State-Journal.com - Self-defense tied to faith

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Photo By Hilly SchifferBill Durbin, an ordained Baptist minister, has been teaching martial arts with Christian ethics in Frankfort for almost 30 years.

Photo By Hilly SchifferBill Durbin instructs Christopher Curtis, 8, at the Christian Martial Arts Association as Tanner Martin, 8, and Alex Barnes, 9, practice during lessons.

Photo By Hilly SchifferBill Durbin, the chaplain at Stewart Home School, prays with students during a Sunday morning worship service.

Bill Durbin’s martial arts classes involve kicks, punches and blocks, but also include hugs, smiles and encouragement.

“There you go,” Bill said to a young student in a recent class. “Let’s see if you can do it smoother this time.”

After the two-hour class is complete, many students hug each other and Bill.

“It’s expressing the love we develop for each other in class,” he said.

Bill, an ordained Baptist minister, has been teaching martial arts infused with Christian ethics in Frankfort for almost 30 years. His lessons stress cooperation over competition and foster love between the students and teachers, he said.

“I feel like this is part of my ministry, my work for God,” Bill said. “I help them stay physically fit, teach them to defend themselves and improve their lives.”

For Bill, self-defense has been tied to his faith ever since he answered the call to the ministry at age 14.

As a teenager in Bardstown, Bill was shy and withdrawn but decided to join the ministry after attending a revival event. Soon after he began preaching at local churches, he was attacked and severely beaten by a students.

“I was a very religious person when I was a kid in the 1960s and that wasn’t real popular,” he said. “Kids were always rebelling against what their parents were doing, and that was going to church.”

One student held Bill down while another punched him in the stomach, he said. He didn’t fight back because he thought that was against his religious beliefs.

Bill’s father, a World War II veteran, taught him some basic self-defense techniques, including punches and kicks. But Bill said he wasn’t comfortable with it because the moves involved hurting another person.

“You don’t have to be brutal and violent to defend yourself.”

He found the answer while training with Richard Stone in Bardstown. Stone was a “gentle giant” who taught ethical and non-violent forms of self-defense, Bill said.

“You never do any more harm than you have to do. Always stop when the violence is through.”

His first martial arts class in Bardstown was an epiphany, just like the religious revival was an awakening.

“It was magical the first time I did it. I knew I would do it my whole life.”

Bill used his skills to defend himself several times while attending Campbellsville College and later while working as a security guard.

While at the campus gym one day, an atheist attacked Bill in an effort to show him his faith was useless. The atheist was a second-degree black belt and tried to punch and kick Bill who was able to block or dodge his attacks.

“God was with me,” Bill said. “He should have wiped the floor with me.”

After Bill dodged the initial flurry of blows, he backed away and the atheist walked off.

“We agreed to stay away from each other. I’m the most peaceful guy in the whole world.”

He decided to begin teaching others how to defend themselves in an ethical manner after a friend’s girlfriend was raped.

“While counseling him through the horror of it … I realized I should be sharing to help keep others safe,” Bill said.

He’s been teaching nimpo, karate and jujutsu in Frankfort since he moved here in 1979. Karate is focused on punches and kicks while jujutsu specializes in grappling and throws.

Nimpo is the ninja art of stealth and spying.

His school, the Christian Martial Arts Association, has branches in Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky.

The popularity of modern martial arts programs such as MMA and Ultimate Fighter have “perverted” the perception of the skill, Bill said.

“People think martial arts are all about brutish men pounding each other into the ground. If you are not learning to avoid violence, you are not learning martial arts. We need a real re-education.”

Martial arts instruction begins with spiritual training, Bill said.

“You always begin with finding the inner peace so you don’t want to get into a conflict. The only time you use your art is when someone is trying to harm you and you defend yourself.”

Bill also appreciates martial arts for its aesthetic value, he said.

“To me it’s like a ballet. There’s nothing I like better than the flow of a beautiful kick.”

The shelves in his office are filled with more than 450 films from some of his favorite martial artists, including Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee. Bill said he doesn’t like the new modern martial arts films that use fly-by-wire techniques.

However, “Bourne Identity” and “Bourne Supremacy” had some very realistic fight scenes, he said.

Elvis Presley is another of Bill’s heroes – he was an eighth-degree black belt.

“He had extremely good hand-techniques,” he said.

Bill has been married to Carol, an instructional assistant, for 12 years, and they consider their students as part of the family.

“All my students are my kids,” Bill said.

In addition to his students at the dojo, Bill also receives hugs from students at Stewart Home School, a living community for those with special needs. As the school chaplain, he leads a Bible study on Wednesday and two worship services on Sunday.

“That has been one of the greatest blessings of my life,” he said. “The love is so powerful there.”

“Frankfort Faces” is a series that highlights people from within the Frankfort and Franklin County community. Each feature follows one of the city’s most unique personalities and includes a story, photos and video, which can be found by clicking the TV icon attached to the story online at state-journal.com.