Jon Penny's Black Belt Academy

"Jon Penny is very knowledgeable about trade. He does great job of explaining various forms of strikes, takedowns, and grappling moves. He also is very encouraging and welcoming to questions about what is being taught. It certainly helped me learn and understand the application for the move, strike, etc.. The Black Belt Academy staff was very informational when I stopped in there, and was very welcoming to new faces. Highly recommend if you are a beginner or have a background in this area!"

"I first heard about Jon Penny’s Black Belt Academy when my friend signed us up for a self defense class on what was supposed to be our Girls’ Day Out! Even though I had taken a similar self defense class elsewhere, I learned a lot in this class. I especially liked the different perspective that Jon Penny had to offer being a law enforcement officer. There was a lot of time for hands-on learning, in class and outside. Since I had a really great experience with this class I decided to let my kids try out the karate classes. They were hooked after the first class! One of the things that I like the most about JPBBA is that they are very good at positive reinforcement. They catch the students doing things right. This has helped my kids a lot. A few months after my kids joined the Academy, they won a Ninja party and were allowed to invite their friends to it. I started to panic a little bit when I saw all the other instructors leave for the day leaving Mr. Stanford by himself with a room full of kids. I shouldn’t have worried at all, because Mr. Stanford maintained order in that party so effortlessly. He did not raise his voice even once, but all the kids were paying attention and being respectful of him and others and were also having lots of fun. I was totally impressed! Seeing that my kids loved to go to JPBBA, I decided to try out the Krav Maga classes. Even though I am not really a big fan of group classes and going to one really takes me way out of my comfort zone, I really enjoy this class. Jon creates a fun and safe place to learn and I enjoy the camaraderie with the other students. I always leave the class feeling empowered, energized and encouraged. Not only am I getting a great workout, I am also learning a life skill. I highly recommend this class to others, especially women. We have been going to JPBBA for about a year now and it has been such a positive and enjoyable experience for our whole family. Their highly energetic, super helpful, and friendly staff makes it such a great place to be."

"My son has been taking lessons at Jon Penny's Black Belt Academy for almost a year. The experience and training he receives is wonderful. This is the first time my son has been continually interested in anything and has been excited to attend different classes that are offered. The instructors make sure to let them know when they are doing a great job. That is something my son definitely needs. In just a short time I noticed he had more self esteem and self discipline. He recently joined the black belt and leadership programs and says when he becomes a black belt he want to instruct like Mr. Stanford and Mr. Penny."

"I took Jon's basic firearm/CPL class, in October 2013. I was a little nervous about taking a gun class, since I'd heard that a lot of gun classes didn't have women in them. I didn't want to end up in a class that was going to be macho, competitive, or intimidating. Actually, my class with Jon had 7 women, and only one guy! Jon has a very relaxed class atmosphere, and an approachable teaching style; all questions are welcome. While most of the students in my class had fired handguns before, experience is not needed to take this class. You handle a lot of training (fake) guns, and unloaded guns, before you move on to the loading and the firing. You get a lot of hands-on training, to make sure you're handling the guns properly. Jon makes sure that everyone is comfortable, and safe, with what they're doing, before moving on to the next step. You never feel rushed or pressured to move on before you're ready. During the shooting part of the class, you get the chance to fire a lot of different guns; this will help you choose a firearm that's a good fit for you. And NO, you don't have to have your own gun to take this class. This class covers the requirements for Michigan and Ohio, if you decide to get your CPL- but I would recommend it to anyone interested in owning a handgun. I had been shooting for years, and was surprised to find out how much I had been doing wrong, or could do better. I highly recommend this class."

"I've been training at Jon Penny's for almost a year, taking Krav Maga. If you're not familiar with Krav Maga, it's definitely worth looking up on Wikipedia. Signing up for this is one of the best decisions I've made since I moved to Perrysburg. It's an awesome workout and the self defense / fighting tactics are great to know. The other people that attend this class are all very nice and the atmosphere is really friendly... so you shouldn't hesitate giving Jon a call or stopping by for an intro with him. Also, I've taken a few different handgun training classes that Jon has offered, some of which focused on higher-end tactical scenarios (such as home defense... how to maneuver around corners, etc.). These classes were top notch and involved a good balance of theory and range time. And, it definitely helps that Jon has law enforcement experience in his skill set. If you're in driving distance, check this place out!"