FOUNDER & HEAD INSTRUCTOR · CADRE ACADEMY
Leon Koh
Self-Defence · Combatives · Martial Arts Education
Leon Koh is a Singapore-based self-defence and combatives educator, martial arts master and founder of CADRE Academy.
With nearly four decades of martial arts experience and three decades of teaching, Leon Koh's work spans self-defence, defensive tactics, combatives, tactical training and professional coaching. His approach brings together practical skills, contemporary training methodologies and an understanding of how people learn and perform under pressure.
His professional background includes national-level coaching, tertiary education, technical advisory work and international martial arts appointments.
THE PERSON BEHIND THE PRACTICE
Nearly Four Decades of Martial Arts.
Three Decades of Teaching.
The Beginning
My martial arts journey began in the 1980s. By 1996, I had started teaching.
I have always learned best through movement and experience. Memorising sequences of techniques never came naturally to me.
In my early years, training often meant learning prescribed movements, collecting techniques from instructors and martial arts magazines, and practising them repeatedly.
When something wasn't working, the advice was usually to practise more.
But knowing what to practise wasn't the same as understanding how to improve.
When Training Met Reality
An encounter overseas challenged what I thought I understood about martial arts and self-defence.
Techniques I had practised were not immediately accessible. The situation unfolded differently from training, and even the physical interaction felt unfamiliar.
“Why was something I could perform in training so difficult to access in a real situation?”
That experience changed the questions I was asking. Rather than searching for more techniques, I began examining how people learn, make decisions and respond when circumstances become unpredictable.
From Experience to Understanding
My search for answers led me towards reality-based and scenario-based training, defensive tactics and applied psychology.
Through continued training, teaching and study, I came to recognise that learning a technique and understanding the idea it expresses are not necessarily the same thing.
Today, I teach techniques as examples of underlying ideas and principles, not fixed answers to specific problems. Understanding those ideas helps students recognise opportunities and adapt when conditions change. This does not make repetition less important. It gives repetition a clearer purpose.
At CADRE Academy, we combine technical instruction with interaction, resistance, feedback and scenario-based training. Students explore what works, why it works and how their responses may need to change.
My goal is not to give students a collection of answers to remember. It is to help them develop the understanding and adaptability to respond when reality does not follow the script.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE & LEADERSHIP
Beyond the Training Floor
Contributions to education, national coaching, defensive tactics and organisational leadership.
Education & Human Performance
Leon is an Associate Lecturer at Republic Polytechnic, where he teaches subjects relating to sports science, exercise psychology and physical activity.
His academic teaching complements his practical coaching experience, connecting how people learn, develop skills and perform with the demands of physical training.
National Coaching & Technical Development
A former Singapore national Taekwondo coach, Leon has experience in competitive athlete development, technical instruction and coaching education.
He currently serves as Head of Poomsae for Changmookwon Taekwondo Singapore, contributing to technical development and standards within the organisation.
Defensive Tactics & Professional Advisory
Leon's experience in defensive tactics includes training enforcement officers from government agencies and providing specialist instruction in close-combat skills
He also serves as a technical advisor to Kingstride, which provides instructors for Singapore Armed Forces close-combat training and conducts instructor development programmes for personnel responsible for delivering that training.
Through his consultancy with Kingstride, Leon has also contributed technical advice to the review and development of SAF close-combat training curricula.
Organisational Leadership & Governance
Leon has held senior leadership and administrative appointments within martial arts organisations.
His appointments include:
Vice-President,
Global Traditional Taekwondo Federation Singapore
— Current
Assistant Secretary-General,
Singapore Taekwondo Federation
— Former
Vice-President,
Kummooyeh Singapore
— Former
Lineage, Responsibility & Continuing Development
Leon's martial arts development has been shaped by decades of training, mentorship and technical exchange across different disciplines.
His relationships with Avi Nardia and Professor John D. Machado extend beyond personal training into responsibilities for technical development, representation and the continuation of their respective martial arts traditions.
Leon Koh and Avi Nardia during a technical exchange.
Avi Nardia —
KAPAP Krav Maga, Integrated Jiujitsu &
Close Distance Combat
LLeon has trained extensively under Avi Nardia, whose approach to KAPAP Krav Maga, Integrated Jiujitsu and Close Distance Combat (CDC) has significantly influenced his technical development and teaching.
In 2025, Leon received his 10th Dan recognition under Avi Nardia in KAPAP Krav Maga–Israeli Jiujitsu.
Beyond rank, Avi Nardia has entrusted Leon with the custodianship of KAPAP Krav Maga within Avi Nardia Academy. This responsibility involves preserving its technical heritage, maintaining continuity and supporting the development of instructors who continue to teach the system.
Leon also serves as Avi Nardia Academy's representative in Asia for Integrated Jiujitsu and Close Distance Combat (CDC), supporting the continued development of these training systems.
Close Distance Combat is a distinct system created by Avi Nardia, with its own principles, standards and technical lineage. It reflects his continuing development of practical combat and defensive training, with an emphasis on preparation, adaptability and responsible application.
Professor John D. Machado
— Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Leon is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and Professor recognised under Professor John D. Machado.
Through this relationship, CADRE Academy has been appointed as an official representative of Professor Machado's Jiu-Jitsu in Singapore, with Leon entrusted to establish John Machado Jiu-Jitsu Singapore.
This affiliation brings a recognised Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu lineage into CADRE Academy while complementing the broader training approach of Integrated Jiujitsu.
Professor John D. Machado conducting Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instruction.
BROADER MARTIAL ARTS FOUNDATIONS
A Foundation Across Disciplines
Alongside his principal lineages, Leon's martial arts background includes senior qualifications across several disciplines, contributing to his broader understanding of striking, grappling, weapons and technical instruction.
8th Dan
Taekwondo
4th Dan
Korean Swordsmanship
2nd Dan
Arnis
SPECIALIST TRAINING & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Specialist Training in Self-Defence & Combatives
Alongside his martial arts development, Leon has pursued specialist training in behaviour-based self-defence, close-quarter battle, combatives and protective disciplines.
These areas are interconnected, contributing different perspectives on human behaviour, tactical decision-making and the application of physical skills under pressure.
Behaviour-Based Self-Defence — Tony Blauer's SPEAR System
Leon was certified in Tony Blauer's SPEAR System in the United States in 2007.
The SPEAR System is a behaviour-based self-defence approach that examines human protective responses and their relationship to personal defence.
His development within the SPEAR training framework includes Personal Defense Readiness, Ballistic Microfight and multiple-assailant defence, with particular emphasis on understanding human protective responses and their application to defensive tactics.
Close-Quarter Battle & Combatives
Leon's specialist training also encompasses close-quarter battle, combatives, firearms and weapons-related disciplines.
His training and instructor qualifications include handgun, rifle and shotgun instruction, combat transition shooting, tactical ground fighting, weapons protection and modular blade training.
This training has broadened Leon's understanding of close-range confrontation, weapon-related considerations and the relationship between physical skills, tactical decision-making and operational context.
Specialist Protective Training
Leon's professional development further includes executive protection and associated protective skills.
This training adds another perspective to his work, where awareness, anticipation, decision-making and protective responsibilities are considered alongside physical defensive capabilities.
THE APPROACH TO TEACHING
Finding What Makes Learning Click
After three decades of teaching, Leon recognises that knowing how to perform a skill and knowing how to help someone learn it are different abilities.
His approach begins with observing and understanding the learner. Sometimes, a different explanation, a question or a small adjustment is enough to help someone make progress.
He also encourages students to pay attention to their experiences, including how they respond to difficulty, uncertainty and frustration, and to reflect on what those experiences can teach them.
For Leon, teaching is not simply about providing answers. It is about helping students develop the understanding to discover answers for themselves.
SELECETED QUALIFICATIONS & CREDENTIALS
A Foundation of Training & Continuing Development
Academic & Behavioural Studies
Bachelor of Applied Science
Specialist Diploma Applied Psychology
Specialist Diploma Sports & Exercise Science
Graduate Diploma Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
Certified Extended DISC Analyst
Martial Arts Qualifications
10th Dan — KAPAP Krav Maga - Israeli Jiujitsu
8th Dan — Taekwondo
First Degree Black Belt — Brazilian Jiu-jitsu
Black Belt — Integrated Jiujitsu—
4th Dan — Kummooyeh (Korean Swordsmanship & Archery)
2nd Dan — Arnis
Specialist Instructor Certifications
KAPAP Krav Maga Level 4 Instructor
Integrated Jiujitsu Instructor
SPEAR System Fundamentals Coach
CQB Combat Handgun Level 2 Instructor
CQB Level 2 Instructor
CRMIPT Instructor
Executive Protection Specialist
Coaching & Professional Development
National Coaching Accreditation Programme - Level 2
National Registry of Coaches
Effective Youth Coaching - NYSI
First Aid/CPR/AED
PUTTING EXPERIENCE INTO PRACTICE
Continuing the Work at CADRE Academy
As founder and head instructor of CADRE Academy in Singapore, Leon Koh brings his experience in martial arts, self-defence, combatives and education into the training environment.
His work includes Integrated Jiujitsu under Avi Nardia Academy, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Professor John D. Machado, and Close Distance Combat (CDC), the distinct system created by Avi Nardia for specialist combatives and defensive training.
At CADRE, this experience informs progressive self-defence training for children and adults, alongside practical personal safety education. The emphasis remains on understanding, adaptability, decision-making and learning through experience.
For Leon, CADRE Academy is not simply a place to pass on what he has learned. It is where he continues to teach, question, refine and develop his understanding alongside his students.
TRAIN FOR LIFE · PREPARE FOR REALITY.
Train For Life.
Prepare For Reality
Contact
Tel: +65 6974 5844
© 2026 CADRE Self Defense & Martial Arts Academy. All Rights Reserved.
CADRE Self Defense & Martial Arts Academy
200 Upper Thomson Road,
Thomson Imperial Court
#01-08 Singapore 574424
#019-