About Linda
Master Linda Reid
Ms. Linda Reid is a Martial Arts Grandmaster, holding a 10th degree black belt in Chinese Kenpo Karate and a 1st degree black belt in Modern Arnis. Her peers have acknowledged her martial skills and contribution to society, by inducting her into two separate Halls of Fame. The USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame recognized Ms. Reid as Founder of the Year for Never A Victim™ (2010), as Female Kenpo Master of the Year (2014), and as Samurai Warrior (Spirit) of the Year (2015). The Kenpo International Hall of Fame inducted Ms. Reid, along with her son, Master Daren Reid, in 2011.
If you ever met Ms. Reid, you would find a vibrant and energetic personality. She founded Never A Victim™ in 1998, fulfilling a life-long desire to help others so that they wouldn’t have to endure what she did as a young girl and teenager. Today Ms. Reid supports NEVER A VICTIM™ in her role as Ambassador. She is our primary representative at speaking engagements, seminars, workshops, and media relations. Some consider Ms. Reid arguably to be the foremost women’s self-defense instructor in the country, having taught others for 47 years how to defend themselves. Ms. Reid is a breast cancer survivor, believing “Never be a Victim” to disease and circumstance, as well.
If you ever met Ms. Reid, you would find a vibrant and energetic personality. She founded Never A Victim™ in 1998, fulfilling a life-long desire to help others so that they wouldn’t have to endure what she did as a young girl and teenager. Today Ms. Reid supports NEVER A VICTIM™ in her role as Ambassador. She is our primary representative at speaking engagements, seminars, workshops, and media relations. Some consider Ms. Reid arguably to be the foremost women’s self-defense instructor in the country, having taught others for 47 years how to defend themselves. Ms. Reid is a breast cancer survivor, believing “Never be a Victim” to disease and circumstance, as well.
Reid’s Martial Arts is a Chinese Kenpo Karate school, located in Carmichael, California. Ms. Reid’s former husband, Grandmaster Larry Reid, established the school in 1967. After his passing in 2005, the school remained open under the leadership of Ms. Reid and her son, Master Daren Reid. The school has remained loyal to its roots, teaching traditional Chinese Kenpo Karate and Modern Arnis. Although 73 years young, Grandmaster Linda Reid remains active in the martial art school, serving as Matriarch and Custodian of its traditional roots and curriculum, as well as teaching classes and private lessons. She also presides over belt testing and rank advancement at the school.
Since 1975, Linda has personally trained thousands of students how to defend themselves through her karate school and the Never A Victim™ program. Students attendees included both children and adults, ranging in age from preschoolers to senior citizens. Segments of the population benefiting from her instruction have included law enforcement officers, women prison guards, security officers, homemakers, secretaries, college students, high school students, girl scouts, and abused mothers. Ms. Reid has conducted workshops for government agencies, private corporations, and nonprofits, primarily from the Sacramento area. Ms. Reid developed the Never A Victim™ Self-defense System to be fun, practical, easy-to-learn, but remaining extremely effective in protecting oneself and loved ones from would be assailants. This program and her personality have made her arguably one of the most sought after women’s self-defense instructors in the country.
Grandmaster Linda Reid is a member of the American Teachers Association of the Martial Arts and the International Self-Defense Association.
Ms. Reid developed Never A Victim™ to counteract the pervasiveness of violence in our society, in particular, the harmful effects on women and children. Whom all too often find themselves the victim of such violence. As a young girl, Linda routinely observed domestic violence in the home. From her hiding place, Linda would watch helplessly as her alcoholic father brutally beat her mother. As a teenage waitress working in the city, 3 men physically assaulted her. These experiences left a mark on Linda.
Since 1975, Linda has personally trained thousands of students how to defend themselves through her karate school and the Never A Victim™ program. Students attendees included both children and adults, ranging in age from preschoolers to senior citizens. Segments of the population benefiting from her instruction have included law enforcement officers, women prison guards, security officers, homemakers, secretaries, college students, high school students, girl scouts, and abused mothers. Ms. Reid has conducted workshops for government agencies, private corporations, and nonprofits, primarily from the Sacramento area. Ms. Reid developed the Never A Victim™ Self-defense System to be fun, practical, easy-to-learn, but remaining extremely effective in protecting oneself and loved ones from would be assailants. This program and her personality have made her arguably one of the most sought after women’s self-defense instructors in the country.
Grandmaster Linda Reid is a member of the American Teachers Association of the Martial Arts and the International Self-Defense Association.
Ms. Reid developed Never A Victim™ to counteract the pervasiveness of violence in our society, in particular, the harmful effects on women and children. Whom all too often find themselves the victim of such violence. As a young girl, Linda routinely observed domestic violence in the home. From her hiding place, Linda would watch helplessly as her alcoholic father brutally beat her mother. As a teenage waitress working in the city, 3 men physically assaulted her. These experiences left a mark on Linda.
Growing up in a remote village in the Philippines was a hard life. Her family, as was the case with most villagers, was poor and struggled daily to find food to eat. Linda lived in a grass hut with dirt floors. The children would huddle together at night in the middle of the hut on the dirt floor, with nothing but palm tree leaves for a blanket. With eight brothers and sisters, Linda worked hard from an early age to help feed the family. At 5 or 6 years of age, she got her first job drying fish all day in the hot sun. At age 9, Linda left the family and moved into a house in the city to work as a live-in maid. Her monthly earnings totaled a paltry sum of 10 pesos, or roughly 20 to 25 cents. Yes, as you might suspect given her unselfish nature, she sent it all to her family back in the village so that they could eat. Once she became a teenager, Linda left this position and went to work as a waitress.
In 1968, Linda left her country for the promise of a better life in the United States. Eventually she walked into a Chinese Kenpo Karate school in Sacramento and began taking lessons from Grandmaster Larry Reid. Linda caught on quickly and also caught the eye of the owner. One year later they married and the rest is history.
Linda has always had a passion for teaching women’s self-defense. Soon after she started teaching, women from all over came to the school to learn from her. She has always been a great role model and an exceptional martial artist with the ability to easily connect and convey her knowledge to her students. To them, she is their mother, sister, counselor, and friend. She takes a personal interest in all her students, sharing in their sorrows, joys, laughter, and tears. Her students love her and know they can always count on her, if needed. All agree that she is one of the most loving and unselfish people they have ever met.
Linda has always had a passion for teaching women’s self-defense. Soon after she started teaching, women from all over came to the school to learn from her. She has always been a great role model and an exceptional martial artist with the ability to easily connect and convey her knowledge to her students. To them, she is their mother, sister, counselor, and friend. She takes a personal interest in all her students, sharing in their sorrows, joys, laughter, and tears. Her students love her and know they can always count on her, if needed. All agree that she is one of the most loving and unselfish people they have ever met.