Tactical Self Defense Solutions has been in business for the past twenty years and define our success by achieving the highest level of customer satisfaction possible. Want to find out more about our company? Read what our customers have to say.

Please meet our team below. We look forward to working with you!

     Scott Hartsell was born on Feb. 17th, 1971, in Concord North Carolina just a few miles north of Charlotte, North Carolina. He started Martial Arts at an early age. In 1979 he joined the N.C. Tae Kwon Do Association. After only three years he earned his junior Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. Mr. Hartsell left Tae Kwon Do in 1985 to join the Northwest Cabarrus Junior High wrestling team. In 1986 he made the varsity team as a freshman at Northwest Cabarrus High. That year his team won the Southern Piedmont Conference Championships. Mr. Hartsell went on to have a terrific wrestling career. In 1989 he won the conference championships, the sectional & regional championships and was named North Carolina’s All-State Wrestler. Right after high school, Mr. Hartsell joined the International Shorinji Kempo Karate Federation where he met Master Irwin Carmichael. He quickly became a senior student of Master Carmichael’s. In 1990 he became and instructor in Mr. Carmichael’s Survival Tactics International (S.T.I.), a company dedicated to women’s awareness response and rape prevention. Between 1990 and 1995 Mr. Hartsell participated in many point sparring tournaments and grappling competitions as well as full contact fights. 

In 1992, with the help of Master Carmichael, Mr. Hartsell Joined the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Department as a Deputy Sheriff. From 1993 until 1997 he also had the opportunity to work part time for the United States Marshal’s service. Mr. Hartsell left law enforcement in 1997 to pursue a career in Martial Arts. He became the Assistant instructor at the Harrisburg location of the Martial Arts Training Institute. 
     In January 2000, Mr. Hartsell Began teaching Full time at the Martial Arts Training Institute’s Huntersville location, and part-time at Central Piedmont Community College. He also teaches after school programs to the children in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system as well as defensive tactics to law enforcement officers. In 2007 Mr. Hartsell was invited to The United States Federal Air Marshall’s (FAMS) Training Facility in Atlantic City, NJ. by the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) to be trained as a crewmember self defense instructor. Mr. Hartsell now trains all flight crewmembers defensive measures in case of another terrorist’s attack. 
     Mr. Hartsell is currently a 7th Degree Black Belt in Shorinji Kempo Karate. He is the Master Instructor At the Martial Arts Training Institute. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Shorinji Kempo Karate Federation. He is a lifetime member of the World Black Bureau, a Black Belt Instructor of the American Federation of Jujitsu and a member of Cane Masters International Association, a Full Qualified Instructor in Balintawak Arnis under Grand Master Guillermo Bobby Taboada. A NRA pistol and a NC concealed Handgun instructor.
     In 2004 Mr. Hartsell was honored at the World Head Sokeship Council’s Martial Arts Hall of fame for Outstanding Student of Balintawak International. In 2006 he was inducted into the World Karate Union’s Hall of Fame for Instructor of the year for 2006. The United States Martial Arts Hall Of Fame also inducted him that same year for Man of the Year 2006. On Nov. 7th 2009 Mr. Hartsell was inducted into the Martial Arts World Magazine Hall of Fame for 2009 Master of the Year. On May 29th 2010 Mr. Hartsell was inducted into the World Head Sokeship Council’s Martial Arts Hall of fame for Man of the year 2010.

     Mr. Hartsell’s Knowledge of Martial Arts has made it possible for him to impact every segment of our society, from elementary school children to college freshman, from Police Officers to women’s self defense. When asked Mr. Hartsell replied. “Learning is a lifetime endeavor, the more I learn the more I realize just how little I know. My goal is to learn as much as I can everyday and to share what little I know with anyone who’s willing to learn with me.”