Newbury Park Martial Arts Center (NPMAC) is unlike many martial arts studios in that the curriculum taught is practical, down-to-earth, and easily learned - no flying kicks, or other theatrics, just practical movements to protect you, your friends and family. They make an effort to adapt the teachings to those who may not be as limber as a twenty something. I've seen much older adults participating in classes with the instructors modifying the various katas to take into account their physical limitations while keeping the kata as a viable defense. This is not to say that what is taught is simplistic by any means. What is taught at NPMAC is the real deal. The depth of understanding the instructors have of how the art is applied in real life seems bottomless. I've been attending for 9 months and am still learning how the initial self-defense katas can be applied differently and continuously improved. The psychology of a fight is also taught - how your attitude going into a confrontation significantly influences how the confrontation unfolds and ultimately ends - perhaps even ending without a physical confrontation. They also demonstrate how your mental and physical stance during the fight influence how your opponent will respond, giving you a potential edge by making your opponent do what you want him to do. It is truly amazing and something I've never seen taught at lower belt levels. NPMAC also has a large staff of instructors. As a student you will be exposed to a number of different approaches to learn the curriculum. If you don't relate to one instructor chances are you'll relate to one of the others. All the instructors and senior students are friendly and always looking to help if needed - none of the superior, holier than thou attitude that you might experience at other studios. They are great for kids. After attending for a number of months and watching how they work with kids of all ages I decided to enroll my son. As much as they care about the adults learning and progressing in ability they are even more involved with the development of children and pre-teens. The martial arts curriculum is the same as the adult class, but added in are physical and mental games which keep the kids engaged during the class. They urge the parents to engage with them to identify areas the child may be having challenges outside the studio, then help reinforce and support corrections to those challenges while in class. In summary, this is a one-of-a-kind martial arts experience. If you've ever trained at another studio, you'll find this experience very different in a positive way. If you've never trained at another studio, you should consider yourself very lucky to have chosen this one as your first.