villari used for his studios. Mr. Mattera picked up the name after Mr. Villari
changed the name of his organization.
Out of these, note that only Charles Mattera's organization is only one that
has had any sort of significant growth.
Given all these break-offs, Mr. Villari's VSDC organization is still larger
than, other than Mr. Mattera's USSD, than any two or three combined.