Master Phillips is amazing! My daughter has gained both confidence and strength while training with…read moreher and her coaches! Well worth every dime! We are continually impressed!

We can't say enough good things about Advantage! Our daughter has been attending for 3 years and…read moreloves it - we would highly recommend to anyone. It's clear that Master Phillips truly cares about her students and their success.

Very welcoming atmosphere. All the people are friendly and helpful. Our son joined a month ago…read moreafter trying out their 2 weeks of free classes. They have a few instructors on hand during any given class to assist in body forms and moves. What i like is that once they level up to black belt even the children students are able to take the instructor courses and help lead classes of their peers. I find this is a great way to build confidence and it makes both adults and children learn peer respect for each other on equal level. The students use weaponry under supervision. And do have contact sparring with all appropriate safety gear. The facility hosts regular "fight nights" for all students with sparring gear. Gear is purchased separately from tuition and they have sales frequently for weapons, gear and other items. Students are able to compete in competitions, tournaments and in house belt testing. They have a clean facility with two areas for parents to sit and watch. they have summer camps and various ways to participate and have fun learning the skills of Taekwondo. They have two bathrooms for guest/student use. and cubbies for gear while in class.

Our son has truly enjoyed his time at this gym. He was nervous at first since it was both his first…read moretime and a brand-new sport, but from day one the coaches have been incredible. They genuinely care about the kids and their families, and it shows in everything they do. We will be so sad to leave when we move back home!

An outstanding family with martial arts experience extending over several decades. They have been…read moreteaching in the area for at least 40 years

I started taking my oldest son here 7 years ago. He just passed his jr black belt test. I hope to…read moresee him be a leader and help teach others. My younger son just passed his brown belt test. I am looking forward to him hopefully getting his black belt in a year. I am very happy with this school. Besides karate they do kick boxing, sparing, judo, aikido, and weapons. I would recommend coming in for a free class.

Oh where do I start? Hang in there with me, this is sure to be a long one. My family of 5 all…read moreattended classes at Long's Shotokan for nearly 5 years. I took every adult class available; my kids took every kid's class available. 3/5 of us obtained shodan black belts under Mark Long over the course of the 5 years. All of that said, we had never been at another dojo so we were just rolling with the blows, not knowing that dojo life could be any better. Now that I have left, I know it can be infinitely better. Firstly, before testing for my shodan black belt, we each had "interviews" with Mark Long where he asked us one thing we liked and didn't like about either the testing process or the dojo in general. I told him that my dislike would be the many inconsistencies; i used his schedule as an example because it changes, unannounced, at least twice a year. The last schedule change cut classes down to 30 minutes, half of which is spent listening to sermon-like lectures and not working out. I was well aware of the dojo's Christian stance from the day I joined, as there are crosses and bible quotes hanging in the lobby, so that is not the issue here. The issue is that I was paying nearly $300 a month to learn self defense, not go to church. And okay, his rants aren't always religious themed, sometimes they are so far off in left field that I truly can't follow. Onto more inconsistencies though, to obtain your shodan black belt there is a grocery list of requirements you must meet to be eligible for testing. Some of these include: must have a yellow belt in aikido, must have an orange belt in judo, must have attended 4 tournaments, must pass the physical endurance part of the test (50 pushups, 50 situps in 3 minutes, followed by 50 jumping jacks and 50 burpees). I have witnessed many tests where the testers did not have these requirements met and were still allowed to test and pass. Just this past summer, I watched a man test for his Nidan (2nd degree) and pass without knowing the nidan kata or his self defense. I started to realize that he is running a belt factory. When I came to this realization I feared that perhaps I had been a product of the belt factory too, but I put those fears to rest when I remembered that on my own Shodan test, I was pulled into the office by the black belt board and told that I was "out-performing the rest of the students" and to "share some of my enthusiasm with the other students." sorry/not sorry, I took my training and testing very seriously because my entire reason for training in martial arts was to learn self defense to protect myself and daughters. It is VERY serious. But onward, my family is a mixed (caucasian and mexican). Over the years, Mark Long made multiple underhand racist comments towards my daughter and my husband. Another former black belt of his went on to work on the Border Patrol. He came to visit family and came into the dojo to train. Mark Long put him and my husband to spar one another and thought it was hilarious to announce that the Border Patrol Agent could beat my Mexican husband & send him back home. Let me add here that my husband was born in the states, this is his home. This exact same sparring match happened the next time that black belt visited too. (I am good friends with that black belt and even he has expressed the distaste that left him with; he felt extremely uncomfortable with it and considered walking out each time.) He would often make "Mexican hat dance" jokes to my daughter's footwork. He once did the Hitler hand salute while talking about Trump, in the dojo, during business hours. One of his other black belts told him that was inappropriate and he laughed it off. At a different time, he was talking about rolling a magazine on an airplane with the intent to beat a Muslim man because he feared he was a terrorist... he made a joke about terrorists yelling "aloha snack bar" before committing terrorist acts. He also called my very dark skinned daughter "Brown Bug" for years, when she repeatedly told him that she didn't like that name. He played it off as a term of endearment, but now I truly question that. When I went into the office to cancel our payments and leave the dojo, he had the audacity to question my husband's citizenship and say that perhaps he was here on a work visa. Again, I add that he was born in the states and we have been a member of the dojo for 5 years... he knew my husband was American. In the same conversation he listed off HIS black belts, "I have Mexican black belt; black belt who is a black guy, I have black belts that are gay, trans, etc." Which really threw me back because who keeps track like that? And portrays them as HIS? It's extremely disturbing. He told me 6x in an hour, "if you don't agree with me, get out and never come back." this is proof that you are not welcome there if you do not share his ideologies. The list goes on but it appears I have met the max character amount for a review and I cannot continue.

I can only speak to the class for the 5-8 year olds but I do see bits and pieces of the other…read moreclasses and I am impressed with what I see for older kids/adults. Signed our 6 year old up here as we had been having some minor discipline issues at school along with issues overreacting to small things. This has been great for him so far and after 3 months we are seeing improvement. Honesty, courtesy, respect and discipline are the core tenants. The instructors are great enforcing those tenants while making the kids feel good about themselves and work to try harder in a fun environment.

AKKA Northland is a wonderful place to take your children to learn Karate. The Children learn the…read moremotto of Honesty, Courtesy, Respect and Discipline on a daily basis. The instructors make the class fun and at a pace that keeps the kids interested and engaged for the entire class. If you are are looking for a way to teach your children core values and excercise at the same time, I couldn't recommend this school more. The Instructors are top notch and very responsive to your individual needs. If your thinking about joining, go for it!

What a cool place. Every Tuesday Tina gives free self defense classes for women. Now I'm not…read moresayin' I'll ever be in the situation to use these types of skills, no, not me. I don't like danger. I don't want no part of it. BUT....you never know. So I decided to start attending self defense classes. They are on the same night as a kid's martial art's class. I'm fascinated with self defense, and items that could be nearly lethal. It seems I'm also fascinated with projectile weapons, this I understand. Small self defense weapons you can carry on your key chains, as long as you know how to use them are also worth having. Tina sells the items at Dragon Family. And Tina teaches you ways to use them. So that feeds my fascination with these kind of things. Last night I learned how to use a kubaton. Now I know I've no reason to buy a kubaton, but if someone came up to me in a parking lot and I was holding it, I'd go straight for the groin, or better yet the eyes. I really like this place. Her martial arts class last night with the kids seemed to be a great way for them to achieve some type of focus, and something to work for, which would be a new orange belt. It's also an excellent skill. Glad I found this place. Tina empowers women. Nothing wrong with that. Girl Power!

I have been in attendance and studying under Sifu Bryan for more than a year now and honestly it…read morehas changed my life. I've always wanted to learn the art of Jeet Kune Do, ever since having been influenced philosophically by Bruce Lee in my late teens and now I am finally dedicated to this practice. Sifu has a direct lineage to Bruce Lee and it shows and that is important. He's a patient instructor and listens. It's a good time to be in KC area if you want to learn Jeet Kune Do because I think it's the only place you can learn it around here, let alone by a teacher who has been taught by one of Bruce Lee's students. There aren't many in the world. Though I used to live too far away, I finally moved close enough to Dragon Family to attend, and attend I have. There are day and night classes that both work with my varying schedule, allowing me to train on some nights and some days. I have 2 kids in different classes there, too. What we are taught revolves around the 4 different eras of JKD, including some Wing Chun. The classes are varied, with the necessary openness to question and discuss this scientific art. It was important to me that the teachers guide me but don't shackle me, as that would be quite the opposite to how I feel Bruce Lee developed this martial art in the first place. No way as way right? We even get homework assignments if we want. And after some time, you have the option to really develop through controlled sparring. I've also met good people there that are also on the same martial art path, which is pretty badass and gives variety in discussion and the ability to grow together and offer different insights. All in all, my only gripe is that I wish some classes were longer, like 4 hour sessions but I understand why that's not feasible. I'd also like weight training classes for beginners based on Bruce Lee's philosophy on physical development with workout equipment, and weights. But this is personal trainer stuff, not exactly martial arts. And I can do this outside of the kwoon. It is a martial arts center after all, not a boxing gym.

One of the best gifts I could have purchased my son for Christmas this past year. He's been wanting…read moreto try Jiu Jitsu and kickboxing. Sharkbaits teaches both and more! The trainers are amazing, the gym here is brand new. You pay a monthly fee and are able to attend as many classes per week as you want. He absolutely loves it! They have little kids classes too. What a great way to work out and learn martial arts skills. I am thinking of joining him in the kick boxing classes as well! Fun for the whole family.

I'm super impressed by the instructor. She really breaks down moves and the intentions behind them…read moreso clearly for krav maga. Even though I was the only female, the other attendees were very welcoming and supportive. It's small class so you get a lot of a lot of attention, and the teacher does a good job correcting things. The tough thing is that there's no AC for the hottest days. Between some sleep deficit and abnormally high heat, I needed to quit class a little early. On a normal day it shouldn't be so much of an issue. They've got a intro discount that allows you to experience the class at a one-time fee.

Was suppose to have a trial lesson I get there the street access was blocked off due to…read moreconstruction. Called and texted to get alternative directions and was ignored. This was just the latest in a long series of broken communication between me and this organization over the past week. Definitely not going to attempt to reconnect. Unprofessional.