OUr Story
Sempai Les Armentor trained in traditional karate, jiujitsu and tae kwon do in Japan, Okinawa, Guam and South Korea while serving in the United States Marine Corps. When he returned from his service, Sempai Armentor opened his first karate school in Groves, TX, in 1963. He began teaching the different traditional arts he studied overseas, boxing techniques learned from his days as a Golden Gloves fighter and the discipline and respect he earned as a U.S. Marine.
At the time, the idea of combining different styles of martial arts was an almost radical idea, but Sempai Armentor saw strengths in different styles. He also saw weaknesses, and tried his best to combine different arts by using the best of each to cover the flaws of the others. His unique blend of styles, which he eventually named United Martial Arts was an early frontrunner of today's popular Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).
Over the years, Sempai Armentor continued to study different styles and make improvements to his system to create a well-rounded and versatile skill set for self defense. Our current program includes techniques and concepts from:
Today, our classes are run by instructors professionally trained under Sempai Armentor, and they work to uphold the values and skills given to them by their teacher.
Will Fecowycz, 6th Dan
Tyler Mora, 4th Dan
Jordyn Jackson, 1st Dan
Logan Gonzales, 1st Kyu
At the time, the idea of combining different styles of martial arts was an almost radical idea, but Sempai Armentor saw strengths in different styles. He also saw weaknesses, and tried his best to combine different arts by using the best of each to cover the flaws of the others. His unique blend of styles, which he eventually named United Martial Arts was an early frontrunner of today's popular Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).
Over the years, Sempai Armentor continued to study different styles and make improvements to his system to create a well-rounded and versatile skill set for self defense. Our current program includes techniques and concepts from:
- Shorin Ji Karate
- Goju Ryu Karate
- Jiu Jitsu
- Aiki Jiu Jitsu
- Boxing
- Muay Thai Kickboxing
- Grappling/Groundfighting
- Tae Kwon Do
- Okinawan weapons training
Today, our classes are run by instructors professionally trained under Sempai Armentor, and they work to uphold the values and skills given to them by their teacher.
Will Fecowycz, 6th Dan
Tyler Mora, 4th Dan
Jordyn Jackson, 1st Dan
Logan Gonzales, 1st Kyu