William S.

This site was very nice about 12 or 13 years ago. The Christian sections used to be very active. Now everything is politics and people getting banned left and right for dumb stuff. Very little activity in the "Christians only" forums. Their faith statement is strict Trinitarian, and they enforce it heavily. I got banmed because I refused to believe that God is one person that split himself into three people, which isn't even scripturally accurate. It's actually a Hindu concept. They believe anyone that doesn't believe this isn't a Christian. "Christian" means "follower of Christ", not Trinitarian. Anyone who follows Jesus' teachings is a Christian. Jesus never taught about a Trinitarian God. Only that the Father was God, who was also his God, whom he prayed to and worshipped. Trinitarianism is a cult on par with JWs and Mormonism. So, I have been banned permanently after a long discussion with one of their moderators, where I proved to them scripturally that they are wrong. It did not go over well.

Part of the United States Judo Association (USJA) and the only place in the Altoona area that I could find that teaches Judo. They also teach Aikido. A great school with great people.

A very traditional Karate dojo. Overall, this is a very nice place to learn traditional Karate and Kobudo (okinawa weapons system). Sensei Hoover is an 8th Dan in Okinawan Kenpo and Kobudo. He is a very skilled teacher. His dojo is large, and is well equiped. I believe it is the only Karate school in the area. Most other schools in the the area teach TKD, tang soo do, judo, or BJJ. There are no other Karate schools in the area.

BJJ is by far the toughest martial art that I have taken. If you wrestled in school you will love this place. The ground game is very intricate, like a big game of chess. Allen Coble is the owner and operater. He has classes for adults im the AM and PM, throughout the week, as well as classes for kids in the evening.

I love grapplearts. I joined the email list and I love getting new techniques to learn every day. I take, and compete, in BJJ. Stephen Kesting has been a big help to solving many problems that I have run into while training at my home dojo. I learn in the gym, in books, and on the internet. Every little bit helps. Grapplearts is my main internet BJJ learning platform. Thanks Stephen.

This program was tough. Don't expect to get your black belt in 12 months unless you have past martial arts experience and tons of time to train to perfect techniques. The reason I say this is because you test by video submissions. This means that your videos can be slowed down, and paused, to check that your technique is perfect, or to the level of proficiency that is expected. For training, you are given an online video curriculumn through the website. You can only access videos that are for your belt level, and you move up as you pass tests. There are pre-recorded classes that you can join in on, and you can even join in on real time classes on facebook throughout the week. Don't think that you will just breeze through this because it is online. Mr. Byan makes sure of this. He will spot every little detail that is wrong in your videos and make you do it over until you perfect your technique. This kind of critique should be expected for an online program though since you don't have 1 on 1 physical contact. Another nice thing about this class is that you can contact him directly anytime and get 1 on 1 ctitique. Mr. Bryan doesn't let you take shortcuts and he will make you earn it. I already knew most of the techniques and some of the kata from past training before starting this program, and it still took me 2 years to get 1st Dan. That was training 2-5 days a week and at least an hour a day. Also, to add, he gave me the option of taking my test at his dojo in the UK, and he also holds seminars which you can attend, even if you live in another country.
If you want to make the most out of this program, find at least one other person to practice with so that you have some physical 1 on 1 training. I trained a little with my wife and my son, but mainly with one of my friends who took Tae Kwon Do. Finding an abled body will allow you to practice blocking, striking, and self defense with another person. You can train technique and conditioning by yourself but you can't really train self defense without another person. You should also at least buy a punching bag, and/or a century Bob to practice techniques by yourself. You need a target to strike.

Edit: I took this program before Covid 19 hit so Mr. Bryan may have some restrictions on testing at his dojo or joining seminars. Also, since covid 19 hit.