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    Activstars - Midwest

    3.8 (4 reviews)
    Closed 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

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    Dragon Family Martial Arts Center - Fred's MMA Conditioning Class, Monday & Wednesdays 5:30pm

    Dragon Family Martial Arts Center

    4.0(4 reviews)
    0.0 mi

    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.

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    Dragon Family Martial Arts Center - MMA Conditioning with Fred Ettish

    MMA Conditioning with Fred Ettish

    Dragon Family Martial Arts Center - Women's Warrior Workshops Friday Nights!

    Women's Warrior Workshops Friday Nights!

    Dragon Family Martial Arts Center - Light up the night! Kids Spar Wars!

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    Light up the night! Kids Spar Wars!

    Long's Shotokan Karate Academy - Mark Long and Chuck Norris

    Long's Shotokan Karate Academy

    3.5(6 reviews)
    3.1 mi

    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 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.

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    Long's Shotokan Karate Academy
    Long's Shotokan Karate Academy
    Long's Shotokan Karate Academy

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    Tamashii Black Belt Academy - Black Belt Testing Week

    Tamashii Black Belt Academy

    5.0(3 reviews)
    5.3 mi

    We absolutely LOVE Tamashii Black Belt Academy!!! They have a fabulous adaptive needs martial arts…read moreprogram that children of ALL abilities can succeed in!!! Best part however is that everyone there is like family. :)

    What is the definition of "budō"? It is a modern term in today's martial arts, however historically…read moreit refers to a way of life encompassing physical, spiritual, and moral dimensions with a focus of self-improvement, fulfillment, or personal growth. "Bugei" refers to the adaptation or refinement of those tactics and techniques to facilitate systematic instruction and dissemination within a formal learning environment. My son (Matthew) began his martial arts education at 6 years of age. After about a year and a half, we realized that the dojo he trained at was only looking for name recognition, and not to instill values and knowledge taught in true martial arts. My son was sad to take this temporary leave from the karate world, but the owner was not the type of person we wanted as a mentor to our son. Approximately a year later, we were introduced to Tamashii Black Belt Academy, aka Tamashii Karate. Here we met the most amazing group of people. Everyone, from the students, to their families, to the instructors and most importantly the owner, Linda Hanson. The lessons taught come from the top, and trickle down from there. Daily I am thankful for this organization! Many people have come and gone, as happens with all organizations, but Kyoshi Linda has continued to maintain the integrity of the Japanese art of Shotokan karate while also providing knowledge in other martial arts to her students. She has the most amazing Senseis who happily come in daily to support her, the art, and the students they teach. My husband and I get many compliments from people regarding the amazing children we are raising. We believe one of the reasons our son is so amazing is due to the knowledge of the art of karate combined with the gentle discipline, criticism he has received from the most ethical owner and dojo in the Kansas City/Lee's Summit area. At the tender age of 13, my son is now a 2nd degree black belt. I encourage everyone to come in and visit this dojo. Here your children will be taught "budō" and "bugei". For those with busy schedules, they also offer after school karate that includes picking your child up from school, a snack, homework time, and a karate class.

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    Tamashii Black Belt Academy - Adaptive Martial Arts

    Adaptive Martial Arts

    Tamashii Black Belt Academy
    Tamashii Black Belt Academy

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    Activstars - Midwest - martialarts - Updated May 2026

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