After three years of Tae Kwon Do training and having received his black belt my son was totally discouraged, which is not what I had wanted from his learning a martial art. Learning forms and sparring techniques did not help him when having to defend himself against everyday situations.
Although he wanted nothing more to do with “karate” I knew I had to find a place that could help him learn to defend himself. I spoke to a number of martial arts centers in the area, explained my son’s situation and asked about their self-defense classes. It was always the same response. They didn’t have a class that strictly taught self-defense, but he would gain confidence and come to learn self-defense through classes in whichever martial art form they were teaching.
So I went to Quest Martial Arts. As we discussed our needs I soon realized we were on the same page. They were exactly what I was looking for. Instead of teaching self-defense through a martial arts form, Quest teaches their martial art form through self-defense techniques. They told me that my son would walk away from the very first class with techniques he could use. I had nothing to lose as the first month was free. I only had to drag my son to the first class. Not only were we amazed at how differently Quest conducted their class, but how well their instructors taught and interacted with the students. I also noticed how helpful their students were with each other. No exaggerations. In an extremely comfortable environment, in that very first class, my son actually did learn self-defense techniques that he could use immediately. Now my son truly looks forward to going to class, he has found a place where he can relieve his stress. He wants to be more involved and become a leader, and let’s not forget the main reason he started – he learns and practices real life self-defense.
