Reviews of South Eastern Martial Arts

This is for Larry J. review made on 3-7-18

Obviously you are confused about this School, first you said you were familiar with the school but had no experience at the school then you said you tried it out, anyway you said the instructor had poor relations with the students and not friendly. Master Church has over twenty years in Law Enforcement you would think with that much experience dealing with the public he should have people skills. I for one have known him for over twenty years and have saw first hand how not only the students but anyone who comes in the school responds to him and how he interacts with them. You also said that the things they were teaching was more like competition how would you know with no experience? The Instructors there are a combination of Law Enforcement and D. O. C. personnel, the techniques they teach are nowhere near competition only proven street self-defense. Please feel free to come by and see for yourself I think you will change you mind if you actually talk to us. God Bless

I tried out the place, it claims to be a practical art but it’s not. The instructor has poor relations with the students, and not friendly. The techniques couldn’t be used in any real life situation, more like competition even though they claim not to be. There’s a TKD school in Morganton that has far better instruction and the teachers are much nicer, plus they work better with my son. I wouldn’t recommend this school to anyone looking for martial arts training.

In today's martial art world it seems like every school you see in nothing more than a class room full of kids running around playing karate, not this school they teach karate that will work in any situation. They teach respect and discipline while making the class fun and informative. If you're tired of paying high prices for nothing but play time check them out.

If interested in martial arts, definitely try it. Fun place, great people, recommending 100%

If you want real training at an affordable price instead of sport nonsense this is the place. Trained professional instructors, no hidden cost, no contracts, no tournament tip tap and no rolling around on the ground working techniques that are useless on the street. They teach realistic self defense that will work. Check them out see for yourself.

This is a response in reference to twleo it took me a while but I remember you now Tim, I remember when you came to my school and ask about training with us. I remember you saying that you had been checking out all the local schools and none of them knew what they were doing including the one you are training at now, but that's nether here or there. I remember you telling me that after watching our class you wanted to train here. I remember you telling me you were a black belt and who your Instructor was you had some experience in mma and had trained some fighters. I remember telling you if you could show me some documentation of rank I would let you wear your black belt while training at our school. I remember you never produced any proof of rank. You only stayed a few months and left. I contacted your Instructor and ask him about what you had told me and he said it was true but that while training at his school you became very disrespectful to your fellow black belts and team mates and you had a very bad attitude problem and he could no longer trust you and he was worried you might hurt someone when he was not around. He said he talked to his Grand Master and they took your rank and made you leave so that being said I appreciate your opinion and hope you get hold of your attitude issues I wish you luck in your training. . . . . . . Master Mike Church

I have studied and practiced martial arts for over 20 years, I have a Blackbelt in Chung Do Kwon Tae Kwon Do, which included study in Hapkido and Jujitsu. I have also studied and practiced several other martial arts. I have successfully fought and defended myself with my art both on the street and as a professional fighter in the ring, and have taught and trained fighters as well. Having recently moved to Morganton in 2009. While looking for a school to continue my studies, I attended classes in this school for almost a year. If you have a child looking to learn a few of the basics this is it. . . block, punch, kick. . They teach a few grabs, a few throws, and how to fall down. They are very old fashion and their views on techniques are limited. I have a health respect for traditional values and principles, even some foundations of technique, but tradition to them apparently means to stand still and don't move, and they refuse to except anything new. I stayed a few month to give them a fair chance to show something, but was unimpressed. If you are looking to become a serious martial artist and wish to learn beyond the boundaries of a narrow minded philosophy I suggest you look elsewhere, but if you are just looking for something to kill the time and maybe get a quick black belt to show off to your friends, this is a good place to go. Anyone who knows little about the martial arts would most likely be impressed. But don't take my word for it, please try them out as well as surrounding schools to see how they compare. Who knows it just may be your kind of school. However I do not recommend them.

There are no defined standards within the Martial Arts for instructors. Unfortunately there are instructors who can just purchase instructor credentials off the Internet. It is up to each individual school to determine the standards of an instructor position. The standards at South Eastern Martial Arts are extremely high out of respect for the responsibility of teaching Martial Arts skills.

The entire staff consists of highly skilled Martial Artists who earned their instructor positions from their instructor. There are no purchased instructor certifications in this school. Each instructor earned their position from their original instructor the traditional way. Each instructor is adult who is at least a 2nd Degree Black Belt.

They have no teens or children teaching class. Their Dan ranks truly represent years between Black Belt ranks and not purchased rank with only months in rank. Only the finest Martial Art Student who demonstrates excellence in physical, mental and social skills can earn an instructor position at South Eastern Martial Arts. Come witness a class and meet the Instructors and students, you will see the difference.

Really peaceful mind that's the best you can do for a review? mean and big egos, I remember when I was in the third grade.

They think they are all that. to much ego, they are very mean people.

I have seen that some schools charge a testing fee for white belt, why? If you look up the definition of white belt it reads...

White signifies a birth, or beginning, of a seed. A white belt student is a beginner searching for knowledge of the Art. The white belt is the beginning of life's cycle, and represents the seed as it lies beneath the snow in the winter. Think about this when you are looking for a school to join. When you start classes you ARE a white belt. This school does not charge you for being a beginner. Think before you join a school that's going to charge you for nothing.

This is a answer given by a Martial Artist during an interview I read recently could not agree more and this school leads by example we all must have integrity not only as Martial Artist but in life.

What's one thing that you would like to see change in the martial arts industry?

JC: I don't pay too close attention to the "industry." The martial arts is much more than a business to me. I do have issue with dollars taking priority over integrity. The title of master or expert should come with commensurate experience and certification, belts should be earned not bought, organization leaders should be dedicated to supporting their members and competitors more than a bottom line. A martial art is empty without integrity.

I see a lot of posts about doing your research here's a good one to start with. Time in rank.For example if the Instructor tells you he's a 4th degree Black Belt ask him what year he was promoted to first degree Black Belt. In most systems it is a common rule that a first degree black belt stays in that rank for one year before being eligible for testing for second degree rank (yes I said testing) and to be eligible to test for third they have to be second degree for two years,third would be three years and so on to advance thru the degrees. So ask questions and do the math and see if the rank matches the years spent in rank.This system is not written in stone but gives the person an ideal of the Instructors qualifications.

I have researched all the local schools in the area and found this one to be one of the very few that teach real Martial Arts.Some of the other schools claim to teach Karate or Tae Kwon Do or BJJ but in reality all they teach is a bunch of moves they have learned from videos or from visiting other schools. They make up their own style and give it a Japanese name and say they have the blessing from some organization to teach. Then they hit you with the hidden cost like sign up fees,a winter uniform,a summer uniform, their sponsor uniform or their brand of equipment. You won't find that at this school, I even ask them about the price of a uniform and was told that they could order me one but I could get a better price by going to a store in Hickory that sold uniforms, that showed me that it's not about money with this school. They tell you up front the price of testing and monthly dues and they are very reasonable even offered the first month free. If you want real martial arts training then check South Eastern Martial Arts out you won't be disappointed.

I get on the dojo locater web site from time to time to read the comments that people post about the local schools and all I can say is REALLY. Your complaining about the size of the school, it smelled and no one ran over to you and immediately introduce themselves. Well listen up Butter Cup If it was during class time maybe the Instructors were busy teaching and if you would have ventured out of your comfort zone and introduced yourself things might have went a little better for you but I guess that was too difficult for you because your wittle sinuses were offended. Guess what Butter Cup when people work out they sweat,sweat smells. The school was too small too many people inside maybe because it must be worth going hence the number of people. And this one really amazes me cheap prices OOOOO KKKKK I guess you could offer to pay them double they probably would appreciate it. I bet you were the kid that always came to school with a note from home excusing you from gym class because you had a boo boo or the sniffles. Get a life Butter Cup.

Wow I'm very sorry about your visit. I find your experience visiting us very unusual and upsetting. We pride ourselves on welcoming everyone who comes through our doors and answering all their questions. As for the small space we have been extremely blessed recently with enrolling new students and we are currently looking to expand. As for the smell I apologize if you come by the school before every class you will find us cleaning the school but if you get a bunch of dedicated students training hard it's not always a bed of roses but we do pride ourselves on the cleanness of our school. As for the low price I know how hard it is nowadays to make ends meet and I believe everyone should have the opportunity to receive quality instruction no matter what their income may be. I would rather have a simple school with cheap rates than charging outrageous fees to pay for fancy buildings with all the bells and whistles and instructors with little knowledge that teach bad techniques from a made up system and give students false security. With all that being said I apologize for your experience and if you will come back and introduce yourself I will give you one months free lessons as a gift.

The school is very small, dirty and it smelled. The mat area was tiny, students were bumping into each other as they tried to workout. I sat for 20 or so minutes waiting for someone to ask if they could help me, never happened. The instructor and his students kept looking at me like i was strange and shouldn't be in their school, guess you have to have an invitation to come here, it was just weird and made me very uneasy. I looked the school up before i came and Mr. Church's background sounded impressive but words are deceiving i wasn't impressed at all and will never step foot back in the door, there rates are very cheap but i guess you get what you pay for which is nothing in this case, not even a polite hello, can i help you. Was just a waste of time and i would not recommend them to anyone.

I have been involved in the Martial Arts for many years both as a student and Instructor and have visited many local schools. I have seen a large drop in the quality of Instructors. I blame this on the mind set of the I want it now society we live in,nobody wants to work for anything. We want and expect a rank handed to us just for participating. This is why you see so called black belts in the area that have very poor skills which makes all martial artist look bad. This being said I highly recommend South Eastern Martial Arts to anyone who wants to learn true Martial Arts. Master Mike Church is a true Martial Artist who cares about his students and carrying on the tradition and discipline of the arts. He does not operate a day care center, tournament Mc Dojo or a place where everyone rolls around on the floor. He does not teach a made up martial art that you find at other local schools. What he does teach is real life self defense that will save your life if you ever find yourself in that situation. Remember there are no rules or referees in real fights.

My child has been attending this school for almost three years. South Eastern Martial Arts has kept my child focused in all aspects of life. The instructors there teach because they love to teach. Master church is not seeking to be rich, he is striving to keep traditional martial arts alive, because it is a dying art. Master Church wants to make sure my child is able to protect themselves if needed. All of his self defense techniques are proven to work and end conflict. I enjoy bragging on this school...

I have observed many martial arts classes in the area and this is one of a very few that teach real martial arts. The instructor has over thirty years of real martial arts and teaches respect and the true art not some made up system you find at other schools. The self defense is tried and proven to work. If you want to learn how to defend your self then this is the place to go.

This school strives in teaching the students not only martial arts but the history with the tenets of martial arts. The instructors are very knowledgeable in their art, and my child has improved in school. His focus and discipline are great.