I am a little late for my appointment with Codie and Heather Braegger, husband and wife co-owners of Defiance Martial Arts in downtown Brigham City. Fortunately for me they don’t mind and are very gracious as they welcome me to their training hall. The dojo (what they call martial arts training halls) consists of two rooms featuring padded floors and mirrored walls further decorated with various martial arts paraphernalia. I notice that the space is not as large as other dojos I have visited. Nevertheless, what they lack in square footage, the Braeggers more than make up for in their shared enthusiasm and passion for the martial arts. I instantly feel at home and sit down for a highly entertaining and enlightening conversation. Throughout, I notice not just devotion to the martial arts but also to each other. Indeed, theirs is a singular romance born on the mat and further spiced with good natured ribbing but a profound humility often lacking in many other martial arts instructors.
Also, while they are co-head instructors of their school, they are also quite young and I soon come to find out that they are definitely not replicas of each other. Codie is not Heather’s instructor and Heather is not Codie’s. But they are both competent martial arts instructors each in their own right informed by a wide variety of sources. Further, they both have diverging interests within the martial arts and while they both teach self-defense, they go at it from different points of view. This they admit and are quite open about. Nevertheless, all this helps them in that their individual styles complement each other instead of getting in each other’s way. Indeed they are true partners.
Codie, was introduced to the martial arts the way many of us were, through the movies. His interest was specifically sparked after watching a Chuck Norris movie when he was six years old. He was instantly hooked. But at the time there weren’t any dojos where he could train. This, however, did not deter him. He started training himself with books and videos.
Since then he has never ceased in his studies. It took a little while but at fourteen he did find a school to train him and he has since achieved an impressive set of credentials. He is a Black Belt in Funakoshi Karate and a Black Belt in Bushido Kickboxing. He has also achieved full instructor rank in Progressive Fighting Systems directly under Sifu Paul Vunak, a world renowned legend in the martial arts community who also trains Navy Seals in hand-to-hand combat. For Codie, however, his experience in these quite different martial styles as well as his experience in his other profession as a Private Investigator provides him with an authoritative point of view unique to him as well as a distinctive flavor in his teaching of self-defense that is much needed in our society.
Heather, on the other hand, began her martial arts training when she was twelve. She had tried every other “girl activity,” from ballet to gymnastics. But when she tried the martial arts, she says that it just fit. She has been training ever since. She is a small woman, but weak is not a word you can use to describe her. This mother of four is a Black Belt in Funakoshi Karate, like her husband. But she is also a Certified Fitness Trainer and has nearly completed her requirements for full instructor rank in Krav Maga, a very no-nonsense Israeli martial art and self-defense system.
Heather is a tireless advocate of women’s self-defense and she knows whereof she speaks. She is open and honest about being raised in a violent household and this informs her approach to the martial arts in general and self-defense in particular. To Heather, martial arts and motherhood go hand in hand and she is a fervent believer in a woman’s ability to defend herself and her children. In this two words come to mind - Mamma Bear.
Together, Codie and Heather opened Defiance Martial Arts in 2008 and have since gained a small following in Brigham City. Further, the school itself has begun to make a name for itself at various martial arts tournament circuits. Indeed, Codie and Heather Braegger are an asset to the community and we should expect great things from them for many years to come. Their school is located at 33 South Main Street in downtown Brigham City.
