Hi my name is Michaela Bartlett. I started training at the United Martial Arts center in 2013 at the age of 10. I have been training for 2 1/2 years. I am 12 years old and currently a black belt with a orange stripe. Being a student at the United Martial Arts center has boosted my confidence. When I started training at this studio I had asthma that was not well controlled. It hasnt gotten much better since but the instructors are willing to work with me and help build my lung capacity. The sifus have great family and adult classes avalible teaching forms, and unforgettable life skills. I would highly recommend this studio to adults and children of all ages.

I cant give myself 5 stars but I can do it for my customers and familys that train with me. We love our kids and treat them like family ❤️

Ive been training at UMAC for 6 years as an adult so Ive had a good opportunity to observe the instructors, programs, and other students. The school is a non-contact martial arts school and while the adult classes and instruction are great, they have a real gift with children. They will work with kids as young as 3 and the transformation always amazes me. The kids quickly gain confidence and focus - and real life focus is hard to teach kids in todays electronically stimulated world. Its also great to have watched some young teenagers develop into confident and determined young adults who are ready to face a challenging world.The forms taught (Southern Hung Gar) provide a nice combination of physical conditioning, coordination, and learning about the traditions of Martial Arts. The adult classes are challenging but a lot of fun and Ive enjoyed getting to know some other adults who also come and decompress after work. A *lot* more fun than heading to a local gym.Sifu Anthony Pasquale is very gifted and an extremely patient instructor - pure enjoyment to watch him with forms and weapons. Its amazing (and fun) to watch how the little kids connect and gravitate to him. Sifu Rita Pasquale is also very skilled with the art and wonderfully encouraging and great in coaching the little children about discipline, respect, and life skills. And I should also mention Instructor Donovan - Ive trained along side her for years and she is a very good and skilled Instructor and terrific with younger kids.The entire school is friendly and welcoming and Id encourage anyone to sign up for a free class to try it out.

My family and I have been training at UMAC for almost 11 years now individually as well as in the family program together. The impact it has made on our lives is immeasurable. Not only physically, but more importantly mentally and emotionally. Sure we learn kicking and punching as well as traditional Kung fu forms, but thats not what this program is really about. Quite often in this world adults and children alike are not prepared for the challenges they have to face in work, school or anywhere in their lives. My children are growing into strong young adults and have never failed to face and overcome any obstacle in their lives. The life skills they learn at UMAC they will take with them throughout their entire lives. Below is a speech I wrote for my 2nd degree black belt test. It is a complete testimony to the impact this program has had on me personally. I encourage everyone to come in and try a class. It will change your life.For me to give a black belt speech on what martial arts has done for me I would probably be here all day. There is so much I have gained through my training. Too much to list. For this reason I will focus on the word “me”In Martial Arts we quite often say “This is not the me show”. It is more about reaching out and helping others in need. Finding ways to change the world in positive ways. Leaving behind a legacy that will continue on infinitely through others we have touched through our own journey as Martial Artists.So when asked “What has Martial Arts done for me?” I don’t even have to hesitate before answering. Martial Arts has defined “ME”. I didn’t know who I was when I began the journey down this path 10 years ago. I didn’t know what my purpose was and I certainly believed I would fail no matter how hard I tried. I followed others and attached myself to their negative beliefs. When someone said “You will never do that” or “your not good enough” I believed them without question.What I didn’t know was that during the darkest times at the very beginning of the path when I took a leap of faith and started this journey, a seed was planted. This seed told me to keep going, dont give up, and most importantly “Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you cant do something”. The more I trained, the more the seed grew. A line in the mastery quote sticks out in my mind. “Let the experience be like the planting of a seed within you that, with nourishment, it will grow into your own individual mastery”. Though I am far from mastery, my seed is growing strong.I do not follow the negative anymore. When someone tells me I cant do something I say “watch me”. I have the strength and confidence in myself to walk through any wall of fear because I know something much greater and more beautiful is waiting on the other side. I believe in myself and my ability to achieve any goal I set. Life is difficult and at times we are knocked to the ground with such incredible force that the wind is taken right from us. Martial Arts has given me the ability to get back up. It doesn’t matter how many times you fall, only that you get back up and keep going.I have had the privilege of training under great teachers who have walked this very same path before me. They planted this seed within me and encouraged and empowered me to “nourish it and watch it grow”. I am grateful beyond words for their belief in me before I even believed in myself. I have much more to learn from them and I am still at the beginning of this journey. Through martial arts I want to continue teaching others through my experiences and help the community grow stronger. I want to give back more than I get back. I don’t ever want anyone to be standing and watching from outside the door because they think they are not good enough and that wall of fear is too great to walk through

Hello everyone, I am Nicholas Migneault. I am a martial art student of United Martial Arts Center Danvers and Ive been training since I was nine years old. Ive been training since that day I walked into the studio and said IM READY TO BE A BLACK BELT LEADER! Which is till the time Im typing this. My current rank at the studio is a black and orange sash. I must tell you my life story…Before I joined this academy: I was small, unfocused, impatient, didnt know the concept of respect, confused, and had not so good grades for a elementary school student. Since I joined this academy it made me fell sanctuary, peace, and family. It really did change me to be a better me that I couldnt show or find. As I grew I started to apply the martial arts concepts I was learning as a kid to my everyday life, and it all started to kick in and I started to achieve the better grades that I wanted. The studio has taught me to have: strength mentally and physically, courage, kindness, effort, wisdom beyond my own years and Im only 16 years old! 16 SIXTEEN! But most of all this studio has taught me respect. Respect others the way you want to be treated, NOT JUST AT THE ACADEMY, BUT AT HOME AND AT SCHOOL! I applied the respect to everything I ever did and in return I made my teachers lifes better, at my school which masconomet high school. Oh, speaking of teachers Sifu Anthony and Sifu Rita are the best Sifus, no questions asked. I wouldnt have all the success I have today without them, since they helped me realize what my potential could actually be. Ive learned that martial arts isnt all punches and kicks and breaking boards like everyone perceives it as, but its truly about making everyone around you a better person, with all your heart!Thank you Sifu Anthony, Sifu Rita, and Mrs Donovan! You are the best!PS: I highly recommend brining your kid here if you want them to be the best them and unleash their inner potential, but it takes time. Ive been here for 6-7 years and at the 5 year mark is when I realized what I could actually be. Your child just has to be COMMITTED to do something like this. I dropped all other sports for this and I made the complete right decision to come here with no regrets, I can Guarantee that once your kid gains all the compliments of becoming a black belt leader, you will be truley proud of them :)

Hello my name is Foster Martinuk, when I first started karate at United Martial Arts Center in 2011, I was 9! Now after almost 4 years of training not only have I EARNED ( a word that is stressed upon greatly, as nothing is given in life but must be earned) a black with orange belt, but I have also improved my life mentally. I have learned many things over the years at UMAC, the forms, life skills and more. After training for about 2 years I developed a case of anxiety, and through karate, I have learned skills of coping and have used karate as a stress reliever as it is a place I feel very comfortable, it and all the people there feel like family now! I love going to UMAC because it is a school like no other. Places will come and go, but I know that even if UMAC were to ever close, its legacy would live on. Its idea of having a balance of mental and physical training is perfect, and its rank advancement of having the amount of classes determine belt promotion, rather than tests is much better. The staff are very nice including both Sifu Anthony, and Rita Rose Pasquale, who take you in and make you feel like family and not just like your are there student. Also their donating to St. Jude and involving all the kids in fun activities is great. Recently, for the past year now I have been going to the black belt classes after not only earning the rank, physically but also mentally. Speaking of mentally, that aspect helped me to also start around the same time CIT classes and now I am currently training to be a staff member (instructor), and am interning now on Saturdays. Now at 12, words cant describe how much I love going to UMAC for karate training, and though I have no current plans to stop I know that when the day does come it will be like losing a part of me, and will be something I will never forget. So if you were to ask me if I would recommend going to UMAC I would say definitely it is a place that will change you and your child for the better, forever! :)