Everest Pepper

Ev has been training and teaching in martial arts and fighting systems since he was 20 years old in 1969. He started with Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Kaji Kenpo, Escrima, and Kung Fu and has multiple black belts in many different systems. He received his TKD Master’s Black Belt from the Kukiwon in Seoul, Korea, and he is a Master Instructor in the Korean arts of Hosinsul and Hapkido. He has trained under and received his Krav Maga black belts from Darren Levine and Eyal Yanilov (who brought Krav to the US) - the two senior belts under the founder of Krav Maga, Imi Litchenfeld.

Training and Teaching Martial Arts and CQC (Close Quarters Combat) since the early 1970s. 

Ev founded AMAPA (Affiliated Martial Arts Promoters Association) with Max Togisala and Joe Halbuna in the early 1970s. Ev co-founded and was the head instructor at the Academy of Self Defense from 2005-2024, founding the Vanguard Krav Maga and Combat Hapkido systems taught there. In 2025, he founded Unified Combatives & Self Defense, a holistic system combining Krav Maga, Hapkido, and Escrima, which is housed by Apex Combat & Fitness. 

For more than 35 years, Ev has taught arrest and control techniques to law enforcement, military, and civilian personnel. He has trained the San Jose, Santa Clara, Milpitas, Fremont, Los Gatos, Los Altos police departments, as well as the San Jose Parole and Santa Clara County Corrections department, to name a few. Ev has also taught every branch of the military in various capacities, as well as the US Navy Seals, Army Rangers, Special Operations Air Command, and even in Europe. He has trained numerous universities, church groups, schools, and community organizations throughout the United States how to de-escalate situations using less-than-lethal force as well as non-lethal control techniques. Ev was instrumental in CDT becoming POST (Police Officer Standard of Training) Certified in CA. 

Ev has taught thousands of personal protection and self defense seminars all over the United States. His goal is to teach people to be aware of their environment and of situations that could lead to potentially dangerous events. “I want to empower every individual with confidence and give them a few basic tools which can be utilized to their advantage when confronted with a bad situation. The techniques and methods that we teach can be done by anyone. That is the beauty of Krav Maga, Hapkido, and Escrima.”

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