Q&A with David Heineman of Stay Safe Martial Arts
David Heineman of Stay Safe Martial Arts built a haven in Mundelein, Illinois, for students of all ages to practice martial arts and self-defense. In his 30 years of training experience, he has competed on some of the biggest Jiu Jitsu stages, traveled to colleges to educate about domestic violence, collaborated with law enforcement agencies, built a following from educational self-defense videos, and much more. His passion for self-defense is endless as he continues to work so that everyone can protect themselves and their loved ones. We’re proud to power Stay Safe Martial Arts and David’s meaningful cause. Continue reading to dive deeper into David’s journey, inspiration, and advice for martial arts school owners!
First off, what started your martial arts journey? Did you expect practicing Tae Kwon Do would eventually lead to this path?
I started training in Tae Kwon Do when I was about 5 or 6 years old for no other reason than I wanted to be a Power Ranger. I was obsessed with that show and begged my mom to take me to a class. Here I am, 34 years old and still training. I honestly did not expect that I would have been training in the martial arts for this long, but I love it. I have the privilege to train across multiple disciplines under countless different instructors. There is so much to learn when it comes to fighting as a whole that I never truly lose interest; I just find myself going down one rabbit hole after another, and ultimately, that is what keeps me coming back.
How does martial arts training cross over into your passion for self-defense and vice versa?
The more I trained in martial arts, the more I trained for self-defense. I wanted to be able to protect myself. As I have gotten older, gotten married, and have recently become a father, the need to be able to protect myself and my family has never been more critical. Say what you want about self-defense, but at the end of the day, it is about fighting. The better you can fight, the better you can protect yourself. Obviously, you need to add in elements of self-defense, such as weapon defense, de-escalation, etc., but it boils down to your ability to physically fight. Even more reason to train in all combat systems.
What inspired you to travel across the nation to educate fellow instructors, college students, and law enforcement about self-defense?
When I was in college, I began teaching women’s self-defense after I had heard about some assaults that took place on campus. I started running these quite often throughout my 4 years of school, so it gave me time to really try things out and develop a program. Upon graduating, I wanted to take things a step further by traveling the country. For the next couple of years, I would spend a couple of months at a time traveling the country working with sororities across college campuses.
The presentations garnered more attention than I anticipated, and in the first couple of months alone, I presented to just around 100 sororities across the country. As a result of these presentations, I was able to speak with countless individuals who had been sexually assaulted and shared their stories with me. It was from these stories that I began developing my program even further to prepare women the best I can, should they ever find themselves in a similar situation. My inspiration has always been the survivors; those who have experienced the worst of the worst yet survived and are sharing their stories to help others.
I want to prepare people the best I can for life’s worst-case scenarios. The same goes for law enforcement. I have several officers who train with me on a regular basis so that they are prepared for their line of work. Law enforcement officers literally put their lives on the line every day, so I make sure that I do everything I can to help them feel safe and prepared.
Your Instagram has many videos on self-defense tips and techniques. When and why did you start delving into this content?
I started posting content during COVID as something to do. Slowly but surely, my page started to gain some traction, and then one day it just took off. I realized that this was a big opportunity for me to educate people on a massive scale. Obviously, nothing will ever beat training in person, but if I can provide people with some self-defense and safety tips to help prepare them for life’s worst-case scenarios, then I will do just that.
My ultimate goal and motivation with my content is to encourage people to find a local gym and to start training. I have received countless messages from people asking for help finding a gym or telling me I inspired them to take their first Jiu Jitsu or Boxing class, so I know what I am doing in regards to social media is working. As much as I would I want my socials to grow overall, I am happy knowing that my content has helped give people the courage to train.
How do you feel about the positive response and following you’ve gained through these videos?
It is great! Obviously there have been plenty of haters along the way, and there always will be. However, whenever I get a message from someone sharing a story with me or telling me I have encouraged them to start training, it makes it all worth it. Being that I am a local competitor and coach, I usually run into people who are fans of the content I put out, so it is always fun chatting with them or even competing/training with them. Social media can be a great thing, and by being involved with it to the extent that I am, it has opened the doors to a lot of opportunities. I have been able to travel the country and even out of the country to teach or train with some of the best out there. I never thought that making self-defense videos would lead to that.
What has been your favorite part about teaching self-defense? Is there a moment in particular you think fondly of?
I just love seeing the confidence people get in themselves when they learn how to fight. There was actually a moment recently that has stuck with me. I have a female student who started training with me in one of my women’s self-defense classes and then transitioned over to our striking class. She has been training with me now for almost a year, and her entire demeanor has changed. You can see her confidence when she walks into a room.
She rarely backs down from a challenge, and has even started coming to our sparring classes and recently joined the Jiu Jitsu classes (which consist mostly of men). It has been awesome watching her grow not only as a person, but also in her skills. Strong punches, beautiful kicks, and starting to get the hang of grappling. This is why I encourage people to train, because it gives you that sense of confidence. Knowing that you can physically protect yourself and you are not afraid to go hands-on if needed is something that everyone should have.
Lastly, do you have any advice for other instructors who want to start self-defense seminars or make an impact within their own community?
Train often, work with other instructors, and do not be afraid of being a “white belt” in something. Too often do I see instructors who are afraid to be proven wrong or feel that their way is THE way. You have to always be a student first. Experiment with techniques. Work with different instructors and different disciplines so that you can be as well-rounded as possible. In addition, study violence. In a world where people are always recording videos, we have an endless supply of fights that we can learn from, which allows us to develop a proper program. From there, start teaching. Even if you suck at first, you need to keep going. It takes time to really develop a smooth program, and you always have to be making adjustments.
Do you have any future goals ahead or words of wisdom?
I won’t say what yet, but I am working on a couple of projects that are self-defense related that I am excited about. One of them will be directed towards children, and being a father myself, I am very excited for this one. Other than that, go train!
