The VITAL System Overview


VITAL, or we should say V.I.T.A.L. is an acronym for Violence Intervention Training for Anyone’s Life. And that is a fairly concise description of what it’s all about. It’s about putting effective tools and strategies into ordinary individual’s lives so that they may have the best chances of avoiding, escaping, and/or surviving violent crime.

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The VITAL Owners


Charles_Portrait


Charles R. Hepburn II
Founder & Chief Instructor


Charles has studied many martial arts styles, chief among them: Take Kwon Do, Hapkido, Daito Ryu Aiki Ju-Jitsu, Brazilian Ju-Jitsu, Kenpo, and military / police combatives. He has earned 2 Black Belts, as well as several substantial rankings in other styles. He was the Senior Instructor for a large martial arts school near Baltimore for nearly 10 years. He is a certified FAST Defense Instructor and Bulletman. He is a certified WTF fighting referee.

He has completed training seminars on various violence subjects such as: domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault. Charles was the Senior Instructor for a large technical college in Baltimore for 6 years. He has also taught at the university level. He is the Co-Host of the Self-Defense Show Podcast and graduate of the Citizen’s Police Academy of Howard County.

Charles first began creating the VITAL System in 1999. It has taken thousands of hours of exhaustive research and planning to bring the system to where it is today. He continues to be passionately dedicated to equipping people with tools to mitigate violence against them, so they may live a freer more fulfilling life.

Christie_Portrait


Christie M. Hepburn
Business Manager & Assistant Instructor


Christie is the better half of Charles. She has studied various cultures, societies, and human behavior in her anthropological and psychological studies in college. She has earned her Black Belt in WTF Tae Kwon Do. She is the Co-Host of the Self-Defense Show Podcast. She has assisted in creation and facilitation of many self-defense training events. Christie is a certified FAST Defense Coach, as well as a graduate of the Citizen’s Police Academy of Howard County.

As an excellent manager and sales person, Christie continues to push forward the agenda of VITAL Self-Defense, and help others help themselves. She adds dimension and alternate ideas to the scope of our instruction.