Who We Are
Culture of Safety is a Chicago-based (Rogers Park, to be exact) small business. We are woman/non-binary and queer-owned, and were founded in May 2019 to offer empowerment-based violence prevention trainings. Examples of the trainings we offer for adults are empowerment self-defense, bystander intervention, and workplace safety. We also offer classes for young people, such as self-defense & bullying prevention for kids, youth, and teens in Chicago and surrounding suburbs.
In 2020, we expanded to include karate offerings for all ages, for which collectively had decades of experience teaching and practicing prior to starting our own business. In June of 2020, during a global pandemic, we created Jin Sei Ryu Chicago to offer karate training, offering classes safely during the pandemic: both online and outdoors in nearby Warren Park.
In August of 2022, we opened our storefront in the Rogers Park Neighborhood of Chicago (at 6961 N. Clark, between Morse and Lunt Avenue).
The name Culture of Safety came to us when we founded the business in 2019. It came from a promise we made to ourselves and to others who are marginalized that we would always work to create spaces that adhere to and promote the values of: Inclusivity, Authenticity, Equity, and Integrity. Woven throughout our onsite classes,, workshops, and other offerings at our brick-and-mortar in Chicago we create intentional and inclusive communities and spaces—spaces where emotional and physical safety, guided by self-efficacy and autonomy, is prioritized so that individuals of all ages and stages can be safely challenged to grow and heal. In short, we create a culture of growth through safety. Through our partnerships with outside organizations, business, schools, and social service agencies, we enable others to likewise create create cultures of safety and to know they are powerful and capable of keeping themselves safe in whatever environment they find themselves in.
We offer ongoing classes and workshops at our brick-and-mortar location in karate, self-defense, empowerment trainings, and more. We also partner with small businesses, large corporations, schools, social services agencies, and educational facilities (K – 12 and higher education), nonprofit organizations, and private groups to craft workshops and programs that serve the needs of their students, clients, employees, and participants.
We also offer onsite wellness offerings, including weekly meditation classes, qigong classes, shiatsu bodywork and massage, and occasional wellness workshops.
To find out more about our next public self-defense class, check out the Take a Self-Defense Class page. For more information on the martial arts program, see Jin Sei Ryu Karate, Karate for Kids and Karate Classes for Adults & Teens. If you’d like to bring us to your office, school, or community group, drop us a line using the form below!
About the Founders
Kyren E. Epperson, PhD, LMT, AOBTA-CP (they/them) has been teaching since they were 5 years old (according to their parents). As the story goes, they started by teaching fellow Pre-K friends how to solve a puzzle. Over the decades since, their approaches to and techniques in teaching have grown. Dr. Epperson has taught literature and language college classes for adults at the University of Chicago, continuing ed classes in Religious Studies for adults in the Chicago community. They have taught a myriad of subjects in Chicago Public schools as a substitute teacher and as a private tutor for children. They have decades of experiences teaching various mind-body practices to kids and adults of all ages and stages and abilities: including meditation and mindfulness, karate, and kickboxing. Other topics of expertise include Empowerment-based violence prevention, boundary setting and conflict resolution, social emotional learning (for kids), bullying/harassment prevention (for all ages), and–creating inclusive spaces.
They have been teaching empowerment-based violence prevention since 2012, and has been training in karate since 2011 and teaching since 2013. In addition, Dr. Epperson has been practicing meditation and mindfulness since they were a child, and has been teaching it in various forms for many years. They often introduce short guided meditations into their self-defense teaching as a way of helping their students re-regulate their nervous systems. Kyren is especially skilled in working with children, youth, and teens, and with the trans community. Senpai Kyren is a third-degree black belt in Jin Sei Ryu Karate-Do, and has also practiced Aikido, Tai Chi, Kickboxing, and fencing. They currently train in Jin Sei Ryu karate-do under the instruction of Kancho Ino Maquirang and Sei Shihan Mel Ramsey. They teach meditation as part of the Samatha Foundation of North America. They are also a certified Shiatsu Bodywork therapist, specializing in bodywork for LGBTQIA+ folks and trauma survivors. Kyren routinely incorporates their deep understanding about the body and its healthy movements in all of their classes. Learn more about their Shiatsu practice or book an appointment.
Amy L. E. Jones, LSW (she/they) is a licensed social worker and a 4th-degree black belt. She has been teaching empowerment-based violence prevention since 2003. Amy finished her MSW and became licensed in Illinois in 2013, having pursued the degree in order to deepen her knowledge about violence and the effects of trauma in people’s lives in order to be a more effective instructor. Recognizing that sexuality education is an important component of sexual violence prevention, Amy received training in the Our Whole Lives (OWL) sexuality curriculum in early 2020. Since then, she has facilitated OWL trainings for middle schoolers with Oak Park OWL, and independently at The Children’s School (also in Oak Park). Amy has taught self-defense workshops for people with cognitive, sensory, and mobility impairments; social workers and other helping professionals, insecurely-housed teens and young adults, older adults, the LGBTQI+ community, and college students. She currently trains in Jin Sei Ryu karate-do under the instruction of Kancho Ino Maquirang and Shuseki Shihan Mel Ramsey. She serves as co-chair of the National Women’s Martial Arts Federation (NWMAF).
Our certifications and experience
Amy and Kyren collectively have over 30 years of experience in the field of Empowerment-based self-defense, and are both black belts in Jin Sei Ryu Karate-Do. We have extensive experience working in a variety of settings and with diverse groups. All of our trainings are trauma-informed and strive to be culturally humble. Kyren and Amy are happy to tailor trainings to the specific needs of the clients they serve.
Both Amy and Kyren have current nationally-recognized certifications in the following areas:
- Self-Defense Instruction (Empowerment-based model) through the National Women’s Martial Arts Federation (NWMAF)
- Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED through the American Red Cross
- Mental Health First Aid USA (Adult and Youth ages 12-18) through the National Council for Behavioral Health
Contact Us
Call or Text: (847) 790-4226
Email: