I am not sure when these are from, but apparently they were available in gumball machines at some point. A full set consists of twelve martial arts-based sculpts with some delightfully engrish names, as outlined in the pamphlets that accompanied each figure within a vending bubble:
00 Self Defenders 01.jpg 38.97K 12 downloads
00 Self Defenders 02.jpg 31.37K 11 downloads
Although the booklet shows images of painted figures (as well as what looks like a shrunken image of the vending header,) all the ones I have seen are monochromatic.
Shorinken:
Shorinken.JPG 66.19K 4 downloads
White Crane:
White Crane.JPG 57.1K 0 downloads
Wing Chun:
Wing Chun.JPG 89.7K 0 downloads
The Two-Section Ludgel:
The Two-Section Ludgel.JPG 47.12K 0 downloads
Youth:
Youth.JPG 66.27K 0 downloads
Monkey Style:
Monkey Style.JPG 67.75K 0 downloads
Snake Shadow Boxing:
Snake Shadow Boxing.JPG 74.75K 1 downloads
Taijiquan:
Taijiquan.JPG 51.49K 1 downloads
Harryokuken:
Harryokuken.JPG 42.96K 0 downloads
Yoken:
Yoken.JPG 46.89K 0 downloads
Karate:
Karate.JPG 59.7K 1 downloads
Jeet-Kune-Do:
Jeet-Kune-Do.JPG 42.26K 2 downloads
They are made of a soft, flexible material with light gloss, and have CHINA stamped on their backs. With excess flashing and varying deformities being common among those I have, I would rate the production quality as "fair."
I personally have no memory of these figures. Does any remember these, or know if they might be bootlegs of another pre-existing line?
000 Self-Defenders.JPG 46.2K 3 downloads