Testimonials | American Martial Arts Academy

As the parent of a Taekwondo student, I am impressed with my child’s commitment to such a demanding sport. The American Martial Arts Academy has been supportive and nurturing along my child’s journey. One of my favorite experiences during the past 5 years is following each belt ceremony, Master Kwak, asks that the children make eye to eye contact with their parent and thank them. I am always touched by this tradition. Teaching the children respect, character and discipline are important and have been incorporated into the program. These are the same values, which we embrace at home. The staff has given my child the opportunity to demonstrate her maturity and ability to give back to the program, by inviting her to volunteer for many AMAA events.

To break it down, my daughter has worked hard, she has attended classes; approximately 3-5 times a week, 52 weeks a year, for 5 years, you do the math, but that is a lot of Taekwondo.

Danielle (Gersh) O’Brien

Hello, my name is Victoria Hijazin parent of Amanda Hijazin.

It has been five years since Amanda has been training for Taekwondo, this has been a very interesting journey in our life as well as Amanda’s. Amanda was only 4.5 years old when she first started with AMAA, she would come in starring up at her master with a big smile not understanding exactly what he was asking her to do, and then she would stare at herself in the big wall mirrors poising. She loved to see her friends at Taekwondo, she has made some great friends; it was a great way for her to continue her training having friends with the same interests and goals. It was hard getting her in the studio sometimes, she would even hide out in the car and I would have to call Master Kwak to talk to her to get her in to practice.

There came that day I was hoping for, Amanda no longer needed a push but only looked forward to coming in the studio. Amanda has worked very hard to get where she is now, it took dedication, time, and a lot of focus. She worked so hard inside her soul as well as her improving her Taekwondo techniques, she showed everyone at State and National Qualifiers that she does have what it takes. She got 1st in forms, 2nd in sparring at the State Qualifiers and 2nd in forms, 1st. in sparring at National Qualifiers. We are very proud of Amanda, I am so glad she can feel proud of herself.

I want to thank Master Kwak and AMAA Instructors, thank you for that hardcore discipline and support, keep up the great work.

Sincerely,

Mr. and Mrs. Hijazin

To Master Kwak,

I am Gabby Hart’s great grandmother. I want to tell you how I feel after watching over the last few weeks and months of observing as Gabby his learning TaeKwonDo.

I wondered why her parents would want to put their little girl in Martial Arts. That was because I did not know anything about martial arts. As I watched the class, I see what it’s all about, respect, discipline, and self-defense. I am amazed at how good the teachers are, and how quickly and well the children learn. I am so proud of my little Gabby, and how hard she tries, and wants to please her teacher. You are all doing a wonderful job of teaching the children something so valuable.

I appreciate this place, and all of you so much,I just wanted you to know. I feel honored to get to see her learn Tae kwon do.

Sincerely,

Miss. Hale (Gaby Heart's Great Grandmother)

This thank you is long over due.

I think many parents can relate to not getting around to writing a letter due to all of the busy things we are doing day to day.

As parents of three children we have found great pleasure over the last year and a half watching our children grow in the American Martial Arts Academy.

I will be the first to admit that it has not been easy, but with their growth personally and in the art of T.K.D., it has been well worth it.

The few areas in which we have noticed an improvement is in respect towards others, discipline in character and responsibility of completing things in which they have committed to. They are still being challenged each and every day to better themselves. Thank you again for you and your staffs continued support and direction you have given our children to be successful in all they do.

Looking forward to a great future with AMAA,

Thank you.

Mr. & Mrs. Press

Our daughter Kayrin Coscia has been attending Tae Kwon Do (AMAA) for about three years now and is currently a red belt.

On a recent summer vacation, Kayrin had an incident where she fell down a flight of stairs and utilized what she had learned in Tae Kwon Do instinctively and did not obtain any injuries. We feel that she (Kayrin) benefited from what she had learned in Tae Kwon Do with that occurrence.

Not only had Kayrin improved physically but our daughter has benefited emotionally as well. My wife and I feel that we are giving our daughter the greatest gift we can in life by having her involved with the American Martial Arts Academy.

Mr. & Mrs. Chris Anthony Cosica.

Hello our names are Laura and Brad Rice and we have 2 children, Kylie and Devon in the AMAA TKD program.

Our son Devon started out when he was 5. We have to say he was a SHY little boy with little self-confidence. Now he is 10 and has competed in countless number of competitions, scoring extremely high.

He has learned the tenant, “Be Humble at Victory and Gracious at Defeat”. This is his 4th year on the MDK team. He also has enjoyed being on the Demo team. His confidence in school, public speaking and friendships has exceeded our expectations. Devon just became a Black Belt and you could see in his eyes the excitement that he finally met his goal that he set for himself 5 years ago. Devon wants to continue on with TKD and see where it takes him. He loves the sport and everyone in the studio.

Kylie is our daughter and she started out when she was 4 ½ talk about SHY and TIMID. After watching her brother she decided to go for it. Last year was her first competition year and first MDK experience and boy did she get out of that shy, timid stage. She loves to perform in front of people and it really shows. Kylie is also on the ELITE demo team. Her confidence has gone through the roof and we owe a lot of gratitude to the Masters and Instructors for making this possible.

We have only seen positive things happen to our children since they started. We are looking forward to watching Kylie meet her goal as well, to become a Black Belt too. We believe they will continue with the sport because they have a passion and love for it. We don’t think this would be possible if the staff wasn't who they are. We have also met a lot of wonderful parents and children through the years. Thank you AMAA for making our lives more memorable.

Sincerely,

Brad and Laura Rice

As a mother it was very difficult to find a sport for a child with physical limitations. We tried everything and were very discouraged.

Then I got smart and asked my daughter what she wanted to do and was very surprised to hear her say "Taekwondo". I was a little uncertain, but I stopped into AMAA and I signed her up.

Over the next few months I knew it was the best decision we could have made for her. The next year progressed with more confidence and physical growth than we could have ever imagined! Not only was the sport itself fantastic for her but the staff was sincerely caring for each and every student, focusing on every individuals strengths and building on them. My daughter has built strong friendships at AMAA and she not only looks forward to going to class but also has something she is very proud to be a part of.

I saw what AMAA was doing for my daughter and for a long time I really wanted to be a bigger part of it, so one day I signed myself up and saw the same things happening for me. I am now a more confident adult, in and out of the studio. I am more productive and focus on the "I can do it" attitude instead of the "I might fail" attitude.

After my first year with AMAA, I was presented with the Employee of the Year award and I can say that I have American Martial Arts to thank for that. They have truly become part of our daily lives and we are blessed to be part of the American Martial Arts family.

With thanks to American Martial Arts Academy, for your dedication and encouragement,

Casey and Sarah Heussner

TKD has affected my son’s (Derek Le) life in a positive way. He thrives with confidence with the determination to succeed. He has learned about focus, dedication, winning, and very importantly has learned about humbly losing.

TKD reassures the qualities we preach to our children while offering the traditional art of self defense. One thing that we have always enjoyed was the MDK competition sparring team. The sparring, traveling, competition atmosphere, and the excitement of watching your child compete with the other children, teens matched by belt, age, and weight from the other schools that have all gathered to compete for the same reasons...
to represent their schools.

Kim and Conrad

My name is Kelly Pordan, and my son Joey started TaeKwonDo at AMAA a little over a year ago.

At the time, he was having a tough time focusing at school and was picked on because of his size. He's much smaller than most 8 year olds. TaeKwonDo and the staff at AMAA have made a remarkable difference in him. He pays attention much longer than he was able to last year. He also, is more comfortable with his size because he now realizes he can do anything he puts his mind to. He has more confidance now than he has ever had.

I also started TaeKwonDo this past summer. It has made a tremendous improvement in life. I had been going through a period of depression and overall stress. I have noticed that since attending classes at AMAA, I have been a gentler, kinder mom and wife.

I enjoy going to classes every evening and releasing the stress from the day. I have lost weight, and increased my flexibility beyond what I thought was possible at my age. The staff and other members of AMAA are an incredible group of people and make you feel at home no matter what your ability is.

Thank you

For Her TKD has been a great challenge and rewarding. Her grades in school have improved, she has met many friends, her confidence and self esteem has grown as well.

Her goal is to be a black belt and she will make it. My daughter started TKD over a year ago she had tried cheerleading for a short time however this was not for her.

My father thought TKD would be good for Makayla. At this time I would like to thank every one at AMAA for your dedication and support to my child and many other children in our community.

Lisa Murphy

I started doing taekwondo because I was shy.
I wasn't just shy with friends I was shy in school, I never raised my hand or volunteered. With taekwondo I feel confident, like I can succeed.

My favorite thing about taekwondo is breaking boards. I like it because I feel strong and ready to accomplish whatever comes my way. Taekwondo also teaches me discipline and leadership skills.

My goal is to be a black belt within the next two to three years, eventually I wound like to attend a college that offers taekwondo as a sport and someday maybe I can even be in the Olympics.
Thank you,

Emilie Renggli