Martial Arts Schools near York

“Great training together today Mr. Martin. Excellent school for traditional martial arts training.“

“When our 9 year old son was severely bullied at school culminating in a physical assault requiring an ultrasound we wanted a way for him to learn to protect himself and decided to give Portsmouth Aikido’s kids program a try and we are so glad we did! Not only was Sensei Aaron and the other instructors extremely welcoming to my son, after hearing what had happened he offered to hold a special training session on how children can safely deal with bullies. Just one of many examples how Sensei Aaron and his staff will go above and beyond for their members. Today my son has more self confidence and has learned how to safely and effectively defend himself against unwanted aggression. He truly enjoys studying the art of Aikido at the Portsmouth dojo and I can’t say enough positive things about the organization and its members. Thank you so much Sensei Aaron and Sensei Sofie for all of your hard work and dedication to the kids program!“

“So I have to admit, I hold a second degree blackbelt as a result of my training with Grand Master Sun Woo Park (although grad school has conspired to move me to Boston and make my attendance negligible in the last year or so). That being said, I cannot recommend the school enough. Mast Park is hands on, especially with the kids classes, and he is patient while managing to take no sass. My Dad regularly remarks that if I hadn't started at Park's Taekwondo that I would have ended up in military school. The Dojang (school) is spacious with one main room (with foam floor padding) and a lower area with a kicking bag. There are nice dressing rooms for men and women that each have a shower and toilet. There is also a toilet for parents and visitors not located in a dressing room. Additionally, Park's Taekwondo has more 5th Dan black belts than any school outside of Korea. Even when Master Park doesn't lead class you're guaranteed to have outstanding teaching from one of the black belts he trained.“

“Guru Guy is a truly world-class instructor and it's incredible to have someone like him in Newburyport. Prior to signing up, I had no experience in martial arts, but had a vague idea of what I was looking for. As a fan of MMA, and always enjoying the fighters with a Muay Thai background, I knew that's what I wanted to train. I also knew I didn't want to do "cardio kickboxing". On the flipside, I didn't want to train somewhere that was 100% focused on training active fighters! I wanted to learn *real* muay thai but in a somewhat casual manner. Guy Chase's gym is utterly perfect for this. Guru Guy will teach you the real thing. For instance, you aren't just going to hit bags repeatedly merely for the sake of bringing your heartrate up. He's going to make sure you're utilizing your range properly and not lowering your guard while you throw punches. You'll learn proper form, combinations, blocks, counters, etc. Everything is very practical and designed for maximum efficacy in the ring - like what you'd be taught in a gym in Thailand. I was also worried that there would be pressure to partake in hard sparring. There is sparring, however it's light and technical and you only partake if you want. As someone who is competitive and wants to put what I've learned to the test, but also doesn't want to eat heavy shots to the head, it's perfect. You'll see where you stand, but won't get beat up in the process :) The people who train there are great as well. Everybody is friendly and helpful.“