Oro Valley Martial Arts is the best place I've ever taken my kids for activities. They've…read moreparticipated in various sports all over, and we've never had such a positive experience. Master Kim and Coach Jamie genuinely care about the children's progress, development, and character. They have a well-tuned system to keep them engaged, excited, and rewarded. I'm so impressed with the older kids and coaches who have been practicing here for years, because they have confidence and are so well-mannered. That disposition comes from consistent reinforcement of the right characteristics. We are lucky to have them here in OV!

We only started here a few weeks ago but my kids, 5 & 8 love it. I love watching and hearing them…read moreexhibit the values Mr. Kim and the other instructors teach. I will update again in a few months!! Update: we've now been at ATA for quite awhile and my original review stands. The student teachers and Mr. Kim are great and even days my daughter says she doesn't want to go bc she's tired, she ends up having a huge smile on throughout the entire class. I read the recent reviews about Mr. Kim and I've never seen anything like that happen, including removing a stripe! I can't imagine what would lead him to take a kids stripe! He's always joking with the kids and most seem to get him and play along. I've never seen flicking but he does do little bops on the head to remind them to block and always be aware of your opponent. My daughter doesn't pay attention a lot of the time, staring at the ceiling and or playing with her belt but I've only seen him call her name to get her attention back. I'm sad the other family had this happen and am shocked by it bc I only see positive interactions when we're in class. Anyway, we love the location and the classes and I hope my daughter wants to continue as she gets older.

Awesome Tae Kwon Do studio, now located on Broadway beside Joan's Fabric at 150 Broadway. Great…read morediscipline, focus, and mastery at this studio. My son has been a student from white belt through his 2nd Degree Black Belt and will be testing for 3rd Degree this summer. The head instructor KJN Cole is a top notch martial arts teacher and will teach your kid inner strength while building character/responsibility. A+ School

West Coast Martial Arts is more than a karate studio. It is a way of self-defense, a way of…read morebuilding and sustaining physical fitness and flexibility, an activity that encourages friendship, helps to build a spiritual path, and lastly is fantastically fun. I would encourage everyone , regardless of age or physical ability to give it a try -- and I can think of no better group of people to pursue martial arts with than the members of West Coast Martial Arts Tucson. My family and I moved to Tucson in 2017. As a displaced Midwesterner, I felt disconnected and lonely, however, I quickly felt a sense of community and friendship with the people at this school when my child (5) joined this team. The instructors are highly skilled and very engaging. They always have the best interests of the individual students as their primary concern. The classes are open to all levels of ability and designed to promote personal growth and a sense of fellowship. This is demonstrated in that I have a knee injury which prevents me from fully participating, however instructors find modifications for me, an old lady (37).

I cannot say enough good things about this place and the instructors. I have two kids going here…read moreand they love it and they've been going for roughly a year. The instructors are fantastic and very good with kids!

KNOWLEDGE: Big guy/owner definitely has a lot of expertise and knowledge on TKD…read more INSTRUCTORS: 2 of the 3 lead instructors are great. The big guy/owner was rough with some of the students. Jolting their arms and legs into position, not very happy with how my child is being manhandled. COUNTING: It's a Korean sport, why are they having the students count in Spanish? Accommodating the Spanish population? There are many other populations of languages that aren't being accommodated to. Korean is most appropriate. OWNER: Big guy likes to talk over his employees and shout out from his office correcting them- not too professional. FACILITY: Smells like a freshly opened bag of Doritos. Wish they'd open the back door for some cross breeze when the weather permits. Nice people, room to improve.

My Son, and later, myself have been attending Gateway Martial Arts Academy since 2011. Since then,…read morewe have both entered numerous tournaments, brought home trophies, made new friends, and even hung out with Chuck Norris! For my Son, it has been a place for him to develop confidence, learn self defense and martial arts, and then go into the world and pressure test himself against others. It has given him huge confidence in dealing with his peers, and also made him faster, tougher, and more disciplined. It has been a supportive community for him to grow within, where each student matters. As a bonus, it is something that we can share as a family. Gateway Martial Arts is a United Fighting Arts Federation charter school, teaching the Chuck Norris System, which is based on Korean Tang Soo Do. The classes are taught by UFAF master black belts with decades of teaching and competition experience. I entered the adult class (adults are taught a bit differently) after watching my son do it and thinking it looked fun. I was a Karate drop out at 11 years old, and really didn't exercise at all. 40 years caught up to me, and I was going to need to exercise or start on the pills. I have gone from having goals involving my blood pressure, and blown straight through to goals about my performance at the national tournament in Vegas. Also, all those things I said about my son being more confident, faster, tougher, and more disciplined; that applies to me too.

Free parking located on the right side of the building. On the one way street, you enter the…read moreparking before you pass the building. It's a decent sized lot for this part of town. The classroom is decently sized as well. They have all the appropriate mats, some gym equipment to include dumb bells and a bench press, practice manikins, etc. There are both male and female restrooms and personal lockers are offered to you as well. There is a drinking fountain with a step available for the kids to drink, too. They have a giant fan going so it doesn't get uncomfortable in there. Grand Master Kim is an amazing person and very good with all ages, even kids! He is the owner and has personally given my kid a private lesson, as has some of the other Masters. Grand Master Kim prides himself in the little details. Being that my kid is new, he wanted to ensure preparedness before putting him into the bigger class with everyone else, so they spend several days with a personal trainer (Master) learning ahead of time. I am not extremely familiar with the niceties of this Martial Art yet, but I am excited by their strive towards patience, quality, professionalism, and self-defense. As a parent, you are allowed to watch in the seating area by the window, or you may sit in the front room that sort of functions as a waiting room. The amazing thing about this class is that you can come every week night if you would like, and there are some weekend options available on Saturday as well. Grand Master Kim is extremely easy to work with, and very kind hearted. Uniforms are only $25 dollars. All in all, I recommend this school, as well as Master Kim and his teachers.

At about age 11(1985) my dad started teaching me. We would visit Master Kim's classes and we always…read morefelt welcomed back. The detail in the art that you get is important. Some classes I have visited over the years did not focus on this the way (I feel) it needed to be. One of the things that separated this school from others I visited was that if my hand or foot was not in the right position they would move it to where it needed to be and it physically taught me how it was supposed to feel and look. When you only watch while learning sometimes you can miss the detail and not get the full power behind the technical part of the art. I would recommend this school over any school in Tucson. If you're serious about the art, this is the school.

This school is like family! All of the instructors are phenomenal and bring a joy to teaching that…read morereally makes class enjoyable. When my son started we were new to Kenpo, now the whole family does it. It is a structured class that teaches not just movement, but the reasoning behind it as well as promoting a strong moral and ethical base...all while making class fun! A MUST for anyone young or old looking for a new passion, family activity, or way to keep the body moving. Enroll - you'll thank me later.

My children and I have been attending AIK twice a week for 6 years. They train All-Ages, incredibly…read morewell, for a very reasonable price. The instructors are INCREDIBLE to say the least, and above all, patient, kind and genuine with the children (and adults!). They teach Spirit, Honor, Discipline, Truth, Bravery, Courtesy, Compassion, Sincerity, Discernment and Loyalty. I have watched as the bring "Little Dragons" to junior instructors and shape them into kind and polite, smart and disciplined individuals. They have multiple instructors each class, so no child is without attention. The self-defense teachings are sound and very memorable. They use repetition to create muscle memory defense while installing properties of awareness and discipline on when/when not to use it. They also have fun games like belt-sparring and dodge ball in all Little Dragons classes which keeps my children wanting to come back every week. The other families all get along and there has never been drama or "incompatibility" between the attending families. They all look after each other, help each other, and care deeply about one another. I will continue my self-defense Kenpo journey as long as I can with AIK. I have seen measurable positive impact on my own children and self since attending. They teach people of all ages without ANY discrimination. I truly love this place. I am currently a Brown belt, and will be going as far as I can take myself through the ranks. -Adam B

Great place and family to learn/continue your training. Great philosophy, amazing price, doesn't…read moretrick you into belt or testing fees, authentic fighting and katas. Learn real Kyokushinkai from a master in it! I received my black belt from here, and although it takes a little longer than a traditional belt factory like other karate school franchises around town, these lessons will stick with you and be useful in events you require them.

I trained here for probably 11 years (I quit two years ago because money was tight). That honestly…read moretells you everything you need to know. Every class was challenging, but always fun. Everybody was kind and helpful to each other and we became a big group of friends. All the techniques taught were genuine and through a lot of fluidity and repetition, I'm proud to say my friends and I still remember everything to the point where it's muscle memory. The instructor believed in teaching without "fluff" and he was, honestly, a great role model. He was great with both the little kids and the adults, though, make no mistake, he was strict. I also loved his stories. If I had to write about someone who influenced me (like for a college essay or anything in the future) I would pick him because he made me better at decision making and faster at learning. My life was so much better after going here, and I'm so thankful for my time here

Four of my children and I have been students of Master Brian Malm's over the past 10 years…read more Master Malm teaches most classes himself, with experienced black belts assisting or teaching occasionally. He has personally over 40 years experience in Taekwondo, and over 25 years teaching. He teaches ITF style following the TKD encyclopedia of Gen. Choi. He has great patience with the children, but works hard to teach them how to properly perform the forms. He offers a first class for free so new students and parents can see how things run before making a commitment. He does not use contracts, billing is month to month so you are free to start and stop whenever works best for you. He does sell equipment at his school but you are free to purchase it elsewhere as well.

Master Malm is an excellent teacher. Every class is fun and difficult and the instructors truly…read morewant you to succeed. I have a 3 year old and a 5 year old training here and they love it. I don't think they realize how hard they are working. I am also training there myself and would recommend for any adult thinking about trying it out. Why not, the first class is free.