United Martial Arts Centers

Specialties

The Masters of the United Martial Arts Centers are on a mission to take Martial Arts training to a higher level — a level where Martial Arts training is not only about kicking and punching, but about changing lives for the better.

Our mission will be fulfilled by creating a team of Certified Instructors of the highest quality. A team that is committed to helping all members of UMAC to reach their fullest potential. A team of Instructors that understands the word, «Instructor», is equivalent to the word «selflessness».

We believe that if every student were to share the great benefits that Martial Arts had brought to him or her, eventually, everyone in our society would live the Martial Way. And that is a way of life based on the principals of Tae Kwon Do: Self-​Control, Indomitable Spirit, Perseverance, Humility, and Courtesy

History

Established in 1995.

The history of Tae Kwon Do is tied directly to the history of the area of the world we now call Korea. It seems that what Tae Kwon Do is today, has more in common with what it was during and after the Silla unification and what it has become in recent decades, than it does with any of the intervening centuries. Indeed, much of the underlying philosophy practiced in quality Tae Kwon Do educational centers stems from the Silla Hwarangdo. In addition, much of the techniques used are a collection of the most effective techniques from martial arts in Japan and China.

Evidence of the existence of martial arts practice in the area of the Korguryo kingdom dating back to about 50BC was found in 1935. These paintings on the walls of tombs are the earliest evidence found, but may, as argued by many, merely represent some form of dancing or other sport. When martial arts were practiced in the north, they most certainly were influenced by those of the Chinese. Proximity and the need for military s

Meet the Business Owner

Paul M.

Business Owner

Paul Melella Jr. is the head instructor at United Martial Arts Centers in Carmel, NY. Master Paul Melella Jr. began his training at the age of seven years old. He had a challenge with a childhood bully that lived on his block, rode the same school bus and was in the same 3^rd grade class together. After months of being bullied, his mother enrolled him in a Martial Arts school. Secretly training in the art of Tae Kwon Do for six months, he was confronted once again by his childhood bully. After trying to avoid the situation, he finally had the confidence to stand up to the bully. That bully never picked on him ever again, but ironically became his childhood best friend and later became the best man in his friend’s wedding. Master Paul Melella uses that experience as a driving force to help other children become self-​confident so they are not «easy targets» for bullies.