Testimonials from Adult Members

An outstanding martial arts school!

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Most of my family has trained at this school, myself and my daughter still do and we both fairly recently achieved our black belt.

This school is not bogged down in politics, isn’t part of a national organisation that tells you what logo to wear on your uniform, it is simply an excellent place to learn martial arts, down predominately to the excellent teaching by the founder of the school Richard Olpin and his dedicated instructors.

If you have been put off by martial arts schools with too much posturing and preening, or where you feel left out for not being young and fit enough then this is the school for you! Richard teaches a syllabus based on the Korean Martial Art of Taekwondo, but ensures that all his students have the skills in ‘real world’ self defence too. Skills that he himself has used countless times as a security professional.

The school is a positive place that welcomes everyone and Richard encourages people to visit the school to see what we do. Come along and see a martial arts school that is open to all, and see if its time to make a positive change in your life!

Informative, interesting and realistic

Shirley Williamson 2nd DegreeI have been a student of Master Olpin for over eight years. He is a great teacher. His classes are informative, interesting and realistic as they are based on his own life experience and over 20 years of Martial Arts training.

All are welcome in his classes, no matter what their age. I hope to continue my training with him for many years to come and recommend his classes to anyone who has an interest in the Martial Arts.
Shirley Williamson
3rd Degree Black Belt

Master Olpin cares about every individual that walks into the dojo!

Rob Standen, 1st Degree

I started training at the Ilyokwan Black Belt Academy at the age of 13, almost 10 years later my instructor is still a continuing source of inspiration and support for me in both my martial arts and personal life.

It’s easy to see, from the way classes are taught, that Master Olpin cares about every individual that walks into the dojo. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the academy and manages to successfully deliver it to students of all ages.
I had the opportunity to be an assistant coach at the academy for 2 years. This really opened my eyes as to how much hard work and how much thought goes into the planning and execution of the syllabus for each class.

I am extremely proud of attaining my black belt under the instruction of Master Olpin.
– Rob Standen, 1st Degree Black Belt

An instructor who is taking Martial arts into the 21st century

Testimonial Image from Phil Munyard

Master Olpin has such an infectious love of Martial arts. He sets a true example of what martial arts should be about.

I originally met Master Olpin as a result of taking my son to his Little ninja classes. His ability to relate and adapt his classes to different age ranges is truly inspirational. After watching their classes it didn’t take me long to sign up myself

I love the way his classes merge traditional martial arts with modern day teaching techniques and with a dash of sports science for good measure.

Rich is true example of an instructor who is taking Martial arts into the 21st century.

– Phil Munyard

Master Olpin manages to bring out the best in anyone who trains with him.

Demi Frankham TestimonialI would like to nominate Master Richard Olpin for instructor of the year!  I can give him nothing less that 12 out of 10 for his teaching.  He is an incredibly knowledgeable man, completely committed to his students, and is always trying to get the best out of us… even if we believe we can’t do something, he never gives up on us.

There are two big things that I love about this school, number one is that it is open to everybody.  It doesn’t matter who you are, how old you are, what skills you have… anyone is welcome, and Master Olpin manages to bring out the best in anyone who trains with him.

And secondly, is that the school is not run like a military operation.  I know a lot of people who have practiced martial arts just as a hobby, but were put off by the regimented style of classes and intense pressure to keep up with the students who perhaps wish to practice their arts professionally.  But our training is completely different… a lot of the time he will ask the class before we start, what we would like to focus on for that particular session, which is brilliant because we get to practice the things we feel we need most work on.

Every student trains at their own pace, and we are all encouraged to follow any additional interests we have, even if they are not part of the syllabus, or even part of the art we practice.  For example recently some of the students have been doing some weapons practice, which we had previously done very little of, and through some encouragement they have begun to teach the rest of us what they know.  I think its is brilliant that we can all bring in different ideas, and play with them and learn new things, and do so with the encouragement and support of a fantastic instructor.

We have a lovely group of people to train with, and I’m sure they would all agree that it is an absolute pleasure to train with Master Olpin, and I would very much like to see him recognized for the fantastic job he does.

– Demi Frankham

A whole new outlook on the way I see life.

VanessaDavisTestimonial-I would like to nominate Master Olpin, for his unwavering encouragement and support.

He has a great way of teaching to make everything memorable and has brought a whole new outlook on the way I see life.
Vanessa Davis

 

“Training at the Academy has changed my life positively in so many ways.”– Shona Thornhill

“Simply an Excellent Place to Learn Martial Arts”

“The school is a positive place that welcomes everyone”

An outstanding martial arts school!