Jyrki Saario
Finnish combat sports instructor, holder of a 5th dan in kickboxing from WAKO, who founded Scandinavian Defendo and the Defendo Alliance in 2005.
Quick Facts
FinlandBiography
Jyrki Saario is a Finnish combat sports instructor who, according to the source, has taught close-combat systems for 40 years. He is the founder of the Scandinavian Defendo system.
He trained in kickboxing, muay thai, wrestling, judo, boxing, BJJ, krav maga, kapap, several styles of karate, Wing Chun and kyusho. In 1994 he met Imi Lichtenfeld, the creator of krav maga, and was among the first instructors in Europe certified directly by Lichtenfeld.
In the early nineteen-eighties he co-founded the Swedish Kickboxing Federation and, in Gothenburg, one of the first fight clubs in Sweden. From 1983 he trained several generations of kickboxing instructors. In 1996 he brought krav maga to the Scandinavian countries and for ten years was the chief krav maga instructor for the whole Scandinavian region. In the early two-thousands he received the 5th dan in kickboxing from WAKO. According to the source, in the nineties he brought shootfighting to Finland and introduced MMA competitions to Scandinavia.
In 2005 he founded Scandinavian Defendo and the Defendo Alliance. We have not been able to verify the date and place of his birth.
Associated Martial Arts
Ranks and titles
- 5th danKickboxing