Captain Chris

Captain Chris Affirms Self Defense Mission is Top Priority

Since narrowly escaping death in 1997 at the hands of a knife-wielding assailant, Chris Pizzo has been driven by the priority of empowering people to defend themselves in dangerous situations. And “Captain Chris,” as he is known to his students, founded Close Combat Training to do exactly that.  The martial arts and self-defense training company applies Pizzo’s years of worldwide study to its unique—and highly effective—self defense method.

Pizzo himself is a colorful and passionate evangelist for the personal security goals that his company represents.  His website is blunt and forceful about the priority of protecting oneself and one’s family.  And his homepage displays short, riveting video demonstrations front and center.

Celebrities like Liam Neeson are shown applying some of the techniques.  And boldly written blog articles offer tips on “stopping ‘em dead in their tracks,” avoiding profiteers running “McDojos,” and applying finger dart techniques.

Pizzo’s long list of quotable lines includes the following in-your-face gems:

“Like I said, once you kick someone, the fight is on.”

“[I’ll show you] how to toss ANY man right on his head… and break his arm on the way down if you choose to do so.”

But the charismatic Pizzo has recently become the target of controversy and “Close Combat Training scam” accusations.  A Google search on “Captain Chris” yields a mix of high praise from fans and angry “ripoff” complaints in forums.  It is unusual to see such extremes of adoration and accusation among customer reviews.  So what exactly happened?  And is Chris Pizzo really guilty of scamming his customers?

Well, as with many such internet-fueled controversies, the answer has more to do with communication and “best practices” than with wrongdoing.   It seems a free trial offer led to customer confusion about recurring monthly fees.  In a cross-branding and membership-building campaign, Close Combat Training offered a free one-month supply of its nutritional supplements.  Customers taking advantage of the free supplement offer would, unless they chose to discontinue, be rolled over into a monthly membership in the training program.

Many customers both liked the supplements and chose to purchase the training program.  Others misunderstood the rollover terms—despite emails and website notices clearly explaining the nature of the trial offer.  As a result of the confusion, they were surprised and dismayed to find themselves with a recurring monthly subscription bill.

Faced with criticism about his methods, Captain Chris responded in his typical decisive fashion. The company immediately stopped offering the free supplements and Pizzo reaffirmed that the “top priority is to listen to our customers and create the best experience for everyone.” Period.

So, in the wake of controversy and cries of “Close Combat Training Scam!” what is next for the self-defense guru?  Pizzo states that his goal remains unchanged.  He and his company will simply keep driving home the priority of personal empowerment—and educating people on defending their families.   And, one might expect, he will do all this in his own colorful style.