I have been attending Dynamic Martial Arts for about 2 years, and had about the same previous experience in Shaolin Kungfu as well as about 1.5 years' experience in Krav Maga, which I am also currently taking right now at another location. So I have a mishmash of experience in various "martial arts" or self defense - enough to have a broad, solid base, though I would not try to bill myself as an expert in anything.
Master Gwak took over the school last year, and I really like his teaching style. He is straightforward, is able to pinpoint problems and articulate solutions, and uses meaningful metaphors and examples to connect with the students. He has a deep understanding of the mechanics of movement, and as someone with an engineering background, I appreciate the fact that he doesn't just tell you that a kick needs to be higher or have more force, he can point out how the angle of your supporting foot will affect where your kick goes or how powerful it will be, he will show you why sticking your butt out just a little bit more will allow you to leverage an opponent over your shoulder with hardly any effort at all, he can show you how stepping just 6 inches farther forward will prevent you from being thrown in turn when trying to pull an opponent off balance. He will tell you when you're working too hard at something and when you're not working hard enough. He can be detail-oriented without swamping his students in the mechanics, and overall, I have felt very comfortable with the balance of his focus between the broad movements and the fine tuning. Most of all, I trust his explanations - I've had some instructors in the past where they sort of gloss over details or give explanations that don't quite fit in with what I know, but thus far, all of Master Gwak's answers to the whys and wherefores have seemed solid to me.
I also like how he mixes the class curriculum between taekwondo and hapkido. Maybe the purist will find it irritating, but while before I had taken taekwondo simply for the fitness/flexibility/fun, I am finding this combination to be much more useful from a practical self defense aspect. As a woman who often travels alone all over the world on business trips, there is no way that I am going to be performing most taekwondo moves while in a business suit and heels while fresh off a 6 hour flight. However, the hapkido aspects - even if right now we're concentrating on ground "wrestling" type moves that maybe I would still be reluctant to perform in a suit, but are at least much more manageable than roundhouse or high kicks - are much easier to translate to practical street self-defense, and he is always careful to emphasize what actually works and what doesn't when you're not in a refereed ring with an opponent in the same weight class as you.
He has a dry sense of humor that I love - don't let his "traditionalist" mien fool you, he's quite the character! - and I like how he pushes every student to do better. If you're slacking, he's going to make sure you understand that you can do better, though not in any obnoxious manner. Even those being scolded laugh. I admit that, with the previous master, it had fallen into a bit of a routine and I was simply going through the motions of practicing the same kicks over and over, but now, I feel like I am learning something new every day, and Master Gwak continuously provides insights even on tried and true techniques. read more