I began my journey through Kickboxing in the following condition in late April:

1. Overweight at 150 pounds
2. High blood pressure, taking 60 mg. of Atenenal
3. Extremely unsteady on my feet, creating poor balance
4. Difficulty focusing
5. Terrible insomnia for the last 12 years, getting 3-4 hours of sleep at night
6. I was isolated and depressed

I attend class 3 days a week. After my first month of Kickboxing I had lost 6 pounds and developed some muscle tone. As well, my doctor reduced my medicine in half, making it 30mg. He then reduced it further until it became no longer necessary to take.

At the present time, I have increased my muscle mass and inches have disappeared. My balance is greatly improved and my ability to focus is way up. My sleep has gone from insomnia to sleeping throughout the night. I am surrounded by people who are vibrant about life and demonstrate a desire to help me succeed.

My outlook on life is now enthusiastic and I am watching my body change for the better. I have replaced a life of seclusion for a life full of friends who have healthy goals in their lives. In addition, my doctors are seeing changes in me for the better. They strongly encourage me to continue with my goals in kickboxing.

− Gwen Peck 55 yrs. old

Three and a half years ago my then four year old son decided he wanted to take Karate. We knew right away that Universal Kempo Karate Nor'wood branch was the place for him. The instructors all have a passion for sharing this great knowledge and discipline, not to mention their great patience with kids and adults. Within four months my wife and I joined, and our family began to train together. It is wonderful to have something that the entire family enjoys to do together, and yet still offers some separate training time so that we can each grow at our own pace and level. To date my wife and I have each lost, and kept off, roughly thirty pounds each. We also feel that we are in way better shape and much more active then when we first met over eighteen years ago. As for our now eight year old son, people are always asking what we do differently with him. They tell us how respectful and mature he is compared to others his age. We know first hand that it helps him to focus better in school, and his confidence level is very high. Last, but not least, karate time is not only fun and healthy for us, it has brought us new friends which we now consider family."

− The Odell Family

I have seen what Kempo has done for me so far and it has impacted my life with Positive Reinforcement. I never during my childhood life got the positive reinforcement that I do now. I have noticed that not just the kids, teenagers but adults whether skilled or not are treated with respect, and that you as the instructors seek out our individual strengths to build us up step by step into strong confident individuals.

− Stacey Durocher

I've been a student of Universal Kempo for a few years and have never regretted involving my family with this association. The Nor' wood Branch follows the principles and curriculum designed by Professor Buell and adds the personal passion of Instructors Mr. and Mrs. Taylor and Mr. Moran. Universal Kempo has a long tradition of building confident and compassionate leaders which is seen daily at Universal Kempo's Nor' wood branch. But more importantly we see it building at home as well. Because of the versatility in martial arts activities that are provided, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor are somewhat inundated with my family. We have my children, 5 and 8 year olds, my wife and myself learning Karate. That's not all, my mother-in-law does the tai chi for wellness class, and Kardio Kickboxing, and our sister-in-law also does Kardio kickboxing. So as you can see this is truly a family activity for us. Yes, Universal Kempo Karate at Nor' wood is teaching us how to defend ourselves and they do it with great care, but we feel that there is so much more to learn here.

− J.J.

We are measured by a level of happiness and success, but ultimately defined by our caliber of character. At Universal Kempo Nor' wood, there is a "plethora" of good People. Every time I finish my day of training I always feel that my day is complete. A feeling that other days can rarely provide. It starts with a hand shake, then the body becomes awake from the exercise it has just been given. In the end, the mind can't help but feel cleansed for a new day. I glad I found this place, can't imagine my life without it.

− James Hunsucker

We have seen such a change in our five year old son Gavin. I think this experience has boosted his confidence and better prepared him for his first year of school. His teachers say he follows direction well and is very polite and I attribute a lot of this to his Karate training. I like the individual one on one time as well as the group time, the Nor’wood branch definitely knows how to balance the two effectively!

− Kim Batchelor

Life is full of unpleasant surprises and obstacles. In the face of this, Kempo Karate has provided my daughter with a constant that she can rely on. She is surrounded by people of the highest moral character, who teach her valuable lessons far beyond the basics of self defense. It's not just a business or a karate school; it's a family."

− Rob Milligan

We consider having started both of our boys in this excellent school at age 6 to be one of the best choices we could have made for them. It has made such a huge difference in their self-esteem, in their coordination, and in their listening skills and self-discipline. Not only do they learn self-defense, but they've also been learning such great life skills - things like confidence, respect for self and others, goal-setting, perseverence - that we know will help them work toward success in all areas of their lives. Thank you so much for having such a wonderful school and such great instructors.

− John and Cheri Davis

We signed our son Gino up for Karate in March of 09 and the confidence and self estem he is now showing is more than we could have ever imagined. He looks forward to going to Karate and comes home just to show us what he has learned that night.
We just wanted to say thank you for all you have done for our son.

− The Pardini's