Meet Dr. Butler
Dr. Jeremy M. Butler is an educator, defensive tactics instructor, scholar in the psychology of physical training, and former police officer. Low self-confidence and a desire to protect himself from local gangs on the south side of Chicago led him to find his passion in studying martial arts at the age of 12. At age 24, he opened Pagoda Rebirth Martial Arts, while also pursuing a career in law enforcement. During his seven years as a police officer, he worked in various roles including serving as a control tactics instructor and verbal de-escalation instructor for multiple departments via the regional police mobile training unit. During this time, Dr. Butler also pursued and earned a PhD in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
His area of expertise is in the use of strategies for building confidence in one’s ability to handle physical conflict, and maintain these skills long-term. He offers a variety of trainings and speaking engagements targeting law enforcement as well as civilians in physical and mental preparation for potentially violent encounters. Over the past 15 years, he has taught martial arts and/or defensive tactics programs in Chicago, Urbana-Champaign, Bloomington-Normal, and Los Angeles. Dr. Butler is currently an Assistant Professor of Health Promotion and Performance at Judson University and an instructor at the University of Illinois Police Training Institute.
His area of expertise is in the use of strategies for building confidence in one’s ability to handle physical conflict, and maintain these skills long-term. He offers a variety of trainings and speaking engagements targeting law enforcement as well as civilians in physical and mental preparation for potentially violent encounters. Over the past 15 years, he has taught martial arts and/or defensive tactics programs in Chicago, Urbana-Champaign, Bloomington-Normal, and Los Angeles. Dr. Butler is currently an Assistant Professor of Health Promotion and Performance at Judson University and an instructor at the University of Illinois Police Training Institute.