Est. 2000 · Latham, NY
Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido, Kummooyeh and Krav Maga, taught by the same family since 2000, to students from age four upward.
No experience required
Ages 4 to adult
Four training floors, so classes never share a mat
$19.99 for two weeks, bring a friend free
Rated 4.9 across 109 Google reviews, and recommended by 96% of 392 people on Facebook.
Parent, Little Lions
“My four-year-old would not let go of my leg on the first night. Three weeks later he lines himself up on the mat before the instructor asks. They are patient with the little ones in a way I did not expect.”
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Parent, Junior Classes
“We came for something to do after school and got a different kid. His teacher asked what had changed. It was the belt curriculum, having something to work toward every couple of months.”
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Adult student, Krav Maga
“I walked in at thirty-eight having never trained at anything. Nobody made a thing of it. Six months on I am in the Tuesday and Thursday classes and I have stopped feeling like the new person.”
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Parent of three
“Three children, five years, and we are still here. They know all three of my kids by name and by temperament. It has become the part of the week the whole family plans around.”
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Parent, After School Care
“They collect her from her North Colonie school, she does her homework there, then she trains. I pick up one child in one place at six. It solved a problem I had been paying two people to solve.”
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Adult student, Kummooyeh
“The instruction is the reason I stayed. You get told where a technique came from and who taught it to them, and then you get corrected on it properly. That is rare.”
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Teaching in Latham since 2000.
Since 2000 in Latham
The mat is where it starts. What students take out of the door is the point.
Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido, Kummooyeh and Krav Maga run under one roof, so a student can strike, grapple, handle a sword and learn practical self-defense without changing schools.
Official USA Headquarters of Kummooyeh and the USA founding school for Jin Jung Kwan Hapkido, both appointed by the founders of those arts. Grandmaster Yang holds 9th Dan under the Chang Moo Kwan Federation.
Four separate training floors mean Little Lions, juniors, teens and adults each get their own mat instead of sharing one room at different volumes.
Almost everyone who walks in has never trained. Beginning is what builds the confidence, not the other way round.
The four disciplines
Four Korean and Israeli arts, taught side by side. Most students start with one and pick up a second later.
The Korean striking art, and where most students begin. Kicking, striking, forms and sparring, on a belt curriculum that gives a child something to work toward every few months.
Korean sword. Students work with the sword, the bow and arrow, and the woldo (moon blade), indoors and on the outdoor archery range. We are the official USA Headquarters for the art.
Joint locks, throws and control, for when someone has already grabbed you. Master Yang's is the USA founding school for the Jin Jung Kwan style.
Practical self-defense for teens and adults, drilled at close quarters. No forms, no belts to chase, just what works if it ever happens. Grandmaster Yang co-founded the United Krav Maga Association.
Start with Tae Kwon Do if you are enrolling a child, or with Krav Maga if you are an adult who wants practical self-defense. Your two-week trial covers whichever classes fit your schedule, and you can switch once you have watched a few.
Why people start here
Two of these are what a parent wants for a child. Two are what an adult wants for themselves. Every photo below was taken in this building.
Belt tests, board breaks and standing up in front of a room. Confidence here is earned in small, visible steps, not talked about.
The curriculum gives a child a grading every few months, taken in front of the whole room. Progress they can see, not a vague promise.
The first time a child breaks a board, they stop arguing with themselves about what they can do.
Programs by age
Seven programs, from four-year-olds to adults. Tell us the age and we will point you at the right one.
Ages 4 to 5 · No experience required
Thirty minutes of listening, balance and one technique at a time. Built for children who have never been asked to stand in a line before.
School age · No experience required
Tae Kwon Do on the full belt curriculum. The change parents notice first tends to be at school rather than on the mat.
About thirteen upward · No experience required
Striking, sparring and self-defense for anyone from about thirteen upward. Most people in the room started as adults with no background at all.
Grades K to 6 · 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM
We pick your child up directly from their North Colonie school, they do their homework here, then they train. You collect one child, in one place, at six.
School breaks · 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
School holiday camps with extended care either side for families who need it. Martial arts, games, the playground and the rock wall.
Ages 4 upward
Your child's party, run by instructors, on a mat instead of in your living room.
By invitation
Leadership Team and Demonstration Team, by invitation, for students who want to teach and to compete.
Our story
Grandmaster Il Nam Yang started training in South Korea in 1978, competed as a regional sparring champion, and taught Taekwondo as an instructor in the Republic of Korea Army. He came to the United States in 1995 and opened this school in Latham in 2000 with his wife, Master Moon Joo Yang. They still run it.
Since then two Korean founders have chosen this school to carry their arts in America: Master Yang's Martial Arts Center is the official USA Headquarters of Kummooyeh and the USA founding school for Jin Jung Kwan Hapkido. That is why an instructor here can still explain where a technique came from and who taught it to them, and why a white belt gets taught the same way a black belt candidate does.
Meet the instructors
Three of the six started here as students, in 2000, 2007 and 2010. They never left.
Grandmaster and Owner
Founded the school in 2000
9th Dan under the Chang Moo Kwan Federation, a Kukkiwon International Referee, Judge and Instructor, and a co-founder of the United Krav Maga Association. He trains and teaches across all four arts.
Master and Owner
Co-founded the school in 2000
Runs the school day to day and the after-school program. If you call or walk in, she is usually the reason it feels easy.
Program Director
Student here since 2007
Started as a student, and is now the person who helps new families work out which program fits. She has been on the other side of the first day.
Operational Master Instructor
Student here since 2000
One of Grandmaster Yang's longest-tenured students, from the school's founding year, and a medal recipient at the 2026 Kummooyeh World Championships in Incheon.
Operational Master Instructor
Training since age three
Holds a Bachelor's degree in Exercise Science, which is why the warm-ups and conditioning are built the way they are. Also a 2026 Kummooyeh World Championship medallist.
Head Instructor
Student here since 2010
Began under Grandmaster Yang in 2010 and now leads from the front of the room. Known for noticing the student who is struggling before they say anything.
Around the school
The Blue Mat, the Black Mat, the Gray Mat, H.O.P. and the outdoor area, so four classes can run at once without sharing a room.
The building and the outdoor space
Click a photo to view it full screen
Training floors
The big bright hall, blue matting under a white vaulted ceiling, with the US and Korean flags at the far end. Where most junior classes run.
A row of hanging heavy bags under exposed timber, with the belt display and the flags on the back wall. Striking, pad work and Krav Maga.
The kids' floor, with its own equipment shelving and cubbies, and bleacher seating along the front so parents can actually watch.
A fourth floor with its own bags, suspension rig and outdoor seating area, under dark trusses.
A playground, a rock wall, an outdoor archery range for Kummooyeh, and a covered patio. Camp weeks live out here.
Good to know
A standalone building with its own parking lot on Route 9, so you are not circling for a space at five o'clock.
Uniforms, sparring gear and pads on site, so you do not have to source anything yourself before a grading.
We collect After School Care students directly from their North Colonie district school and bring them here.
Location
Master Yang's Martial Arts Center
849 New Loudon Rd
Latham, NY 12110
Standalone building with its own parking lot, on Route 9
Get directionsOne student's story
Ashley Gonsalves started here as a student in 2007. She stayed, went through the ranks, and is now the school's Program Director, which means she is usually the first person a new family talks to.
Having been on the beginner side of that conversation herself, she is the one who works out which program actually fits your child, and then checks in once they have started.
“[PLACEHOLDER, replace with a real quote from Ashley or from a parent she has helped] I remember exactly how it felt to walk in here the first time. That is the whole reason I do this job now.”
Ashley Gonsalves, Program Director, student here since 2007
Community
Three of the instructors here walked in as students, in 2000, 2007 and 2010, and never left. That tells you more about this place than any review can. Belt promotions fill the hall with families, and in 2026 four students and instructors came home from the Kummooyeh World Championships in Incheon with medals.
Teaching in Latham since 2000
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students on the mats
It is a school with parents at the back of the room, brothers and sisters on the same mat, and a group that goes to South Korea to train at the headquarters of the arts they practice. You do not need to know anyone to start. Most people did not.
Private lessons
Yes, we teach privately as well as in class. Students book them alongside their regular training rather than instead of it.
Mention it when you come in for your trial and we will tell you who is free.
Try it first
Membership rates depend on which program and how many classes a week, so we quote them in person rather than online. Come in for the two weeks first, then we will talk about what fits.
Membership, After School Care and camp rates are quoted at the school. Call (518) 783-7000 or ask when you come in.
2-WEEK INTRODUCTORY TRIAL
INTRODUCTORY OFFER
Two full weeks of classes in whichever discipline suits you, plus the same two weeks free for a friend or family member. Uniform, mats and pads provided.
The things parents and adult beginners ask us before they come in. Anything else, call and ask.
Your first visit
You do not need to know anything, own anything, or be fit. Bring comfortable clothes and a water bottle.
Pick a day to come in. We will confirm the class time for the right age group when we call you back.
Select a date
Preferred time on Sat 22 Aug
Tell us roughly when suits and we will match it to the right class.
Prefer to just ask a question? Send us a messageOr call (518) 783-7000
