Today we’d like to introduce you to Kai Tomas.
Hi Kai, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I began as a young enthusiast for Japanese martial arts, practicing in my backyard with friends. I later found traditional schools that I enrolled in and began learning all I could, especially during my high school and college years.
During this time, I began my work in the private security/bail enforcement world and linked up with military and law enforcement professionals. Along with my work, I was fortunate enough to cross-train with many of these professionals either through public coursework or through private training. I began cross-training in combatives, mma, boxing, firearms, and knifework at this time. In 2015, I opened up Applied Defense Concepts LLC and began designing courses for self-defense and firearms training.
At around 2019, I started a small club focused around historical European swordsmanship, known as HEMA. This club grew exponentially in the next 5 years and is now a full-sized academy called Ludus Ferocia, that teaches over 10 historical sword disciplines. We expanded to running a second school this past year, in FXBG, VA.
The two organizations (ADC and Ludus Ferocia) live side-by-side in the same building, teaching different clientele. Both are heavily based in community-building.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Owning these businesses have had many trials and bumps along the way. We took no loan out to make this happen and so it was due to the hard work of our team and innovations of our classes and products that made us succeed. There were times that we didnt think we would make it to the next month, but we always did. This path has tested me personally on a social, emotional, and financial level. I am not a true success story yet. I still have these troubles, but I have no doubt there will be a chapter where everything will be fruitful.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I started two entities that occupy the same company. ADC Training was my first project, aiming to teach modern self-defense and public safety disciplines to professionals and citizens. I was never in the military or law enforcement, and so I am proud that we have had multiple occasions where we have vended services to the elite of our military in the past. We have thousands of people at this point, be from women self-defense courses all the way to active shooter training. My philosophy for this company is that if you arm enough people in a community with knowledge, they will begin to use that knowledge to make the community safer (and freer). It comes down to how human beings most naturally live together.
Ludus Ferocia, was an unintended organization. I’ve had an interest in swords since childhood and I found that MANY other people did too. Our organization teaches HEMA (historical European martial arts) and Kenjutsu (Japanese swordsmanship). What started as only one discipline, grew into over 10 in 5 years. We now offer weekly classes on rapier, smallsword, Irish stick fighting, and so much more. Each with their own instructors, mini community, and culture. I am most proud of our connections to other schools and teachers. We have hosted many high-profile teachers in the HEMA space and all of us have learned so much from them. HEMA is still in it’s growing phases in the US so to be at the start of it, has been a blessing. Our community has also been so warm, welcoming, and fun to newcomers. It is a culture I am proud to have helped build.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Without risk taking, there is reward. All dreams are built upon risks that must be constantly weighed against probability. I am a dreamer by nature and so, I tend to want things I don’t have yet. I was not a risk taker as a child, it was something I learned through both my failures and successes. I have also been surrounded by people who are business owners and dreamers like me. All of them that are still in business, have spoken to me at length about the importance of smart risk taking. It is an inevitability.
Pricing:
- $150 Per Month Unlimited Classes
- $60 Private Classes
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.applieddefenseconcepts.com/ https://historicalfightingarts.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LudusFerocia https://www.facebook.com/AppliedDefenseConcepts
