Barrett Hapkido Martial Arts

Literally grew up in this school. I cannot imagine going anywhere else. The instruction here is unparalleled to any other school I have seen.

I've gone to several other martial arts schools around the area, and my final choice was this school. The first day of class, I was more involved compared to the other schools. The first day, Sabumnim (martial arts instructor) gave me a little history lesson about Hapkido. Then right after, he got me involved in non-resistance moves, kicking, and grappling. At the end of the day I was sore but it was all worth it. Sabumnim was so helpful. Whenever you have trouble getting the technique down, Sabumnim was there to help you. Don't expect him to hand out belt colors to you, you have to learn it! He tells funny stories time and time again, which cracks me up sometimes. So far I've been in this school for 3 months, and I plan to continue to stay at this school as long as I can. I was looking for the right self-defense school, I was glad I found this one. Overall, I'll give this school a 5/5.

I spent more then several months taking day classes at Barrett Hapkido School.

I had an honor to practice that Art with best students and instructors.

Needless to say that private classes were in great help. I only feel sorry I did not start taking private classes at the very beginning.

Unfortunately, due to the job change I had to relocate to different State.

When I am coming back to South Florida that School is on my top list to visit and continue practicing Hapkido.

Barrett Hapkido school was not only just a Dojo but a family to me.

Just take one class and you will see the difference.

SSL

Barrett Hapkido is a unique martial arts school. They are traditional in their teaching approach. A student learns principals and philosophy instead of memorization. Barrett Hapkido does not teach, if an attacker does this, you do that. What they do teach is if an attacker does this, there are several potential possibilities. The major difference is if you memorize a counter move and it does not work, you are stuck thinking about what do to next. When you learn principals and philosophy, when one counter move does not work, you will fluidly move to the next. In many schools, a student can memorize a few moves, pay a testing fee and earn their next belt. In some cases, you can pay extra to get on the accelerated plan. At Barrett Hapkido there are no testing fees and there is no accelerated plan. When you have trained and learned the necessary skills to promote to the next belt, Sabunim will call you to the front of the class and promote you. You know you have truly EARNED it. In today’s society, people want instant gratification. When parents can pay extra so their child can get the next belt, this not only creates a false sense of security, but also teaches negative life skills. Would you rather teach your child, work hard and earn something or pay a little extra to get what you want? I know what I am teaching my son. If you walk into a school and see a 12 year old black belt, ask yourself, Has that student MASTERED the necessary skills or simply PAID the necessary funds? It is no different from getting ready for open-heart surgery and seeing a 12 year old doctor getting ready to cut open your chest.



Barrett Hapkido creates family environment. There are no egos, no macho tough guys and no entitlement attitudes. They live and train by their motto, Strength through each other. New students are always welcomed and senior belt students will always lend a helping hand. When looking for a martial arts school for my son and I to attend, I visited several of them. Within minutes I knew this was the school us. The students work hard and work together. Barrett Hapkido is not an aggressive fight school, but rather a school where Sabunim teaches his students to use their skills to defend themselves and help others.



This school is truly different than most. Sabunim creates a positive environment where hard work and dedication is rewarded. He does not require contracts. If you want to train, you go train, if you don’t, then you don’t. There is a low monthly fee of $89/month and discounts for additional family members. If you are considering attending a martial arts school for yourself and/or you children, I highly recommend Barrett Hapkido. Come by and observe a class or try a class for free. I promise your first class will not be your last.

Tough guys always boast that their school / martial arts form is better is better than someone else's... Truth be told is that every form has its strengths and weaknesses! As Sir Francis Bacon once said - "Knowledge is power!" and at this school "knowledge" is what you and/or your child will get! If your looking for tough guys you won't find them here!



I choose this school for my child over others for a few simple reasons:



1) A recommendation from friend I trust that is a student of Sabunim Barrett's as well as his 5 year old son.



2) This is a small "family" school, not a big machine after your money!



3) The entire school works as a family to strengthen, encourage, and guide each other building confidence, self esteem, and skill to protect themselves.



If your looking for a school with flashy "bling bling", 5 year old black belts, a lot of yelling, or a school to teach you to be a fighter this school might not be for you.



If your looking for a school that masters in marketing and loves to convince you to shell over your hard earned dollars for a new color belt for you or your child every 2 months you might be better off at Kohls or Target...



If your looking for a place that you can train, learn, help others as they help you, this place IS for you!



Any martial arts form requires a commitment for you to be proficient and competent. At most schools the commitment is monetary, but at Barrett Hapkido the commitment is dedication to yourself and training consistently.



Sabunim Barrett does NOT require any contracts! does NOT charge ridiculous membership fees, nor does he even charge for belts or testing!!! Currently we just pay just $89.00 a month for my 6 year old son to go as many times per week as we can manage. (between other sports we do Lacrosse & Soccer)



Children's classes (Age 5-13) are held Monday - Thursday from 6:30pm - 7:30pm and on Saturdays from 1:30pm to 2:30pm



Adult DAY classes are held Monday & Wednesday 12:30pm-2pm and Saturday 2:30pm to 4pm



Adult NIGHT classes are held Monday - Thursday from 7:30pm to 9pm



Sabunim Barrett opens his school to anyone who wants to come watch or even try a class! Wear something comfortable and come down and give it a shot.



This review WAS written completely by me ( Tom ) a parent of a student. We are NOT related to Sabunim in any way nor were compensated or asked to write such a hyped up review for him. I am just a proud parent of a student and am happy to find a person like Sabunim Barrett to teach my child. He is a good person and is trying hard to give these kids (and adults too he has students from age 5 to almost age 80 training there) some good competent training that they will need in this screwed up world we live in. I am usually the on Monday, Wednesdays, and Saturdays watching my son train, come in say hi and see for yourself what I've been saying so you too can leave a similar review.



"We all take time out of our lives to complain about things, but few us take the time to complement and credit those who do well. We all should try to this once in awhile so the great places / people around us stay around and maybe we can teach future generations to be kinder then our current one" - Me

This is the best martial arts around. I have been been sendind my kids to this class for years now. I have seen many other martial arts schools around. None, I would waste my hard earned money on. When I took my kids to see them, they said "look Dad their dancing". Because they are use to all areas of self defense, not just kicking and punching set to a choreographed (pretend) Kick set to get their Stripe or belts. This school, you earn your belt by real submission grappeling, sparing, Nonresistance, striking, Wrestling, Joint locks, and pressure points on real opponents trying to choke you. You get more for your money here.

I have been a lot of places around the country this past few years. Each place I go I try to find a PURE Hap Ki Do school. It is very rare and hard to find. The lessons you will will learn at Barrett Hap Ki Do Martial arts will be invaluable and will last you a life time. Good for the mind, body and, spirit. Noting is given away there. each belt is earned with diligence and hard work. That's the sign of a good school.



Best wishes

D.A.D.

My son's first experience with Barrett Hapkido was thru his summer camp. He enjoyed the training very much but never seemed interested to join. Last summer the camp was unable to have a weekly martial arts class, and my son was pretty upset. We again asked if he'd like to join, and this time he said yes. He has now been training at Barrett Hapkido for 7 months and is loving everything about it. We are so happy to see him so dedicated and enthusiastic about his training. Master Barrett makes the class challenging, interesting, and fun. Master Barrett is patient with the kids, and he teaches the other students to be patient and helpful with each other.



The change in my son, not only in his confidence but in his physical appearance, is completely remarkable. He is learning real life techniques that have actually come in handy on two separate occasions thus far. The belts are hard to achieve, so my son feels truly accomplished having "earned" his yellow belt.



After watching our son train for some time, my husband decided to give Barrett Hapkido a try also. He has been a student for about a month and is totally hooked. Master Barrett has such a unique way of training that there is no chance of becoming bored or stagnant with the training.



I highly recommend Barrett Hapkido whether you want to learn martial arts or if you just want to get in better physical shape.

I have researched and looked into many different martial arts schools and Barrett Hapkido is one of a kind. Master Barrett is not only a long time student of Hapkido, with over 40 years of experience, but he is also an extremely skilled and innovative teacher who makes learning interesting and enjoyable.



When you come to the school, you cannot expect to become a black belt overnight, as Master Barrett has great respect for the art of Hapkido and his students. He insists that each student work hard and exhibit great fortitude and dedication before being promoted to the "next level." However, when you are promoted, you can be sure that you will possess a thorough array of useful skills, hands-on practice, and most of all, confidence in handling dangerous situations.



I'm an elementary school teacher and have encountered many different types of children. One little ten year old girl that was in my class, a few years back, somehow had attained the rank of black belt in the martial school that she attended. When she demonstrated some of the kicks and other moves that she had learned from her instructor, I was appalled that she had been promoted to this high level of honor at such a young age and with such a poor grasp of the necessary skills. But it seems to be the trend in our society that things of value are watered-down so that everyone can have them.



Many (if not most) children and adults in the U.S. have been raised in times of prosperity and have become accustomed to receiving everything that they want and need, with relative ease. This has therefore created an overall laziness and apathy.

The effects of this "prosperity" are unfortunately seen among today's weak-willed, unmotivated, and uninspired schoolchildren and this plague poses a serious risk to the future of this nation.



The education that your child will receive at Barrett Hapkido will surely put them in a class above the wayward and pathetically generic "norm" of today's youth. They will gain tremendous confidence, respect, courage, character, and creativity along with a mental and physical discipline that will assure their future success.

Some countries include martial arts into their standard curriculum for school children and I strongly believe that it should be a staple of education for all well rounded people. I highly recommend this program for any and all children and adults.

Great School. My son has trained with Master Barrett for several years and it has been a positive influence in his life in so many ways. It is extremely challenging as well as rewarding. When you are promoted you know you have truly earned it. The belts are not bought and besides the low monthly fee there are no hidden costs or surprises. The various techniques used at the school might not be strictly traditional but the end result is truly effective and what the nature of Hapkido is all about. It keeps the kids engaged and enthusiastic and that is a great platform to learn and absorb. Same goes for the adults. For those that have visited and bashed the school or instructor....it's a shame they feel the need to advertise their close mindedness and maybe should go back to Hapkido 101 where non resistance is the name of the game and if something is different from the school you are attending not feel the need to be resistant and throw negativity out where it will end up circling and being redirected right back at you.

I've been involved with the school for several years, and although I'm not currently a Hapkido student, due to an unrelated injury, I'm no longer a full-time student. However, I do attend the women's self-defense seminars to keep my skills. The school is a well-rounded school, incorporating kick-punch, sparring, grappling, joint manipulation techniques for complete self defense training. Sabunim Barrett is a former law enforcement officer and teaches real-life defense. His son Blake is an excellent example of athleticism and technique. Glad I have the opportunity to be a part of the training, even on a part-time basis.

im a student at barrett hapkido for over a year now.. 2 of my children also attend and we all LOVE IT!!!... our motto strength through each other couldn't be more true...say what you want but untill you've trained ON THE MAT in OUR school...your opinions dont mean much... Sabunim teaches beautiful old school hapkido with variations to fit this modern day and age..SO COME ON DOWN AND GET ON THE MAT... _STITCH_

I'm a student at Barrett Hapkido and it's the last thing in the world from a "school of bullies." I've trained at several schools I considered to be good and I think that Barrett Hapkdio is by far the best.



It's a friendly atmosphere with an emphasis on integrated technique. There's no kata, there's lots of grappling (gui and no gui) and a good deal of stand-up sparring.



There's a huge emphasis on character and /not/ being a jerk. I can't believe the above poster attended even one class.

(Updated April 14, 2010 -- Even better since my original post 3 years ago.)



You will not find a finer school anywhere.



First of all, let me discuss the teacher, Sabunim (Master Instructor) Barrett. I have been personal witness to his skills in real life. An incident occurred outside his school in which two officers were having to subdue a suspect. The two officers were having a time of it, and there were bystanders that were on the verge of making the matter a real messy affair. Using his command presence, the instructor told the two officers to back off, and based thereupon they did. The instructor then forced the suspect into a position for easy cuffing at which point the officers cuffed him and took him away.



But don't go to a school because of the teacher's martial arts skills. Despite his excellent skills, you are not looking at a school to gawk at the teacher, you are there to learn. So look at the students.



There is no other word other then amazing. The ranked student (yellow belt and above) technique is as good or better then any school you're apt to find for the equivalent rank. Competition is not the name of the game here, self defense it. There are no Katas (forms), but to anyone with an eye to see, they know their material.



So if you want to have an amazing martial artist as a teacher, although I feel that is a bad way to judge a school, this school has it.



If you want a school that has a great teacher, this school also has it.



If you want a school to learn how to compete, you can learn a lot from this school, but this is not the school for you.



If you want to learn how to defend yourself and others you care for, this is amongst the best schools you will find.



And if you want some proof, here are links to videos of some of their students in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3olgcylWiow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LI-0OzdEeY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWNOPxnKOFI



So don't take my word for it, just view for yourself. And come down to the class to see for yourself. No charge to look. No charge to try a class. No contracts. No Belt Fees. No games. Just first class Martial Arts Training.