About Us

Grandmaster Fredrick J. Villari has accomplished with hardly any publicity. You won’t often see him in Martial Arts magazines public pages. However, with 10,000 Black Belts & 15 million students after its conception, Villari’s Martial Arts Studios are now a far cry from the days when Fred Villari taught two students at seven in the morning in Waltham, Massachusetts. The names Villari and Shaolin Kempo Karate are synonymous with East Coast Kempo. In 1995, the annual Villari national tournament, held at the World Trade Center (Boston), drew 10,000 spectators to watch 5,000 participants. Today, Villari’s Martial Arts Studios in Toronto are the foundation of the Asian martial arts in Canada.

As a young man, Fred Villari studied martial arts with his father. He then progressed by exposing himself to various other Martial Arts Styles. During this period he and Nick Cerio corresponded and trained with Professor William K.S. Chow. Villari’s approach to Kempo was to maintain the style as he learned it through Chow and that is how it is presented in the Villari System today. Fred Villari realized, because of his varied wealth of experience and his dedication in seeking the ultimate fighting system, that each method offered something unique, and each also had its glaring weaknesses that could make a fighter vulnerable.

Villari’s Fighting Techniques

Grandmaster Villari concluded that there really were only four ways of fighting.

• With your hands (punching, striking – open or closed hand) or use of any part of the arms, elbows, forearms, etc.
• Kicking (with foot, leg, knee, shin)
• Felling – that is to knock an opponent off his feet by throwing, tripping, pulling, pushing, shoving, or scooping him
• Grappling – by either wrestling, holding, breaking, locking bones or joints against nerve centers

Grandmaster Villari realized that the ultimate in self-defense lay not in one way or style of fighting. By combining the “Four Ways of Fighting.” he devised and developed ways to integrate diverse methods of fighting into one, eliminating weaknesses and vulnerabilities. This is the central theory and method behind Villari’s art of Shaolin Kempo Karate.

The backbone of the Villari’s style is the Shaolin system since he felt it was the best for promoting overall good health, wisdom, and longevity. This system is well balanced, incorporating mind, body, and spirit into one.
Villari promoted his ideas well through solid instruction and modern business practices. Throughout the years his methods spread around the world. Nowadays, more than 500 schools are teaching his method. Villari’s techniques are directly connected with the martial arts in Toronto and GTA for many years now. In conclusion, his contribution helped to open the way of the Asian martial arts, on a massive scale, to the ordinary layman. Villari is still actively teaching and demonstrating the martial arts in his schools today.

To learn more about martial arts in Toronto, Ajax or North York contact us today.