Champion Martial Arts Academy 12251 Darnestown Road, Gaithersburg, MD 20878

"Personalized study plan and you have the opportunity to make up the classes."

"I've been attending this school for 3 months. Before coming here, I got my black belt from Champion Karate (now closed). I won't say that I'm great at martial arts, but I have competed in several tournaments in MD & VA and won a few trophies and medals (mostly 2nd and 3rd place). After I left Champion Karate, and practiced sporadically for a few years, I decided to try this school to bring me up to scratch. Master Kim is a very knowledgeable and passionate instructor, and very generous with compliments. He knows Taekwondo, Hapkido, Judo and Kendo. But in my opinion, he is too easy on his students. We are told to go soft on each other whenever we spar, and we rarely ever strike targets. The other problem is the lack of any other teachers besides Master Kim (sometimes the top-ranked black belt will lead in his absence but that's about it). Due to the lack of delegation for larger classes, there's very little supervision: a lot of the younger students fool around, some of us don't get a clear view of what's being taught, and most of us don't get feedback on how we're doing. Most of the time, we're drilling Taekwondo kicks, and sometimes we practice Hapkido. Once a week, we learn Judo and Kendo. Would be nice to have more time dedicated to those. One thing we always do at the end of every lesson is acrobatics (usually dive-rolling or jumping over obstacles). A lot of the students are actually pretty good at this; some can jump very high and do flips. If you want to learn martial arts for fun and get a good workout, this is the place for you."

"I've known Master Kim since I was 7 I'm 19 almost 20 now he's a really nice man he's got more black belts than i have years on my life that includes at least 2 masters I haven't really been there to train at all sometimes to say hi, my father trains there and Master Kim always brags about my dad (the first non black belt to break one of Master Kim's holds) if Master Kim could open a dojo in Ocean City that would be amazing because then I could start training again I wonder if Master Omid is doing ok as well"

"Amazing place, amazing master Kim and great teachers. My both kids go there and love the energy and discipline. Highly recommended!"

"Great Martial Arts (focused on Taekwondo) training that incorporates the mind as well as the body. Workouts and instructors are top notch. Trained here for years."