The instructors are amazing and great with kids. My daughter has grown so much since she has started and it shows everyday. I highly recommend Championship Martial Arts. read more

This school is outstanding. The instruction is high-level, motivating, and well-structured for students who truly want to improve. Classes are challenging but rewarding, and you constantly learn new techniques, strategies, and ways to push yourself further. The instructors genuinely care about student progress and create an environment that's both disciplined and encouraging. Sparring sessions are especially valuable and are my favorite part of training. They're smart, technical, and help you grow fast. This school pushes you to be better every time you step on the mat. Highly recommend it to anyone serious about martial arts. read more

Our classes at CMA Martial Arts in Northbrook are always exceptionally good. We train hard, and I truly appreciate our masters. Each one shows real dedication and always gives their best to help you improve. Just yesterday, we focused heavily on endurance and self-defense and it was intense, but rewarding. I love our school and the energy it brings to every session. It's a place where you grow, push yourself, and feel supported every step of the way. read more

I Absolutely Love this place. My grandson has had a tiny bit of trouble 'fitting in' and has difficulty expressing himself, occasionally. Every Single Person, here, is EXCEPTIONAL at being positive and trustworthy, setting an Amazing example for All of these children:) read more

Great instructors, knowledgeable, positive attitude and very adaptable. Great sense of community among the families! My family has grown together withba number of other families over the years and this has created a sense of security and belonging to my growing pre-teend and teens! Highly recommend to any adult, with experience or no, looking for a year long healthy activity alone or together with their children! read more

Master Sanjen should not be allowed to teach children. His continuous ridicule and shaming of children is uncalled for and traumatic. My son was a student for four years and persevered until Master Kristin decided to change their black belt testing to announce who passed (47) and who didn't (3) in front of all parents and students. One of the three, not my student, was crying uncontrollabley and the other 10-12 year olds were completely embarrassed in front of the class. It was hard to watch. This studio is fine for white belts but their black belt is a pay to play program that neither teaches actual karate or decipline and should not be used. It's genuinely a money scheme that fails to prioritize hard work over their "dance" form. read more

My family and I have been attending Championship Martial Arts (CMA) since August of 2022. We are an obese middle-aged woman, a fit middle-aged man, and a healthy 8-year-old girl. CMA offers mixed martial arts instruction with a focus on Karate and Taekwondo, as well as on general fitness and physical conditioning. Children's classes: All of the instructors are knowledgeable, passionate, and encouraging. The two main instructors, Master Sanjin (head instructor) and Master Miller (owner) do a wonderful job of attending to all students and making sure each is progressing to the best of his/her abilities. They adapt their instruction to the age, maturity, and skill level of the students. This thoughtful approach has resulted in our daughter building precision in her movements, power in her kicks and punches, and confidence when sparring. We also like the character development instruction that takes place weekly where the instructors lead a guided discussion of that month's topic (gratitude, respect, kindness, etc.), and advise students on how to incorporate activities supporting that topic into their daily lives. All of the above, coupled with the frequent and fun community-building activities that CMA hosts (Back to School party, Trunk-or-Treat, Graduation ceremonies, Holiday event, Summer BBQ, etc.) create a wonderful culture that is welcoming and inclusive, while still holding students accountable in an age-appropriate way for their progress in martial arts. Teen/Adult classes: My husband and I studied Taekwondo years ago and knew that we wanted to return to martial arts once we bought a home and our daughter was old enough to participate as well. My motivation to return included the desires to improve my health, rebuild my strength, develop the skills necessary to defend myself and my family were a physical altercation unavoidable, and to demonstrate perseverance to my daughter in a way that would be meaningful to her (i.e., because we were on the same rewarding journey together). We wanted a school that would challenge us, while also acknowledging our distinct physical capabilities; a school where we would feel camaraderie and a sense of community with our classmates and instructors; and a school that would motivate us to succeed and advance while also being cognizant and understanding of the impact work, illness, and life can have on even the most motivated student. CMA has met all of my expectations, and more importantly, Master Miller and Master Sanjin have been an unwavering source of support and encouragement as I strive to meet my own expectations. As an obese person with weak ankles (one resulting from a fracture that never healed correctly), and weak knees (both have been previously injured), I am not always able to move as swiftly as my peers or perform fitness tasks in the same way. However, Masters Sanjin and Miller are always patient and supportive of me, often helping me find adjustments I can make to tasks that will allow me to still participate and strengthen and challenge myself, all while preventing injury. As examples, I do push-ups on my knees and use a cage fitness bag to absorb some of the shock on my wrists when completing burpees. I would also like to call out Ms. Dana, Ms. Olivia, Ms. Elizabeth, Ms. Keelie, Ms. Maia, and Ms. Katrina for their superb instruction. Ms. Maia and Ms. Katrina are teenage assistant instructors, who are currently advanced belts and have trained since childhood at CMA. The other assistant instructors have all trained or are currently training at CMA. If our daughter grows up to be half as self-possessed, thoughtful, and powerful as these women, we will be immensely proud indeed. The only negative I want to note has nothing to do with the quality of CMA as a school for martial arts. However, unfortunately, the parking situation at the school can be challenging, and downright perilous in winter months. Often, there are not enough parking spots at the school, which means that we have to park across the street in a residential development and run across Shermer to get to and from class. This is always inconvenient, but especially in winter, shorter days (and therefore, reduced visibility for oncoming, often speeding cars) and inclement weather make this crossing even more dangerous. I am not sure that CMA can do anything about this. But as the school is an integral part of the community, I would encourage the Village of Northbrook to help by either opening the parking lot of the adjoining building (once owned by the Village) to CMA patrons (as had been previously done), or by installing a pedestrian crosswalk with flashing lights to ensure the safety of those who need to cross the always busy Shermer. To sum up, CMA is a wonderful school and an integral part of the Northbrook community. We feel very lucky to have found it and look forward to earning our black belts from here one day. read more

My grandsons 8&11 have been students at Championship Martial Arts for six months. I am impressed first of all with the care and concern that they show for the kids. They truly love what they do at the studio. Secondly, the instruction seems to be top-notch. The kids are learning quickly, are engaged, and really enjoyed the time there. read more

Power packed 30 minute class of kickboxing. This was my second class. The first was an equally challenging cage fitness class. Great facility. Very clean, friendly instructors and encouraging. I had never taken either type of class before, the instructors were helpful, demonstrated the proper form and technique. I can't wait to go back next week! read more

The teachers are wonderful but you are bound to a one-year contract and if your child isn't motivated to go there is little you can do about it. I would not, under any circumstances, sign up for a one-year commitment. What they'll say is that you need to make that kind of commitment to see the benefits but the reality is that kids can't be forced to go if they don't want to go. Of course my son promised he would go, but reality is different. When I posted a review on a local site the owner called me but made it sound like they would have "worked with" me but that was not what I was told when I repeatedly couldn't get my child to go to the classes. I would have had to pay for the time of the psychiatrist to write a letter saying my son didn't have the focus/ability to follow through with this commitment since he's on the autism spectrum, etc. read more

One of my kids have special needs. He has difficulty with maintaining focus, following directions, balance and gross motor skills. I was hesitant at first to enroll him here, because we had a bad experience with another martial arts school when he was 4. He is now 7 years old. I figured that he is better with all his problems than 3 years ago. He is now ready to try again. I spoke to Instructor Sanjin and Master Miller about his special needs. I told them that my son needs help to focus on tasks. He needs more visual and tactile cues to follow instructions. He also needs extra time to learn. I was curious about how he would perform and how the instructors would accommodate him. I was pleasantly surprised at how patient the instructors were in teaching him. They are firm in a nice way, when my son needs to refocus or when he is simply lost on what he needs to do. He is never sad when he gets corrected by them. I am happy to say that not only did he improve his gross motor skills, balance and focus, he also improved on his self care tasks. Aside from learning martial arts, CMA has special lessons too. Because of their Anti-bullying seminar, my son learned how to handle himself. He was able to stand up to the kids who were giving him problems in school. His issues in school now have stopped. Before a child earns his white belt, he is given a homework. My son was given the task of dressing and brushing his teeth independently without anybody reminding him. He was also supposed to clean up his toys. This gave him a jump start on to be motivated to do these tasks. Before the belting ceremony to receive the white belt, I had to sign a form to prove that he did his homework. This made receiving the white belt special. I also have a typically developing son who I enrolled with my first one. Because I enrolled 2 kids, my husband & I are free to join. I also practice with my 2 sons to model good behavior and to help them with the lessons. My other son, enjoys going to CMA so much. I'm happy that they get a lot of exercise from coming here. Bonus for me, I lost weight since I started coming here. CMA is awesome!!!! Thank you, Master Miller, Instructor Sanjin, Instructor Angel, Instructor Frankie, Instructor Dennis, Instructor Theodore and Instructor Andrew!!! read more

Master Mike is great with children and adults.

PARENTS BEWARE! They will push you towards a long terms contract and then every other month will continue aggressively pushing you into belt testing by misrepresenting the skills of your child. They don't really care if your kids has learned or not, all they care is to charge you an extra $$$ for belt test and another 1000 promotional emails to buy their stuff. Save your time and find a better place. read more

This place seem to be nice at first, and they really lured me and my son into signing up for 6 months of classes. After my son was first tested out by one of the instructors, I signed him up and he started the class, I could see it became very easy for him very soon, and lots of younger kids were in the class. In 3 months, they recommended switching to a higher level class with outrageous sign up fees, plus you would have to commit to 3 years! My son is 7 year old and I feel like they knew from the very beginning that this class is going to be too easy for him, but signed him up anyway. Class is only 30 minutes and is not very intense. Includes 5 min break for water and bathroom! I feel robbed and undercommunicated. They nick and dime with extra testing fees, extra equipment etc. Also, who would sign up a 7yo for 3 years? Kids change their minds and parents have no control sometimes, so luring parent into 3 years of monthly payment is wrong. Their payment system is not transparent. I asked to switch him to higher level class to try it out, but they refused, saying that I need to sign him up first. read more

My daughter has been going there for approximately one year. She was 4.5 when started. She has made dramatic improvements in self-esteem, focus, personal and physical growth with the help of the CMA team. I highly recommend them! read more