Every so often you come across a place that feels like home; a consistently warm welcome, great…read morepeople, and an environment that encourages you to grow... Harai Dojo is one of those places! Because Sensei Jim and his teaching/coaching staff are so amazing with both kids and adults, our whole family trains there three times per week, and absolutely love it!! If you're looking to learn how to defend yourself, get in shape, all while making some new friends, then Harai Dojo is the place for you!!!

Was excited to see they offered Saturday classes. However, can't seem to get ahold of anyone.read more

Went to check it out because my sons wrestling season was almost over and I wanted him to continue…read morewith a sport but mostly learn a life skill. I'm a little nervous with contact sports and want my kid to be safe. So it was important to find a gym that had the knowledge and experience to teach my child the right way. When we walked into the Hammerhead Mixed Martial Arts gym, there were many members training, some in gi's and some in plain workout clothes, but everyone was engaged and the atmosphere seemed relaxed and friendly. Joey, the owner and head coach was able not only to answer all my questions but also educate me and gave me advice for what to look out for in a mixed martial arts place. He didn't seemed concerned for me or to sign up with him but rather to sign up with a martial arts gym that can do more harm than good. We got a seven day free trail and my son was able to try out every class Joey teaches. Long story short, we signed up. We felt part of the team from day one and everyone is helpful and patient with my son. I learned later how much experience in various contact sports the trainers have and how well they apply their techniques to teaching. I am very confident that my son gets the right training, support and is in a safe environment with the best trainers. He is excited about his progress in his training and enjoys being at Hammerhead Mixed Martial Arts. Definitely recommend it!

Best gym in the area 100% I would recommend this place to anybody that I know. These guys really…read moreknow their stuff.

We did a birthday party for my daughters here and it was awesome. Zach was great and made sure all…read morethe kids had a blast. In fact, they had such a good time that some of them cried when it was time to go. From our side, it couldn't have gone better. Paramount took care of everything but the cake so we didn't have to worry about setup or clean up. Zach also cut the cake with a katana which was pretty cool.

This is our story. We joined Paramount in mid Feb. The…read morelocation was perfect, it was literally 1 minute from our home and we were already on a tight schedule so the 4:30 class was manageable. When we signed up with Lee she was awesome! My little was comfortable with her from the start! So I was sold. We, like most families are on a tight budget but my little needed something like Karate to grow, learn, and socialize with other littles. So I put it on my CC and set up payments. Now for the down slide... Not long after we joined we found out that the lease was up and that they would be moving. So we hung in there worried and awaiting to see where the new location would be. My husband and I had to request to leave work early from our employers to attend class (and were still late). He commutes from Lakewood to Lacey (in JBLM traffic) to preschool which was 2 minutes from where Paramount was, and I commute from Tumwater to Lacey to preschool. My point is with the new location at Black hills Gymnastics does not work for our family. Although it is not far our commute went from 1 minute to 15-25 one way. We specifically picked Paramount because of its location and 4:30 class. We don't have the luxury of changing our work schedules to accommodate this new location. We have never been able to make the 6 o'clock class due to our tight schedule. So, I read the contract and saw that it was with ASF and that I should contact them. So I did. They advised me that if I got a letter from Paramount stating that they moved and not us that we could get out of the contract. It was new belt week and I literally had knots in my stomach. I was terrified to talk to Lee. So my husband said he would talk to her. During their conversation Elizabeth was listening in and interrupted my husband. He said that she was pretty rude and disrespectful and stated absolutely not. We will not give you a letter or let you out of the contract. This baffles me... he came to our celebratory dinner for my little getting a new belt very upset. Needless to say the celebration wasn't all that it should have been. We signed up for the other location... we were not made aware that they would be moving and somehow now we have to pay for classes that we cannot attend?? I'm literally in tears. So my little will not get to attend Karate anywhere because we can't afford to pay two places and were barely able to pay one. I just want to make all the families aware that when you sign with them it's seems to be all about the $$$$ and not my little or family. I will be telling our story on Yelp with ASF and Paramount and any other site that will allow us to inform others of what feels like a scam.

My family has been attending Master Na's for 5 1/2 years. My daughters started in the Little…read moreDragons program for young children and graduated to the Black Belt program. I am in the adult program. The instruction is excellent from highly-skilled martial artists who have very good teaching styles to encourage all ages to try their best. Children not only learn taekwondo, but about respect, achieving goals, self-control, and responsibility. In addition to regular classes there are a lot of specialized training opportunities and parent night outs. The family atmosphere in which everyone cheers each other on is very inviting and encouraging even if you have no prior martial arts experience.

Good for kids that are naturally athletic and coordinated-they get preferred treatment and…read moreaccelerated training options. Lots of money spent to have teens teaching your kids with the occasional celebrity instruction of Master Nonhoff (who, by rights, is an absolute unit and great with most kids) but those experiences are the exception. Not quite a McDojo but teetering on the edge due to overcrowded classes and lack of staff. Try it out but really evaluate if you're getting your moneys worth-BEFORE the trial period ends.

After researching different places, I found this to be the most promising. Sansei is very friendly…read more Makes it extremely fun while also teaching the kids, and having the parents involved in someway. Aspire Karate also supports the community in various events, which get families involved. I like that he teaches children to be disciplined. I like that parents also come to see their children, and we get to socialize as well. Couldn't have chosen a better place. Very flexible!

2 kids, completely different personalities. Our oldest loves to try new sports, the youngest not so…read moremuch. Our oldest is a purple belt and has competed in a tournament in Tacoma and got first place in his form in his age. He continues to excel and learn. We set up 2 intro classes for our youngest, one on one with her and Sensei. She was excited after them, then we got to the group classes and she was scared and didn't want to do it. We kept at it and every time Sensei would ask her for help getting things to keep her active. FINALLY he got her to play a game and she fell in line right after with the rest of the kids!! She didn't even realize she was now doing things with the class but she did it!! I can't tel you how proud of herself she was when she got home and so were we (Mom, Dad, and big brother) but the way Sensei works with these kids is just mind blowing! I suggest Aspire Karate for anyone looking for another option to sports for their kids, or themselves. OSS

1) Yellowbot.com "Buyer Beware"…read more I was a member of this gym for almost 2 years. I took all of the different types of classes that were offered here- muay thai kickboxing, karate, and juijitsu. I even enrolled my two young children into their children's martial arts classes. For a long time I was very happy with this place, and can concur with the quality of the classes offered...however, the reason I definitely do not recommend this place to anyone, at least not to any women, is because of one of the owner's- Brian Johnson, who runs this business with his wife, Dani Johnson. Almost from the beginning of my membership here, I experienced what I felt was excessive and inappropriate attention from Brian Johnson. He made some advances towards me that made me uncomfortable and that were not reciprocated. He attempted to interfere with any interactions I had with other male members and/or instructors. He very loudly made false accusations towards me in an apparent effort to alienate me from other members. He openly spoke about other members private lives. When I did not reciprocate his apparent extramarital interest in me, he made up a false accusation against me and prematurely terminated my membership. When I attempted to speak with him about things, he threatened me with what he called a "dossier" that he had been apparently compiling against me. Brian Johnson is a former part-time, Tumwater, WA. police officer. Personally, I think it behooves anyone who encounters (former) law enforcement people to tread very carefully with them. Throughout my membership here, I almost always felt as though I were being avidly watched. While I truly learned a great deal of different martial arts, altogether, it was ultimately a very negative experience for me because of Brian Johnson's inappropriate behavior towards me. I strongly suggest whomever goes here to never leave any of their personal electronic devices unattended and to always lock up their belongings, which few if any members actually do, that I observed. Posted on February 25, 2025 & Last Modified March 06, 2025 Brian Johnson's Academy of Karate & Kickboxing Reviews 1) Yellowbot.com "Buyer Beware" Academy of Brian Johnson Karate & Fitness "Too bad I can't give you ZERO stars. Your customer service is crap. Your 6-month contract is a bullshit 7 month contract. You have inadequate facilities for women. You let people not in classes interrupt ongoing classes. You have no respect for the people who PAY you to go there. Your ignorance is unsurpassed. The fact that your unclean equipment gives people skin rashes is disgusting. It's..." -Ed McCormack 7/17/15. Yellowbot. "This is a very bad business. They are very unprofessional and not good with kids. They even have temper tantrums. You will be stuck paying on the contract for a year no matter how unhappy you are." -Yellowbot "Warning, do not sign the contract, they tell you false lies to get you to sign. This is a dirty business." -rateitall 5/30/2008 "Poor customer service, poor quality instruction, this business is in it for the money, it won't last long. It is a very negative environment. I would never recommend anyone signing your kids up here. What a waste of money. Prices are low, but you get even less of what you pay for." -rateitall. "Buyer Beware. This is a bad place for kids. There are a lot of scary people in there. It is a money hungry business." -Yellowpages. 4/7/2008 "Negative professionalism" -Natalie Martinez "This guy is completely unprofessional and likes to threaten people after assuming that they hang up on him." -James Dillman "My girlfriend attended the Academy of Brian Johnson and after the free week we decided to enroll her. It wasn't long before the older gray-haired instructors started staring at her and it made her extremely uncomfortable. Like licking their lis and putting out their tongues sort of thing. I've heard negative things about instructors there abusing their power to get with the people who go there so we decided to have her quit. On top of that the floors were very dirty with body hair on the ground and it smelled like stale socks. If you are a man maybe it's for you, they seemed to have a lot of people sparring and stuff, buit I'm not sure if the coaches are even qualified instructors in any shape or form. For a 7 time karate black belt master the owner didn't have any trophies, medals or belts of his own to speak of. Or any schooling or paperwork behind his credited instructors. Very suspect and a school that has a very sexual innuendo type thing going on. Very suspect. " -VerView, AntiPopThought, 1/16/2018

I've been training Muay Thai/ kickboxing here for a little while now and I love every minute of it…read more Knowledgeable coaching staff and friendly people.

Master Ramirez, including Master Eddie were so good in teaching the fundamentals of Taekwondo…read more Sadly we moved out of state and our new Masters are impressed with my daughter which resonates how good she was taught. Would recommend Twin Tigers 100%!

I highly recommend Twin Tigers Taekwondo! They have a great program! We initially started with the…read moreintroduction 4 week course to see how our son would do, and he loves it, so we signed him up for more! we travel from Olympia to take his class! Price is reasonable as well! Master Ramirez is wonderful with all of the children teaching them confidence, discipline, and respect. He motivates the children with a kindness and patience while making classes fun and engaging! We will continue training with Master Ramirez.

Master Bob is truly amazing! He connects with the children, makes it fun but also provides…read morestructure. I love his teaching style.

My son has thrived so much under the tutelage of Master Bob. I have seen so much improvement in his…read moreskills the last few months, and I am thrilled at what Tang Soo Do is doing for my kiddo. Master Bob is so patient with the kids, but also doesn't let them walk all over them. He is so good at finding the balance between fun and discipline! My son asks to go to Tang Soo Do everyday, which I think speaks volumes to the quality of the classes being provided. Check it out!