Welcome to our website!

Whether you are looking for combined training in TaeKwonDo, Tai Chi, Hapkido, Jujitsu,kickboxing or fitness, Lil' Dragons preschool karate, preschool day care, a personal trainer, or even pick up from school to karate or all day summer/school break camps for kids, or even just tutoring for your school age child, our facility offers more training opportunities than any other martial arts school in the area! Sioux Falls Martial Arts Academy has been providing instruction in the Sioux Falls area since 1992. Visit the EVENTS page for our plans for day camps this weekend.

We hope you enjoy our website and will stop by and visit us if you are in the area. This site is designed to give you information about our facility, our style of martial arts, our staff and provide you with information on how to contact us as well. Come in and see why we've been in business in Sioux Falls for 16 years!

Lil' Dragons Child Development Academy!

If you have a preschooler and work a job, you probably need day care. But why send them to a place where they give them back the same as you left them? We'll give them back better! As a fully licensed day care center, we prefer to think of ourselves as a Child Development Program! Children as young as 3 years old learn courtesy, self-control, stress management, and socialization skills. Add in preschool and martial arts training at NO ADDITIONAL COST and you have a nationally recognized curriculum of personal development that will put YOUR child on the fast road to success! OUr preschool instructor has a Masters degree in education; see our "tutoring" program for more information on Ms. Weber. CALL TODAY for the information packet. SPACES ARE LIMITED!

MARTIAL ARTS UNIVERSITY!

The telephone company is doing it. The airlines are doing it. Now Sioux Falls Martial Arts is doing it! We have established Martial Arts University in an effort to give our students the training they want and need. We have unbundled our instruction into "majors" of TaeKwonDo, Kung Fu,and Hapkido and now offer "electives" in all other information. You select what you are most interested in without spending time, money, and effort on those aspects of martial arts that leave you feeling uncomfortable or inept. New students will enter directly into the University, while existing students can effortlessly transition from their existing programs. No other martial arts school in the country is offering instructional packaging of this type!

COMBINE FITNESS WITH MARTIAL ARTS

Classes in martial arts will teach you the mental discipline and self-motivation to train hard to become physically fit, but time constraints of the classes themselves cannot offer the ability to train hard for strength and endurance. At Sioux Falls Martial Arts, you can buy a package of two one-hour private sessions per week with Mr. Brad Johnson, personal fitness trainer, PLUS two classes a week in Kickboxing, the Unified Martial Arts program, or a four-hour self-defense course. Call today for your appointment and to discuss prices with Mr. Johnson.

A Martial Art can be defined as a system of techniques - physical and mental exercises developed as a successful means for self-defense, both armed and unarmed.

Techniques, skills and abilities that are martial in nature but do not benefit the practitioner and their community are generally not considered martial arts. Mutual benefit must be a component. Martial arts utilize a variety of combat methods. Some fighting styles emphasize weaponless techniques while others teach the use of weapons. Some styles focus on grappling while others put their emphasis on striking. Weaponless systems use hand, arm, foot, shin, and knee striking and blocking techniques. Some weapons that may be used are the staff, sword, knife, dagger and nunchaku.

Not all forms of self-defense are actually considered to be martial arts. Some argue that unless warriors were using a fighting system in actual combat, it was not truly a martial art. Additionally, there is a difference between martial art and martial sport; the sport application of a combat system is not a martial art. Not all activities designated as martial arts are martial or artistic. While some developed from warrior combat, other martial arts developed as a means for spiritual and physical development. Strictly defined, martial arts are combat arts, methods for killing an opponent in battle. Martial ways, or, those arts that have a spiritual component, go beyond combat effectiveness.

Today, the martial arts are practiced for health and fitness, sport, law enforcement, spiritual benefits as well as for self-defense.

Reasons to Check Out Sioux Falls Martial Arts Academy

It is our goal to help our students in their pursuit of personal perfection. Therefore, here are some reasons you should consider enrolling at Sioux Falls Martial Arts Academy:

1. SFMAA has been in business for over 16 years. We not only have the experience, we have the staying power. We won't bail on you during your training.


2. Our teaching staff has over 50 years of experience! From 5th Degree Black Belt Master KC Estes to 2nd degree black belt Mr. Brad Johnson, our staff is all on the same page with philosophy and technical training.


3. Sioux Falls' ONLY From-School-To-Karate Program! We will pick up your child from any school east of Minnesota Avenue, transport them to our Academy, let them eat snack, and teach them a martial arts class. There is a holding area with quiet games or homework until you pick them up, as late as 6pm! All expenses are tax-deductible as child care, and their martial arts training is through when you get off work, leaving more time for other family activities.


4. Competition in Taekwondo is available locally, regionally, and nationally. Master Estes is the highest ranking National Referee in the state (one step away from International Certification), and she brings her experiences in the national arena back to her students' training. Our students in Masters and Leadership programs have the opportunity to train in sparring, forms, weapons, and board breaking tournaments.


5. Weapons! Students ages 6 and above of any rank may participate in weapons training. Choices include sai, shinai (bamboo)sword,Tai Chi straight sword, Tai Chi broadsword, escrima, bo staff, tonfa, and numchaka. Two seminars a month are offered, as well as in-class practice.


6. Sioux Falls Martial Arts Academy is associated as a School with both the United States Taekwondo Association (which runs the sport at the Olympics), and the Amateur Athletic Union.


7. Master Estes is the only female Head Instructor in Sioux Falls. While Master Estes is assisted by several males on the teaching staff, she is one of a handful of females in the country running a successful school of almost 200 students without a male business partner. While her rank gives her the skill to teach men, women, and children, we feel her maternal side makes her more receptive to the needs of the students. She actively will seek out solutions to any of life's problems that come to her attention, including low motivation, lack of respect, bullying at school, and problems with attention in a non-judgmental and caring manner. Over twenty years as a registered nurse taught her that no problem has just one cause, and that every solution has numerous methods.


8. SFMAA has over 4000 square feet of training space. Two training floors allow for two classes to be taught at the same time. Extra space gives plenty of maneuvering room, and two areas adds class times for the convenience of the students.


9. Lil' Dragons Preschool Karate. It's never too early to start to develop important life skills like discipline, courtesy, and focus. This is a parent/child interactive class that only lasts 30 minutes, but with lessons that last a lifetime!


10. All Day Summer Camps! Need a place to put your child in the summer that doesn't cost half your salary and is flexible with the number of days you need? Here's a way to take care of your problem and let your child experience the martial arts at the same time! Open from 7am to 6pm, cost is only $20/day with all expenses covered except a swim patch. SFMAA Karate Kids Kamp takes the children out of the Academy from 9am on for daily excursions around the city. Reading time and martial arts class is mandatory, and the kids swim, hike, attend plays, do crafts, and much much more. Whether you need one day or all 64, consider Sioux Falls Martial Arts Academy, where video games are NOT allowed!


11. Yoga! Offered both morning and evening, this isotonic exercise has been found to strengthen the body and calm the spirit. Certified instructor Sarah Stowers has years of experience, and can show YOU how to center your life.


12. The Entire Family Can Train Together! We offer a discount to families. The first two members pay tuition, but none of the rest do, no matter how many in the family! Limited to immediate family, please.


13. Kickboxing! There are three levels of contact -- none, light, or full. But no matter what level you choose, this is a class that will raise your heart rate, build muscle, and lower your stress level. This is NOT Cardiokickboxing; we teach REAL moves for REAL life!


14. SUMMER FUN! We offer classes both day and night to allow students to enjoy evening activities with their families. We also offer summer class packages for students wanting to "check it out".


15. Community Involvement. We believe that the role of the martial artist is to serve, and at our Academy, we select a number of projects in the Sioux Falls area for active involvement. We helped raise over $100 for a small boy's family to get the new home they so desperately needed, and we had a mission to collect (literally) a TON of canned goods by Thanksgiving for presentation to the Food Pantry. Community service not only helps others, but brings the focus of your spirit off yourself and onto the creation of good around you.


16. Sioux Falls Martial Arts Academy is the only locally owned martial arts school, not part of a national franchise. This gives us the latitude to alter schedules and curriculum to work with the students in our community. We don't have to call another city for permission to make adjustments, or wait weeks for an answer to a question. In addition, Master Estes is a full-time martial artist; she has no other employment, making her completely dedicated to the success of her students. Other schools in town are funded by the owner's real estate or restaurant businesses and the martial arts school is their side-line. Sioux Falls Martial Arts has NO side-lines; the training of our students is our only business.


17. SFMAA offers an all-day preschool training opportunity as an alternative to day care. No other martial arts school in the state has stepped up in this manner to reach out to the community for behavioral improvement prior to starting school. Visit www.success4mykids.com for more information.

18. We specialize in helping YOU work toward personal perfection. Whether you want to get better physically, mentally, or spiritually, martial arts training puts you on the right path. We help you define and develop your goals and how you can achieve them through improving day-to-day skills such as communication techniques, overcoming self-defeating behavior, and creating self-motivation! Nothing is better for your health and success than what’s between your ears. We arm our students with the skills to protect themselves on street, in school, at work, and at home against forces that seek to destroy us. Get strong with Sioux Falls Martial Arts Academy!


19. Personal Fitness Trainer on staff, allowing for easy scheduling or impromptu help with your strength training program!


20. Students attend "Martial Arts University", allowing them to promote at the rate of their commitment without heavy contracts and the "upgrade" programs utilized by most martial arts schools. Any rank can access information previously restricted to students in more expensive programs.