Philip Ameris Martial Arts Training Center

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An 8th-Degree Black Belt with 40 years of experience in the martial arts, Grandmaster Philip Ameris is Grandmaster Hee Il Cho's senior student

There are thousands of different martial arts systems and styles. Each one has a place and a benefit. There is no one style or system that is greater than the others. The individual martial artist’s training, dedication, discipline, and commitment is what determines one’s success.

Here at Cho’s Tae Kwon Do we offer to all our students a straight-forward, no-nonsense approach to achieving your martial arts goals. There are no gimmicks or sales pitches. We are from the old school, where what you put into something is what you will get out of it. We do not promise that the training will be easy; to the contrary, it will be challenging and will push you to develop a non-quitting spirit that will enable you to excel in any aspect of your daily life.

Classes are held for children and adults as well as men and women. All will benefit from the exercises that will increase flexibility and coordination, strengthening literally every part of your body, giving the student what is known as “functional strength mobility”. You may not look like a body builder, but you will be fit and lean and have immense endurance. The Martial Arts movements performed in the line drills will catapult your cardiovascular system to levels rivaling a marathon runner. All this is possible for everyone.

There are no mystical secrets to martial arts. All it requires is a commitment and dedication. As Grand Master Hee Il Cho, the founder of AIMAA states, ‘View your training as one drop of water hitting a rock over time. That one drop of water will penetrate the hardest rock or stone.” Consistency, hard work, and old school work ethics are your building blocks to success.

Today in our society it is a pre-requisite to be able to protect ourselves and our families, and in some cases, our country. Remember the plane attack on 9/11. The airplane that went down in Shanksville, PA had a Judo black belt on board, Mr. Jeremy Glick, defending the passengers. God knows how many innocent lives Mr. Glick saved that day.

Our self-defense program, like all our classes, is again a straightforward approach with no Hollywood moves or showmanship. We do what works, plain and simple. We are not hung up on using a lot of different marital arts names to sell our program. The program works. It has been tested by police, the military, and in real street altercations. If you need to kick to defend yourself, you will know how and where to strike. If you have to punch, you will be well prepared to deliver a quick knockout blow. If you have to throw or take down your assailant, you will have all the tools necessary for this range of fighting. And if you are taken to the ground, you will be prepared to defend yourself by submitting your attacker from every position.

In all our self-defense classes we address the importance of mind-set, reaction under pressure, and relaxed aggression – the mental components that must be adhered to for total self-defense protection. Do not be fooled, a real street attack has no rules and regulations; there are no pre-set moves. You must be able to react fast and effectively to survive. You cannot defend yourself “in 3 easy lessons.”

True Martial Arts are for total self-improvement. Real martial artists strive to train the body and mind, and build a non-quitting spirit that will have a positive metaphor on their daily lives. All of our students are required to conform to a strict Code of Conduct in relation to their martial arts education. They will learn a moral responsibility for the skills they develop and will only use them in defense and never for aggression or hostility.

Students are also taught that the two main elements of our teaching is Respect and Discipline. Respect everyone and everything. Appreciate everything and every experience. Discipline to do what is right, no matter what. We at Cho’s Tae Kwon Do feel that without the strong, strict disciplinary Code of Conduct of traditional martial arts that students are only learning to be a violent and that is not a value to society. True Martial Arts teaches self-confidence, health, and a disciplined lifestyle, avoiding negative behavior.

The best way to learn is example, example, example. All of our instructors, from master instructor down to the 1st degree black belt candidates train. You will see them teaching class, training right beside you. They will not ask you to do something that they are not doing. They will be there running the hills with you and doing their forms with you right next to them. Respect for the high belts in our school is paramount because they earned it. No one rests on his or her laurels. We have world and national champions who train daily at our do-jang and all students are required to keep training consistently.