About
Valdez Institute of Self Defense offers self defense classes that include martial arts, kickboxing, Jeet Kune Do, Filipino Martial Arts, Wing Chun Kung Fu, Yip Man Wing Chun, Pekiti Tirsia Kali, Tae Kwon Do, Muay Thai, Silat, mixed grappling, and MMA & fitness. The program also includes weight training, scientific supplementary training, conditioning, and fitness. It offers a Children’s Martial Arts Program, an Adult Martial Arts Program, and private training.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
Valdez Institute of Self Defense was founded by Anthony and Kevin Valdez in 2018. Kevin Valdez is a certified nutritionist with extensive experience in weightlifting and exercise. Anthony Valdez holds ranks as an Associate Instructor in Contemporary Jeet Kune Do and in the Filipino Martial Arts under Cesar Olavarria, Mataas Na Guro in Pekiti Tirsia Kali under Grand Tuhon Leo Gaje Jr., Apprentice Instructor in Yip Man’s Wing Chun under Cesar Olavarria, and Apprentice Instructor in Progressive Fighting System under Paul Vunak. Valdez Martial Arts states that its mission is to teach effective self-defense while building discipline, respect, and lifelong confidence in every student, and it is dedicated to helping the Union City, NJ community discover the benefits of martial arts training. The program highlights beginner-friendly classes in Jeet Kune Do, Filipino Martial Arts, and MMA & fitness, training in a lineage traced directly back to Bruce Lee and Yip Man, and instruction in a weapon-based Filipino Martial Arts system that includes single stick, double stick, stick and dagger, single dagger, and double dagger. Wing Chun training at the program includes three empty hand forms (Sil Lum Tao, Chum Kiu, and Biu Jee), wooden dummy techniques, the six and a half point pole, and the butterfly knives. The program describes its training environment as safe, fun, engaging, sociable, supportive, and friendly, and notes that Jeet Kune Do emphasizes four ranges of combat: kicking, punching, trapping, and grappling. A quote shared by the program is, “The only impossible journey is one that you never begin.”
Last updated February 24, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
Valdez Institute of Self Defense was founded by Anthony and Kevin Valdez in 2018. Kevin Valdez is a certified nutritionist with extensive experience in weightlifting and exercise. Anthony Valdez holds ranks as an Associate Instructor in Contemporary Jeet Kune Do and in the Filipino Martial Arts under Cesar Olavarria, Mataas Na Guro in Pekiti Tirsia Kali under Grand Tuhon Leo Gaje Jr., Apprentice Instructor in Yip Man’s Wing Chun under Cesar Olavarria, and Apprentice Instructor in Progressive Fighting System under Paul Vunak. Valdez Martial Arts states that its mission is to teach effective self-defense while building discipline, respect, and lifelong confidence in every student, and it is dedicated to helping the Union City, NJ community discover the benefits of martial arts training. The program highlights beginner-friendly classes in Jeet Kune Do, Filipino Martial Arts, and MMA & fitness, training in a lineage traced directly back to Bruce Lee and Yip Man, and instruction in a weapon-based Filipino Martial Arts system that includes single stick, double stick, stick and dagger, single dagger, and double dagger. Wing Chun training at the program includes three empty hand forms (Sil Lum Tao, Chum Kiu, and Biu Jee), wooden dummy techniques, the six and a half point pole, and the butterfly knives. The program describes its training environment as safe, fun, engaging, sociable, supportive, and friendly, and notes that Jeet Kune Do emphasizes four ranges of combat: kicking, punching, trapping, and grappling. A quote shared by the program is, “The only impossible journey is one that you never begin.”
Last updated February 24, 2026.
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