Portland Academy of Self Defense
2025-04-16T02:28:27.756Z
My 13-year-old son has taken Hapkido classes with Coach David at the Portland Academy of Self Defense for three months. I can’t speak highly enough of Coach David and his mastery-focused approach to martial arts training. Rather than teaching martial arts as a sport, he focuses on techniques that will save your life if you are attacked in the real world. In order to achieve this level of understanding and mastery, Coach David teaches concepts rather than set moves. He explains how to respond if you are attacked from any direction (such as 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock, or 11 o’clock) fostering adaptability in his students. Coach David’s enthusiasm for teaching is palpable. He is warm, kind, welcoming, inclusive, patient and responsive to his students’ skill levels and needs. Yet he is also firm and consistent and pushes each student to work harder than they think they can. My son did trial classes at multiple martial arts studios before deciding on the Portland Academy Of Self-Defense. There was truly no comparison between Coach David and the other coaches he tried. There are leaders and there are followers in life. Coach David is a true leader and trains his students to be the same—self-reliant, capable, and fully able to defend themselves. We highly recommend his program.
My 13-year-old son has taken Hapkido classes with Coach David at the Portland Academy of Self Defense for three months. I can’t speak highly enough of... More