This review is long overdue. I found myself at Amherst College this summer and wanted to continue…read moretraining in jiu-jitsu. While I found other gyms nearby, I committed to NESF for a month. Training is entirely no-gi, Stacy was accommodating and very nice about me coming in to check out some of the other MMA classes. Bring cash and you will get a discount. Dave, the jiu-jitsu professor was a total badass - knows what he is doing and focuses on technique. He wants you to get it right and will push you and call you out if you are slacking off. From the skilled jiu-jitsu practitioner to the beginner, I highly recommend this gym. You will learn and improve your game. I trained with both beasts and beginners. It was a welcoming and positive environment. Training in no-gi has become my favorite was of training now. It's been 3 months training like that and my guitar-licking fingers are happy about it - Thanks NESF!! ProTip: there is a Valley Bike Station right outside the gym, easy to go in and out of the gym if you do not have a car and/or don't want to wait for a bus.

This is an excellent and professional school with highly skilled and all around great instructors…read more They know their stuff and are very good at helping both new and experienced their students develop their skills. They are quite welcoming and very reasonable with their pricing. Excellent gym for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Kickboxing, Wrestling, and MMA!

Very fun and engaging classes. 3 different adult classes offered and at great schedules.read more

From the owner: Traditional Kung Fu and Modern Wushuread more

this program is so good master yoo you are a geate master thar is good disiplen from josiah…read morevelazquez im cerintly inrold in the progeram

From the owner: ECC Certified After School, Before School and Summer Camp Programs…read more Swimming, Games, Crafts, Sports, Field Trips. All staff background and Cori checked. We accept NEFC Vouchers.

It's a small school. The classes are small. Each student gets close, loving, personal attention…read more The school is flexible, giving new students a chance to check it out before making a big commitment. I can't overstate what a positive impact Amherst Martial Arts has had on my 13-year-old son's life.

Amherst Martial Arts, a taekwondo school, is a really special space in Amherst. It has been…read moreoperating for more than 20 years, educating countless children, as well as hosting summer camps (taekwondo, swimming, and horseback riding). It's the complete program: philosophy, strength, forms, and practical application -- self defense and sparring. The strength of this program is not just in the excellent and serious instruction, but in the warmth of the community. The children are kind and supportive to each other, an attitude fostered by the teachers. The children and teens really form relationships with each other. The school is a labor of love for the instructors; they haven't raised their rates in years, because they want to keep it accessible. At some other places that I've seen, the programming aimed at kids can feel like a mill, processing lots of kids, keeping things fun but what are the kids actually learning? I've seen some kids' martial arts programs described as "belt factories" or "belt mills", where the belt tests are meaningless, and the kids aren't actually learning the forms, much less the philosophy and mental disciplines. No matter how skilled the adults are, they have to take teaching kids seriously -- not just as entertainment for the kids and babysitting for the kids. That is the opposite of Amherst Martial Arts, which feels like a cross between a school and a home -- the best kind of home, where everyone is working together, learning and improving and supporting each other. The kids have a lot of fun -- there are lots of opportunities for games and silliness -- but they also learn to buckle down, concentrate, try harder, improve. I've seen kids come in, too shy to kick at all, gain confidence just from the gentle, non-judgmental opportunity that comes again and again in a session, until they start finding their own ability to move and then start putting their all into it. This is huge for girls especially who may not have been given social encouragement or support to yell, kick, punch, roll, etc. The instructors are great at knowing how to relate to different kids at different levels: kids sometimes need gentle encouragement, sometimes sternness and seriousness, and often humor, and helping kids have fun AND then buckle down to focus and learn is a real art.

Northampton Martial Arts has been a great school which my whole family have taken classes. My son…read morestarted at a young age and worked his way up to black belt rank and continues his journey there. Master Scher is a great instructor. He is able to teach classes with multiple ranks and keep everyone challenged throughout. Unlike some schools, where belts are given not earned, students must learn the skills for each belt level before testing is scheduled. The prices are very reasonable especially with the many daily options for class times. I recommend Northampton Martial Arts to anyone who is interested in learning the disciplines of Taekwondo in a fun and positive environment.

I have been coming for over 5 years and now I help teach. You get everything you need before…read moretesting, tournaments, and every day things. Great place to enroll. All ages welcome

I have attended this school before, my son does now and I hope to again. My opinion of this school…read morehas not changed much in 10 years. The people who teach and run this school are very passionate about Chinese culture and traditions. They go to China once a year to learn and deeply love Kung fu. I am Eurasian and have deeply hated euro Americans taking Asian culture and selling it as their own. I can't say that about this school because they know more about and love Chinese culture more than I do. A few years ago I had the honor of doing the website for the actor, Laurence Mason. He was one of the last people to train with Brandon Lee while working on "The Crow". He said Brandon was the most zen peaceful person he ever met but could kill everyone in the hanger in about 15 min. He said that the best teachers he ever had were "dangerous hippies" like Brandon. I agree with him and the teachers here have a very similar attitude to what he described with Brandon. They teach peace, respect, focus and how to stop a fight with least effort. Best school I have ever known. So yeah go to this school and get a copy of "The Crow".

My son has been going to this wonderful Kung fu studio for years. They have provided for him a…read moreperfect balance of discipline and hard work within a nurturing environment. I love that he gets physical exercise as well as training in breathing and meditation. The community of instructors and classmates has played a crucial role in his development from childhood to teenager, all within a caring and respectful environment.

The staff is friendly and professional, all the BJJ students there are nice and considerate, and…read morethe atmosphere is laid-back. The teachers do a great job of breaking things down, answering questions, helping you learn and progress, and working to keep everyone safe. The students are friendly, nice, polite, and take good care of each other (some new ones off the street need some training sometimes, but it's rare). Highly recommended.

Great instructors and a welcoming environment. Communication has been great too. I would definitely…read morerecommend Team Link to others.

This is a great place for kids. This is a very supportive staff that takes an interest in every…read morestudent. One of my sons has gone all the way through the program. He's in 4 different activities, and each year I ask him to rank his sports and clubs for me. And, each year for the last 4 years my son has ranked AKC as his favorite activity and top priority

We highly recommend the American Karate Center in Ellington. Our son has been in the "Tigers" class…read morefor about seven months. In that relatively short time we have noticed significant improvements in his self-confidence, self-advocacy, self-control, and body awareness. We largely attribute this to the AKC instructors and their teaching methods. They hold the kids to a high standard, expect them to work together as a team, and expect excellence. They do this all while remaining positive in their instruction, even when a kid isn't meeting one of those expectations. Our son looks up to the instructors as role models, and they've proven to us that they deserve such respect. We are very grateful to AKC for the positive impact that their center has had on our son and family. Lastly, we recently attended a regional karate tournament and were impressed to see AKC take home many top trophies, proving the efficacy of their teaching methods.