Whether you're 4 or 54, or anywhere in between, Seven Stars Academy of Martial Arts is the place to…read morefind your inner karate master. Call and arrange to attend a free class!

From the owner: Since 1992 we have been providing the best in martial arts and self defense instruction as well as…read morelife skills for children and adults in a safe, friendly atmosphere. Benefits children, teens and adults will experience: - Greater Confidence - Improved focus - Practical self defense skills - Fitness - Stress Relief - Improved balance and flexibility - Weight loss / control - Greater coordination - Heightened awareness - Respect for self and others - Positive "Yes I Can" Attitude - Life skills training - Friendships

I've been training with my father Anthony Silva since the age of 3. Looking back to my martial arts…read moredays I'm grateful to have made it to a black belt and I still have the knowledge and self control I was taught here at the dojo. Despite all the trophies I've won over the years for my hard work and dedication, I think the greatest reward was the gift I was given from my father to know how to protect and defend myself and be a strong young lady like I am today. I don't know any instructor to this day that has such a passion for martial arts and USA GOJU like my father does. Best martial arts school around by far!

Awesome place to train. Supportive and positive environment. Highly recommend for adults,…read morechildren, beginners and advanced practitioners. There is always room to grow. Great selection of classes and times. Two locations. Summer is around the corner. Start your training today!

I want to preface this with saying that I wrote this review in September of 2020, and have not…read moreedited it. It is in present tense. Things may have changed since then- I do not know. I've been with Thurston for a few years now, and I truly love the staff. The teachers are fantastic and I've learned so much from them. They push me in all the best ways and always make me want to do my best. The owners however, can be really concerning about money. They're great teachers, but they haven't treated me well in the past when I was in a position where I couldn't necessarily pay. The instance that immediately comes to mind is when the pandemic started in March. This was something that put all business owners in a bad situation, and so I don't begrudge them for having a difficult time of it, but the way they went about it was all wrong. They begin having online videos and one on one zoom lessons, which was fine, but they charged everyone the same price they charged for the regular in person classes. They also gave no compensation for the time in which there were no classes at all, and no financial help. When we said that we may have to cancel my lessons and join back once covid got less severe, they threatened to demote me back to white belt. Since they opened up their gym, they are training us in a way that is completely against covid guidelines. There are no masks, and everyone is within six feet of each other. And it's very easy to spread illness in a sweaty environment. The owners are greedy, and that definitely puts them in a different light to me than they used to be. That instance made me realize that they cared more about our money than my ability to defend myself, because if I'd been dropped back down to white, I'd be relearning techniques that I could do in my sleep, and nothing valuable would have come from the lessons. Not to mention, I payed a lot of money to be able to test up to where I am (yellow belt). I believe it was $75 dollars just to test, plus once I reached yellow I had to buy all the sparring equipment, which came up to around $200. Plus, the three years worth of training that I've paid for. So not only would they be taking away my rank, but they'd be taking away several thousands of dollars and considering them useless. I would also like to mention that when I told Joe, one of the owners, that I was leaving the dojo, he tried to intimidate and pressure me into staying, and interrogated me about my reasons for staying in a very demeaning and condescending way. When I went in today for my lesson, I was told that my membership cancellation was effective immediately, despite the fact that we had paid for the month of September and my membership renews in October. Following this, my father called him and told him he was going to write a bad review and tell his clients not to go to Thurston, and Joe responded with indirect threats, saying things like "you better not leave a bad review, I own a house near where you're moving." Which was not only incredibly unprofessional, was a terrifying thing to say, as now we don't even feel safe in our own town. Joe is cruel, and he treats people terribly. And from what I've seen of Alison, she has two sides. The sweet, kind teacher side, and the greedy, money hungry side. Another very big issue with Thurston is that they are not at all organized with the testing. There are three adult martial arts taught at Thurston- Krav Maga, Karate, and Ju Jitsu. (Well actually four, but unless I am mistaken, I don't believe kickboxing tests) It is extremely obvious that the owners care much more for the other two, and much less for Krav Maga. Which left me and the other Krav students at the short end of the stick. I've been there three years, and only been able to test twice. The second time (for my orange belt) I was very sick, and could not attend. They promised me they'd have a make up test, they never did. Meanwhile, I have friends in the Thurston Karate program who went up at least three levels (possibly more) in six months. Us Krav students are just an afterthought for when they remember that they have to test us. The other marital arts go up to black belt, Krav Maga only goes up to purple. They do not care. Basically, if you are considering going to Thurston, I wouldn't recommend it. I will say that the instructors are fantastic, and truly care about their students. I'm lucky to have gotten to train with both DeAndre and Adam. And they are also fantastic with kids, from what I've seen. But don't make the mistake of thinking that the owners will treat you like family. They may care about you, but in the end, it doesn't matter how they feel about you, because you are just a source of money to them.

I went here all through grade and middle school. Peter is great with kids, and this dojo doesn't…read moreparticipate in combat tournaments so it's a much better choice for children than iron fist in cedarville.

My son has learned so much since starting karate lessons here, he is one of the younger students…read moreand has learned to pay attention, respect for karate and his elders, and its great to see him smile with pride when he gets a high five from Mr. McRae. I would recommend this Dojo to anyone from children to adults, it is a great place with real dedication to true Karate.

I have been taking classes at NMA for 8 years (I think!!). My son has…read more been here for 9 years. He's grown from a Karate Kid to an Adult Blackbelt at 17. I've got my Brown Belt and am working towards my Black belt. The instructors are great with all ages, and the classes are fun and challenging. You really earn your stripes and belts at this school! Everyone is like family here. I would recommend this school to anyone!!

Great place! Wonderful instructors and they work great with children. If you are willing to put in…read morethe work you can't go wrong with Newport martial arts. They offer oki ru kenpo karate , American open sword classes and private and group instruction. My daughter went here for years and I took sword classes here. Can't say enough about this place and the owners.

Absolutely the most welcoming and fun folks here....if you are apprehensive about taking that first…read morestep, don't be! This is a fantastic place to start for ANY experience level. I have taken classes alongside much more experienced folks and never once felt out of place. It truly is a very unique and positive vibe at Pound # Fit!

The facility is small and smelly. The classes are honestly quite boring. The entire operation is…read morelack-luster. They seem to have a good following, so that says something, by my family was just not impressed. I would say that if you are on the fence about coming here, don't.

We have been to many martial arts schools as the children were growing but Field Martial Arts…read moreAcademy quickly became home once we joined. We all loved it from day one. The structure of the classes and the words of wisdom through various classes make an impact on the children that will last a life time. It's exhilarating, fun, tough at times, and they will learn discipline. The testing process involves kids getting reports academically, from parents and the physical test to earn stripes towards receiving their next belt. The progress the kids make is an amazing transformation.

Great program for very young kids, very supportive and several staff members quickly took the…read moreeffort to get to know our child to support them as fully as possible.

All they do is fool around. Pretty good dojo, but that's the only pro. You barely actually learn…read morekarate, instead of learning karate you just talk about animals. GET SERIOUS!( Also belt system in trash.

Amazing program with an incredible staff that are all highly trained and certified. Best thing we…read moreever did for our son!!