Traditional Martial Arts in Chester County
Our five-person team brought home six gold medals at the 2023 Korean Karate Nationals at Seven Springs Mountain Resort, one-hour southeast of Pittsburgh. Congratulations to our newest national champions!
1st Place Fighting
2nd Place Forms
4th Place Weapons
1st Place Fighting
1st Place Forms
1st Place Weapons
1st Place Fighting
1st Place Forms
AmKor Karate of Coatesville is headed by 6th-degree black belt Michael Campagnini, who has taught at this location since 2013. Michael received his black belt in 1997 under Kwan Jang Nim Frederick Scott, 9th dan, and has over 30 years in martial arts. With well over 100 competitions at the adult black belt level, Michael has collected a wealth of experience all the way up to the international level. Before teaching at our Coatesville location, Michael has taught karate at Neumann University, AmKor Karate Institutes Aston, AmKor Karate Institutes Bryn Mawr, and Summit Sports Complex in Villanova.
AmKor Karate Institutes was founded in 1977 by 9th degree black belt, Master Frederick Scott. Our AmKor instructors have spent decades training under Master Scott, is widely recognized as one of the world's top experts on Tang Soo Do. Throughout his career, he has taught karate classes to celebrities and professional athletes. Additionally, he has commentated the Olympic Tae Kwon Do events for NBC.
Founded by Shannon Luo, Tao's Taiji Association is a non-profit organization with the mission to help raise awareness of the benefits of practicing Tai Chi (Taiji). Shannon has over nine years of experience with Taiji, XingYi, and BuGua Zhang; all three traditional Chinese martial arts under Master Zhen Kang Sun. Her goal is to bring traditional Taiji to students and help them achieve inner peace, physical strength, and a sharper mind.
We take pride in teaching martial arts in the traditional way, building skill through hard work, focus and dedication.
Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan was developed by Grandmaster Hwang Kee in 1944 and was the largest martial arts organization in Korea prior to the attempted takeover by General Choi Hong-hi. Tang Soo Do forms and technique originate from Okinawan Karate, Taekkyon and Yang Tai Chi. One of the most famous Tang Soo Do practioners is Chuck Norris, who was a competitive full-contact fighter before becoming a movie star.
At AmKor Karate of Coatesville, a black belt may take anywhere from 7 to 12 years to obtain. This commitment will vary wildly between martial arts schools; however, our goal is to develop black belts with the skills and confidence they need in todays' world.
A good age to start martial arts is between 7 and 13 years old. Younger students often take longer to test, but will learn vital skills such as listening, body awareness, and confidence.
We hold tests every quarter; in March, June, September and December. On average, students will test two times per year until red belt. Red belt has a much longer time interval from one test to the next. A student will become eligible for a test only after they demonstrate proficiency in the required material and are training consistently.
Tang Soo Do is a dynamic Korean style with fast kicks and striking. At the higher levels, we incorporate wrestling, judo, and jiujitsu techniques to round out our students' ability to defend themselves in the modern world.
