Testimonial

Morgan Barkus

At least 10 years ago I was robbed. I’m fortunate there was no weapon involved and I clumsily fought my way through it. I’ve dealt with an extreme stalker, various incidents that could have gone badly, and as innocent as a overly friendly neighbor. I felt it was time to learn how to defend myself if necessary. What a class! I will take more of the workshops in future. John Riddle is honest, experienced, and clear in his instruction. As an educator myself (totally different genre!) I appreciate clarity and applicability. Amazing experience with John Riddle at Riddle Defense: Professional, experienced, clear. Best in the business!

Mayra Stern

Very good self defense classes. I went with a few friends and we learned so much. Very good teachers and dedicated staff. it is worth every penny.

Derek Gelber

I teach high level performers for a living. John is the greatest teacher I’ve ever met. I studied under him for a short time before moving. Still have yet to find his ability to instruct elsewhere. I’ve found people that are experts, but none teach as well as John. If you’re thinking about taking any of his courses, just do it. Only thing is, if you move out of town, good luck finding an equal replacement. It just doesn’t exist.

Nancy Galati

Very useful / informative / practical! Great for moms and teenage daughters !! Bully’s beware!

Chemi Williams

John, Leigh and his team put together an amazing day of training! We learned Force on Force simunitions training. First – absolutely appreciated their safety measures..this group is on point!!!! Then each training scenario was run and debriefed in a manner that allowed you to absorb what happened and learn from it. All instruction was educational and constructive, at no time were mistakes criticized and you always felt that you were in a positive training environment. I had no prior simunition training and was nervous to be honest, but they explained everything and put me at ease. I highly recommend taking this class.

Maria

Riddle Defense has been transformational for my son who suffers from social anxiety. The skills learned in the program have helped him to develop his self-esteem and self awareness. I can’t imagine anyone sending their child to college without these skills. I would say that these self-defense skills are more important than many of the skills that people want their children to have as they grow up.

May 2019

Kris Bell Ebel

John Riddle is a top trainer in every aspect. He knows tactics, firearms and self-defense and communicates his expertise well to his students. Anyone who trains with him is lucky to have him as a mentor.

Cynthia Heffron

I have trained with John in his group trainings and had a private lesson on the range. John is a very skilled trainer. He pays attention to every detail, makes safety paramount and teaches way beyond the basics. He brings his skills from his vast past experience….which makes his training invaluable. I highly recommend any training by Progressive Self Defense Systems!

Bernadette Dudek-Bier

HUGE THANK YOU TO John (Riddle Defense) for my amazing training and certification today!!! The knowledge, experience, patience & education was over the top!!! Anyone looking to learn, continue your education or just perfect your skills give John a call. You will NOT BE SORRY!

Jeff Hansel

I started working with John with little experience and not much confidence handling my firearm. John is an excellent communicator and teacher with the patience and knowledge to learn at your own pace. After several sessions I am very confident and quite efficient at accuracy hitting the target, reloading under pressure, fixing the weapon when it get’s jammed and understanding how to safely carry my firearm on a daily basis and god forbid know how to use it if need be.

If you are looking for a firearm instructor who actually teaches with enthusiasm, is very knowledgeable, takes pride in what he does and creates a challenging and fun environment, look no further than John Riddle and Riddle Defense.

Alex

Basic Self Defense In & Around Vehicle was an extremely educational and eye opening experience.

There are many details that I would not ever think about when fighting in or around the vehicle, if it wasn’t for the this course.

The techniques, the presentation and the level of explanation by John and his team were beyond satisfactory.

Thank you!!!

Lori Wolin

I have taken 2 classes here (soon to be 3) and John and his team are fabulous. John has so much knowledge and every minute of each class is informational, practical, and well-stated. What a great service you offer. Thank you!

Carl Schreck

An excellent training facility for building competency in close-quarter hand-to-hand combat, real-world application of defensive firearms and just general physical fitness. John Riddle has an amazing ability to really break things down into the most fundamental steps that can be readily absorbed and then transformed into second-nature reaction when needed. Highly recommend.

Jason Carr

I got to sneak in a Combat Fitness class this morning with Leigh while I am down from NJ visiting family for the holidays. Was a great class! Looking forward to being able to take the Krav class next time I’m down in the area.

Cleavon Crape

Had an amazing time with the Riddle Defense team in an intro had fun class. Having shot in IDPA for a couple years this was definitely a humbling but highly educational experience. Can’t wait to get signed up for more training.

Michelle Soto

Thank you John, I had such a great time taking your class. You are a fantastic instructor. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Looking forward to taking future classes. Have a great week!

Mitch Woodruff

I’ve known John for 20 years and trained with him in various classes and worked in the streets with him. Very smart, very intense and doesn’t just talk about it, he lives it. There is nobody I’d rather have next to me during a situation, no matter how bad it got. And I’d trust him with my family and never have to worry about their safety. John is one of the best teachers, coaches ( no matter the discipline)and/or men I’ve ever met. He has mastered the discipline and used it before ever teaching it.

Elizabeth Daghmizian

I did 2 classes and I feel it was a great experience.
A realistic situation that it can happen anytime.
And it give me a little more confidence getting in and out of my car or around any parking lot, not only confidence but awareness.

Thank you for making this class.
I really appreciate.

Colby

Total length was great. The review of rapid fire strikes on first day was very helpful but I feel could have been cut down just a bit to allow for more time around the vehicle. Maybe even get the quick tutorial of the different attacks completed that day so the next 2 days can be right to the car.

The most valuable portion by far was the drills with impact reducing suits. (Hats off to the team as I know they took a beating) As with anything, reps is the name of the game. I would say that at a minimum every attack from a suited attacker should be done at least twice time permitting. The first one gets you the adrenaline charge and the humbling of being in a less than ideal environment. The second allows you to sharpen the counter-attack. (I think we did more than one on most but maybe not all)

The other thing I would maybe consider is a brief component on attacks though an open or broken side window. Many cars self lock these days but attacks can definitely happen through a window.

The situational awareness component is a huge plus in the course and overall I think it was a great presentation.

Colin Hoppes

I took 2 hand gun course from Riddle in the past 2 months. I have to say I had not only a lot of fun but I learned quite a bit. I have a law enforcement back ground and I shoot often but I felt that I learned new techniques and have much more confidence in my firearm abilities. One of the biggest factors that makes me want to come back and take these courses and recommend them to friends is that Riddle never pushes his own beliefs on you. He shows you techniques and what has worked for him and others, but he doesn’t try to change your ways if something works well for you. The only thing he wants from you though is to be safe, which is very important during any firearm class. Whether you are a novice or expert, I recommend taking his firearm classes.

Erik Espinola

A perfect weapon sir!!! You are a great teacher and an encyclopedia of info on all combat, weapons, and survival.

Gloria Brennan

The absolute best real life class ever. John, Leigh and the team at progressive self defense systems are amazing!!! I took away so much info, courage, and also realized that practicing with the best makes me want to train more. I am waiting for my next class with great excitement. Thanks so much for all that you do.

David Murphy

John, your retentions course today was very eye opening, really pushed the envelope for me. I’d like to train more. I am an NRA Instructor and Range Safety Officer, plus I have a Florida D and G License. You and Joe did a first rate job today!

Carolina Orr

I was only present for the last day but this was one of my favorite classes I’ve ever taken. I think what we learned was very valuable to anyone who has a car and it’s important to increase people’s awareness that these attacks can happen at any time in any place whether it’s at the gas station, at the store, or even in your own driveway where you feel safe. I really appreciated being able to practice against men that were all padded up because it allowed me to really get into the mentality of a real situation and use the force I would against a real attacker. It was great that they didn’t hold back and attacked with the speed and force that I assume an assailant would. Doing so really helped set in a fight-or-flight response and prepares you for the shock and adrenaline you’ll encounter in a real-life situation. Having entered this mentality, it prepared me for how I would react and how I can better increase my awareness of what needs to be done if this situation ever arises. I now know that a seat belt is something that can trap me if my doors are unlocked, that I need to always look at the reflection in my windows to make sure no one is coming up behind me, and that I need to not have my windows rolled down if I’m idling in the car. Having only been there for one night of the workshop, I don’t have anything constructive to bring to this review. The only thing I could offer is that I think practice makes perfect. If this is going to be presented during a Women’s Self Defense Workshop (with women that haven’t previously taken any Krav classes or Self Defense classes before), I think it would be beneficial to just have repetitive practicing of these moves to, hopefully, train it into habit. Whether that can be completed within a few hours, I’m not sure, but putting people into fight-or-flight situations like this really makes them second guess their safety and increase their situational awareness for the future. It did for me.

Bridgette King

This is an impressive, experienced and knowledgeable training firm. I took their Home Defense Room Clearing course and think it’s an absolute necessity for ANY CCW holder or even has a gun just in their home for self defense. The instructors did a great job of creating very realistic scenarios and making you feel as if you’re truly in a potential life or death situation, with all the physiological responses that come along with it. I highly recommend this firm and this course and will surely be taking more of their training in the future.

Britannia

Loved this class and loved our instructor! So informative! I can honestly say I left knowing more, not only about the course, but also about many other facets of law and self defense. I came in a little nervous and left more confident than I ever expected. Thank you so much! Can’t wait to get back out for our next course!

Suzy Hulsing Zahn

Great workouts with a great instructor. Always making sure my form is perfect! Thank you!!

Christine E. Rodenbo

I really enjoyed all 3 segments of the class and appreciated how they built on the previous segment. I felt it important to implement the base skills in a more dynamic way that integrated movement the first session. Driving the attacker back while executing powerful techniques was more challenging than I expected it to be and fully benefited from that opportunity.

I appreciated being able to train in the close car environment as it added a completely new level of intensity. Having multiple segments gave me time to reflect and improve from one session to the next. For instance, I realized I was continually trying to knee the attacker with my right knee, but often that was completely ineffective and I had to be more comfortable using my left and quickly adjust or just alternate knees to begin with.

I was incredibly grateful for the team allowing us to train with them in suits as it gave a bit more freedom to follow through with techniques and make contact. There was consistent and useful feedback throughout the session and care for ensuring that I understood if a technique I was using was or was not effective.

I really like that the sessions were split and had the amount of time that they did. I would have even liked a bit more practice to work on techniques (takedown) or multiple attackers.

As always, greatly appreciate the training and learning opportunities provided by you and the team!

Jackie Irwin Hoxie

This was my first time doing training like this and I was nervous. John and his crew are wonderful and they make you feel safe in this training environment. I learned so much… this was a great experience.

Fuad Abbsi

This course was an eye opener In terms of defense inside and outside a vehicle. These tactics have to be learned because our natural response and reflexes could end up in a bad situation quickly. Johns no nonsense approach to self defense certainly carries over into the defense course inside a vehicle.. Invaluable training for anybody.

Patryk Jendroska

The best training you will ever get.

Joseph Vazquez

I thought the course was a great addition to reminding us of the growing evil in society. It made the thought of being attacked in and around one’s car a reality. I appreciated the black belts amped aggressiveness as it helped switch my mind a little bit more to that fight/flight response. More of that is good I think. I also appreciated learning about the trunk escape. I had no idea that was an option.

David Kitchin

Riddle Defense is a an amazing place to train. John and the other trainers are excellent at what they do, and really take the time out to help each individual get better. The krav maga program is extensive, well taught, and focuses on real life application; and everyone in the class is supportive, friendly, and will help you get better. The fitness classes with Leigh are great as well. It’s a very fun class with lots of interval training, and as a trainer, Leigh will push you to achieve the best results possible. I truly couldn’t think of a better place to train, or better people to train with, and I highly recommend training here!!