“I was a small-town girl from Illinois with two young kids, looking for a bit of exercise. And then, suddenly, I was a black belt in a couple different arts,” Lavonne Martin reminisces. As a twenty-something woman in 1977, Martin was on the older side of those breaking into the world of martial arts. But, instantly taken with the sport, she quickly tossed her plan to become a psychiatrist out the window, packed up her life and headed to Los Angeles to train with Sifu Dan Inosanto, a living legend in progressive martial arts with an Academy in Marina Del Rey, CA.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY WYATT KOSTYGAN

Now a certified guro herself (one of the few women in the world with full instructorship in Filipino martial arts), she has been sharing her four decades of expertise at her studio in Sarasota for the past 15 years. “My name’s on the front door so I can do what I want here,” Martin jokes. After years of working her way to the top of the male-dominated sport, Martin has certainly earned the right to call the shots. She is reflective and straight shooting in her approach, which includes a sit-down interview with any potential student. “Everyone who comes in here, I tell them, ‘Listen, if you don’t like being told what to do by a woman, then this isn’t the place for you,’” Martin says. “I want every woman, man and child to feel safe here to grow and change. This studio is a laboratory to experiment, a place where you have to find what works for you.”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY WYATT KOSTYGAN

 A personalized and varied lesson plan is at the root of Martin’s teachings because she appreciates the differences in all students. “I’ve had people come in here with one arm, or one part of their body couldn’t move or one hand had no feeling, but we modified things for them to give them back that power and say, ‘Yes I can do this,’” Martin says. Martin teaches her students to know their surroundings and trust their instincts—important, real-world lessons. “My teaching is street-oriented. You don’t want to train only one way and then get in trouble on the streets,” Martin says. “No one is going to toss you a pair of boxing gloves out there. I want my students to learn how to adapt.”    SRQ

PHOTOGRAPHY BY WYATT KOSTYGAN.

Martin Academy of Martial Arts, 6341 Porter Rd., #5, Sarasota. 941-342-9944. martinacademy.com