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Students learning Kajukenbo at the Sew-Dun Martial Arts studio better remove the words 'can't' or 'won't' from their vocabulary unless they like doing push-ups and writing essays.

Owner and instructor Sifu O'Neill Sewell-Dunlap won't tolerate that sort of negativity in his studio.

"I hope my students get the sense that there's nothing they can't do," O'Neill Sewell-Dunlap said. "I want them to learn how to respect and value themselves. I want them to gain confidence and the knowhow to trust in themselves that they can do anything."

Open since February, the studio offers classes in Kajukenbo, kickboxing and self-defense for kids and adults. Classes are offered in the evenings Monday-Thursday and on Saturday mornings.

The martial art style Kajukenbo combines the techniques of Karate (KA), Judo and Jujitsu (JU), Kenpo (KEN) and Chinese and American boxing (BO). Kajukenbo was developed in Hawaii in 1947 by the Black Belt Society, a group of black belts from various martial arts backgrounds who met to train and learn from each other.

Kajukenbo is a progressive, ever-evolving style designed to take the best aspects of any martial arts style and incorporate it into one mixed style, said O'Neill Sewell-Dunlap.
"It's still rooted in tradition, however, it's not static," he said. "It's not one of those styles where there is only one way of doing something."

O'Neill Sewell-Dunlap is a certified black belt and instructor. He has more than 17 years of mixed martial arts training and more than 10 years of teaching experience.

In his classes, O'Neill Sewell-Dunlap uses the Kajukenbo philosophy to instill six core values: honesty, courtesy, respect, discipline, courage and trust.

"The goal of Kajukenbo as I teach it and as I've learned it is to make yourself and everyone around you better," he said. "We're all about building and not tearing down."

The studio offers a juniors program for kids ages 6-12 for $75 a month. Kids learn the basics of Kajukenbo, including how to punch, kick, poke and block, and how to coordinate strikes when fighting in self-defense. They also learn life lessons, like respect, focus and control.

"I really like how the instructor encourages life lessons," Petra Schmidt said. Schmidt is taking Kajukenbo classes with her husband and two of her four children.

"That surprises me," she said. "I assumed it was learning how to punch and kick, but we're learning lessons you can use in school or wherever you are."

An adults program for those 13 and up is offered for $85 a month. In the program, teens and adults learn the basics of Kajukenbo, as well as knife fighting and modern Arnis, a Filipino fighting art with sticks.

"I'm teaching self-defense, so the main thing is avoidance," O'Neill Sewell-Dunlap said.

The studio also offers two kickboxing programs for $55 a month a fitness kickboxing class called Karate Flex and a traditional kickboxing class. In Karate Flex, O'Neill Sewell-Dunlap has his students do a mixture of cardio, strength training and cross-training exercises.

In traditional kickboxing, students learn punching, boxing and kicking techniques, as well as techniques from Asian styles of fighting that use elbows and knees.

"Just learning how to punch and how to gain balance and control of their stature empowers my students," O'Neill Sewell-Dunlap said. "They get a bit of confidence and they walk out of here with their head up."

A women's self-defense class is also offered for $85 a month. The class is meant to empower women so that they no longer feel like victims. Women learn basic self-defense techniques, as well as self-awareness and how to assess situations in which they feel threatened or unsafe.

Discounts are available for families and low-income students.

"I'm not in it for the money," O'Neill Sewell-Dunlap said. "As long as I've got enough students to keep the doors open, I'm a happy guy because my thing is to teach."

For more information contact O'Neill Sewell-Dunlap at (425) 347-8241 or visit the studio at 3710 Mukilteo Blvd.