Ready to Learn Martial Arts Based Kickboxing and/or Transform your Overall Striking Game?
CT Freestyle Kickboxing by Black Tiger Martial Arts LLC at Dandelion BJJ is dedicated to shaping students to move through the world with quiet confidence. Freestyle Kickboxing rooted in martial arts is based on being calm, positive, and steady on the outside, yet powerful, precise, and dangerous when it’s time to train, striving towards the philosophy of an outward display of stoic serenity that conceals the power within. This is where discipline meets intensity.
The Way (TAO) of Martial Arts in Kickboxing
Freestyle Kickboxng in our program is about more than fighting and hitting hard. It is an athletic program to build technical skill but mastering the art of quiet strength. Our vision is for our students to carry themselves with serenity, integrity, self-control and confidence, but in the gym they transform into disciplined, skilled, formidable warriors. That contrast…calm on the outside, unstoppable within… is the Tao (Way) of Freestyle Kickboxing in this program.
Through dedicated martial arts based kickboxing training, you discover this balance for yourself — learning to channel power with control, focus with calm, and strength with humility. This pursuit of inner-outer harmony is the core reason the CT Freestyle Kickboxing program was created: to help every student become their strongest, most centered self.
What Sets This Program Apart:
Are you a boxer looking to integrate effective kicking techniques into your skillset?
A kickboxer or MMA practitioner aiming to expand your arsenal?
A traditional martial artist—karate, taekwondo, or otherwise—interested in blending boxing skills seamlessly into your style?
A grappler, wrestler, or BJJ practitioner who wants to develop striking skills and add a new dimension to your game?
Or maybe you’re brand new to martial arts and searching for the striking discipline that fits you best?
If any of these sound like you, this program is designed for you.
Extremely Comprehensive Striking Program
• Multi-Style Fusion: Drawing from a foundation of kickboxing and incorporating boxing, Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do and many other arts, this program fuses a vast array of versatile techniques you can learn and develop your striking style.
• Positive Atmosphere: This program aims to target your growth areas and amplify your strengths in a positive, safe and encouraging environment.
• All Levels Welcome: From beginners to lifelong martial artists, our approach adapts to your pace and ambition.
• Goal-Oriented Progression: Whether you’re training for competition, or peak fitness, we build your striking toolbox with purpose.
What is "Freestyle" Kickboxing?
Freestyle Kickboxing is a competitive sport that typically takes place in a ring with boxing gloves, similar to Western Boxing. It can be practiced for competition, self-defense, fitness, or simply for fun. Originating from a blend of Western boxing and karate in the 1970s, freestyle kickboxing generally does not allow clinching, grappling, knees, and leg kicks; however, freestyle occasionally incorporates these techniques depending on the governing body or organizations ruleset. Freestyle kickboxing strongly emphasizes boxing-style hands and karate-style kicks above the belt, For those looking for kickboxing in New Haven County, this style offers a dynamic workout, with an emphasis on building overall skill and technique in a motivational supportive environment at Dandelion BJJ.
As a child in the early 80s, Instructor MJ loved watching martial arts flicks with his older siblings and acting them out, much to the amusement of his brother and sisters. His parents signed him up for Taekwondo lessons, but at the time he was young and more interested in the flashy moves he saw in the movies than in what was being taught in his Connecticut martial arts classes. Around the age of 13, he switched to Kempo Karate. While there, he did what was highly forbidden at the time and joined an additional school in town that offered East Haven kickboxing. Although he loved Shaolin Kempo and revered his instructor, he hungered to learn various arts. The new school taught Tang Soo Do and embraced the same cross-training approach he loved in martial arts, offering boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, Aikido, Japanese Jujitsu, Gracie Jujitsu, and even out-of-town trips to learn the unarmed ninja art of Taijutsu! He became a junior assistant instructor of Tang Soo Do and competed frequently, remaining undefeated and ranked in the top 5 competitors in teen intermediate open karate point sparring during that time, highlighting his prowess in kickboxing in New Haven County.
He continued to hunger to learn as many martial arts as possible, transitioning from style to style and school to school, experiencing various forms of martial arts under numerous instructors and masters. He dedicated time to training with Larry Rogers Top Ten and competing in open karate tournaments. After moving away for college to the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, he eagerly joined every martial arts club on campus, including Aikido, Jujitsu, and Boxing, which led him back to WTF Taekwondo, where he advanced to apprentice black (Poom) belt.
In the early 2000s, a cardio kickboxing aerobics craze swept through gyms and fitness centers, presenting a vastly different experience from the competitive kickboxing found in the martial arts world. Instructor MJ embraced this trend and also participated in cardio kickboxing aerobic classes at UMBC, further enhancing his skills and passion for kickboxing, which is popular among those seeking kickboxing in New Haven County and East Haven kickboxing options. Additionally, his interest in diverse martial arts eventually drew him toward the striking techniques of Muay Thai.
Instructor MJ moved back to Connecticut to complete his college education at Southern Connecticut State University, where he joined the SCSU Karate Club, part of the Cheezic Tang Soo Do Federation, and competed in intercollegiate tournaments. The head instructor and owner of the school where he first studied kickboxing as a teen also taught a kickboxing padwork class at SCSU, and Instructor MJ frequently trained in that class, enhancing his skills in Connecticut martial arts.
While training in Tang Soo Do with the SCSU Karate Club, he returned to WTF Taekwondo and became a certified cardio kickboxing instructor and a certified personal trainer. He utilized competitive kickboxing training, padwork, and drills as his personal training method, teaching cardio kickboxing group fitness classes at about a dozen fitness centers and gymnasiums, including the popular East Haven kickboxing scene. Most classes were packed wall-to-wall! One of those gyms was the Quinnipiac University Fitness Center. After graduating from SCSU, he met Robert Mickey, the Fundamentals of Kickboxing Adjunct Professor at Quinnipiac University, who previously taught at Benny “The Jet” Urquidez’ The Jet Center before relocating from California to Connecticut. He began training in kickboxing again with Mickey and another student, Rob Shrage, further refining his skills in kickboxing in New Haven County, including elements of Muay Thai.
Eventually, Instructor MJ became the Adjunct Professor to teach the Fundamentals of Kickboxing course at Quinnipiac University after Robert Mickey moved away and Rob Shrage graduated. He studied Modern Arnis with Professor Ball for some time at Quinnipiac University. He also earned his red belt from Harold Lindo & Todd Deutsch in Cheezic Tang Soo Do and his first-degree black belt from Sang Pil Kim in Taekwondo around this time. He would still cross train, visit many schools, and dabble in many different martial arts styles, including those found in Connecticut martial arts programs.
After graduation and starting his career in marketing, Instructor MJ also taught classes of Taekwondo under a local organization. As times became hard during the recession of 2008, Instructor MJ spent a couple of years teaching Taekwondo full-time. This is when he met Master Cho before he opened Olympic Taekwondo Academy, and Black Tiger American Kickboxing, which focuses on kickboxing in New Haven County, was ultimately born. His passion also led him to explore Muay Thai, enhancing his expertise in kickboxing and the broader spectrum of martial arts.
He currently teaches credited courses on the Fundamentals of Kickboxing, Taekwondo, and Fitness Training and Nutrition Strategy at Quinnipiac University. Before the pandemic, he was the Head Instructor and Faculty Advisor of The Quinnipiac University MMA Club, and he continues to serve as their Faculty Advisor. In addition to his academic roles, he studies Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and teaches the freestyle kickboxing program at Dandelion BJJ in West Haven, Connecticut. In 2023, he returned to Cheezic Tang Soo Do at the Institute of Martial Arts and earned his 1st degree black belt in 2025, further enhancing his expertise in Connecticut martial arts.Dandelion BJJ in West Haven, Connecticut. In 2023, he returned to training in Cheezic Tang Soo Do at the Institute of Martial Arts and earned his 1st degree black belt in 2025, further enhancing his expertise in martial arts.