The negative postings in this thread regarding Master Na's Black Belt Academy truly shock me. As a current student of Master Na's and a former student of other Martial Arts forms, let me reassure anyone who is considering enrolling themselves and/or their children, that Master Na's is THE BEST place to learn true Korean and Olympic Style Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido.
I enrolled both of my young daughters and myself at Master Na's after visiting several other schools in our area (you know the one's, with big ads in the Yellow Pages). We took a class at two of them. But after visiting Master Na's school and having an introductory class with him, my girls and I were most comfortable with his school. He is able to articulate what he is teaching so well that he almost wouldn't even need to demonstrate the technique (if you have ever had a tough-to-articulate professor in college, you know how important articulating what you are teaching is!). But then he does demonstrate the technique, and you're left almost in awe as to how amazing and graceful his technique is.
He is most incredible with young children. Each child in his school respects Master Na and bonds with him quickly. It is very important to my little girls that Master Na is appreciative of their efforts and accomplishments. This to me shows a very pure respect for Master Na by my own children. As for adults, he has the ability to focus on our core abilities while fine tuning our basic mechanics. Looking back on my earlier training in other Martial Arts, I have to admit I don't remember ever leaving a dojo with as good of a workout and as solid of a training session as I have at Master Na's. I can only speak for myself when I mention this intense training, BUT YOU GET OUT OF TRAINING WHAT YOU PUT INTO IT!
As far as the curriculum is concerned, it is put together by Master Na himself, structured from the root of Tae Kwon Do training. Master Na comes from a long line of extremely accomplished teachers and he is blessed with the ability to pass this knowledge to us.
Now I have to turn this posting towards the negative postings made on here earlier, and I want to tell you now, it's made me personally a little upset: The argument, if there even is one, about ITMA and WTF. First of all, let me assure everyone, I have seen and held the WTF certificates that Master Na has issued to his students, and YES! they are REAL, they have ID numbers, and they ARE recognized by the WTF! Why!? Because they are WTF! To John D, Yun and Jack: Are you three people really so ignorant that you didn't realize that Master Na's school is certified by the WTF also? Do you not realize that your new school is actually LESS distinguished than Master Na's for charging you $$$ to retake your tests?? (yes, that IS their only motivation, think about it...) And just because you chose to certify with ITMA rather than the WTF (which by the way, you can still go back to Master Na and register WTF) doesn't mean ANYTHING! You decided to register with ITMA...good! It is a prestigious federation that was founded by Master Na himself! He has 3500 black belts under HIS OWN organization! Yet you three people, John D., Yun and Jack, feel like you have the experience to say these certificates are fake. Well, if they are so fake, then why don't you tell that to Mr. Chuck Norris! Yes, Chuck Norris recognizes the ITMA 6th degree black belt Steve Nottingham (oh, here is the link, scroll down near the bottom and there you go!) So are you going to tell me that these other "good schools" that you are at now are more prestigious and 'right' in their opinion that the ITMA certificate is fake than Chuck Norris and his opinion? Get Real!
It amazes me that these three people think that they can slander a man who has devoted his entire life to Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido and has chosen to, since 1980, pass this knowledge on to others. Tell me, what knowledge and mastery have you three dedicated your life to, taught, inspired and passed down daily for the past 28 years straight??
Tell you what, how about you three, John, Yun and Jack, focus on what's important in your own life, instead of, for whatever evil reasons you have, trying to put a bad name on a good man. Master Na's integrity and good intentions have my personal 100% confidence. Your integrity, however, I have concerns about...
To anyone who is searching for the best school for themselves or their family, you owe it to yourself to train at Master Na's. It will be a decision you will be happy you made! :)
Shaun Goodman
President of Vantage Communications, and
Student of Master Na's Black Belt Academy
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