Art of Survival Krav Maga – Muay Thai

This is by far, hands down, the best gym I’ve ever been to. I have been training here for five months and it is really like joining a family. Everyone is considerate of each other and strive at making others as well as themselves better fighters.
Krav Maga is the best self defense tactic to learn, especially for a woman like myself, because it better equips you at defending yourself against a larger, stronger attacker.
If you are looking at competitive fighting, the Muay Thai program is a great choice. The head coach is a professional fighter and a lot of his students competitively fight as well.
If you want to get in shape and gain strength, DVRT is the class for you. Sandbag training is a better workout than the weight room because it works practical muscles used in every day activities.
Membership includes all classes. Come in and check out your first class for free. Better yet, try them all.
If you have any questions about any of the classes, come in and talk to Dave, Wendy, or Zac.

This place is awesome.
My family has been taking classes with Dave and Wendy for over 6 months and both my teenage daughters are more confident and more fit and have improved situational awareness. I initially started taking classes in order to prepare my older daughter for college and the risks associated with that. Krav is not an elegant martial art in the way of the sweeping motions of traditional kung fu. It is elegant in its simplicity, effectiveness, and directness.
Dave is an outstanding instructor. He is dynamic, patient, receptive, knowledgeable, and also provides excellent feedback. He is a great teacher to the younger as well as older students, and respectful to all. My daughter found AOS to be far superior to «Play it Safe» self defense classes she took through the girl scouts. This is not a criticism of that great program to teach girls safety and self awareness, but she found the training here to be far more empowering.
I do not attend as often as i would like but have not ever felt unwelcome or guilted.
Furthermore, the group of students this teaching style attracts is outstanding. There is no macho silliness. Everybody is friendly and inclusive.
I can honestly recommend Art of Survival and Dave Davis without any reservations as an excellent place to learn self defense and improve fitness for all ages. My girls and I certainly enjoy it.
«So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and attack what is weak”–
Sun Tzu, The Art of War

I joined AOS in October of 2015. Since day 1, I noticed what a great group trains here. From newbies to the more experienced students, these folks are both friendly and motivated to learn and let others learn. Dave and Zac are highly skilled yet very patient and they really care about teaching their students skills and strategies to defend themselves affectively. I truly believe that by committing myself to the AOS training, I am becoming stronger, faster, more confident and healthier. And I am having fun in the process! These classes feel nothing like a typical gym session, so training at AOS is not a chore but a fun activity. And you WILL get in shape!!! Dave knows what I do for work and why I am here, and because he knows his students, he is able to make the classes so relevant for each and every one of us. If you are looking to become stronger, healthier and to learn to defend yourself in a fun and supportive environment, I highly recommend AOS!!!

I have been training at Art of Survival now for about five months (see my previous review from May). The quality of the instruction has continued to exceed my expectations.
Thanks to David’s patient teaching and the simple, no-​nonsense philosophy behind Krav Maga, I’ve gone from being an awkward, uncoordinated lanky guy with no self-​defense abilities to being an awkward, uncoordinated lanky guy with a good defensive skillset!
The owners really care about running a great school, and are some of the nicest people I’ve met. The students are serious about their training, but welcoming. My monthly membership has been an excellent investment: I’m in better shape, better able to protect myself and I made new friends.

The best training I’ve come across — by best, I mean:
The most practical: no nonsense with belts and other bells and whistles. Just the useful bits for real-​life situations («Hello, groin!»).
The most challenging: aerobic! Only bikram yoga has ever made me sweat as much.
The best variety of participants: not 8 year old karate boys, not 20 year old tae bo girls, just average adults who want to be able to protect themselves.
The most personable: David and Wendy are just the nicest darn people you could meet.
One class and I knew I wouldn’t be going anywhere else. There isn’t any need. Thanks, guys!

I’ll try to list all the reasons I love this place without writing an entire essay (in no particular order)
1. The instructors are great!!!
2. Welcoming and accepting atmosphere
3. All classes end up being a hard workout
4. All fitness levels are welcome. So as a beginner (we’re I’m at) you get to observe students with more experience, without feeling like you’re holding other students back.
5. Krav Maga teaches you how to defend yourself in a real life scenario.
6. Muay Thai gives you a great workout and develops your strength and technique for punches and kicks.
7. Great location
I want to expand on how the instructors are great. First of all, you can tell that they are passionate about the sport and just want to share their knowledge. Both instructors (Dave for Krav Maga and Zac for Muay Thai) really focus on making sure every student gets the technique down right. This helps you avoid building any bad habits. They allocate time to give every student individual attention during the classes and will slow things down for you if you have any questions or aren’t getting a particular technique. They also push you to add more fluidity and speed to your movements once you understand a technique. In other words, they’ll push you out of your comfort zone a bit so you can actually become a better student/​fighter.
I also want to highlight that this is a really welcoming gym. I never felt uncomfortable being a girl in a male-​dominated sport. Partly because Wendy (co-​owner) is almost always either at the front desk or participating in the classes and because the students are never trying to show off. Everyone is there to learn and they respect anyone is showing up and putting an honest effort.
Check it out. First class is FREE! :)

Love this place, great people, good times and a great discipline for life. Thanks David and Wendy.

The muay Thai program here is great, training with coach Zac, beginners are never left behind and caught up to speed. Teaching skills with right technique good for self-​defense and contact sports, highly recommend investing your time in this program

This place is great. Top notch instructors, clean facility, great lessons that give real life defense situations while strengthening your core and cardio. Highly recommended.

This was the best self-​defense entity I have attended thus far! David and his guys were very welcoming, motivating and patient with the art amongst attendees. If you’re looking for a place to learn high quality and effective self-​defense, this is the place to be!

AOS has something for everyone. Self Defense, physical conditioning and now has Muay Thai if you are looking for something more sport oriented. Dave, the Krav Maga instructor is really good at motivating and working with your individual needs. Zac the Muay Thai instructor has ring/​cage experience and will take your striking to the next level. You won’t find schools with classes 7 days a week with this quality of instruction.

This is a great class, no matter your current level of fitness. David and the others adapt to the needs of their students and will break down a move no matter how many times it takes if a couple of people don’t understand it. Thanks, David and Tony for your knowledge and support!

I had taken 6 years of Tae Kwon Do prior to joining AOS and had even 1 year of competitive Tae Kwon Do at the Collegial level. Unlike my prior lessons, I found the techniques from David and his instructors to be instantly applicable as soon as you walk out of class.
Besides learning great self defense and take-​down techniques, the classes focus on repetition and closely recreating the «flight or fight» mental frame one has during real life confrontations. Thus, you aren’t just learning cool «tricks» that you can show other people but you are training for muscle memory and the use of techniques instinctively. I highly recommend it and if you are prior military they give a great discounts for the monthly rate which allows you to go to unlimited number of classes per month!

Whatever your level of skill or fitness this school is absolutely the best. David and his team are really patient, knowledgeable and fun. They teach practical self defense that can be utilized almost immediately. The first thing they teach you is to avoid conflict and trouble but for some reason if that’s not an option then they arm you with a very easy to remember set of skills that may save your life.

I’ve been going here for almost a month and by far have learned more practical skills in one month than I have training Tae Kwon Do for 3 months. The staff and students are all really friendly and inviting. People of all skill levels and sizes are invited. Dave and Tony really push you to keep your form intact while jacking up your heart rate to mimic the real world situation. Class is great exercise; I always leave covered in sweat. My stamina and confidence have grown leaps and bounds since joining. Compared to other Krav Maga studios in the area, the price is one of the best options especially for a formally trained instructor. Would definitely recommend to anyone interested in learning practical, real world situation self defense.

I finally found the Krav Maga training I’ve been searching for in AOS after much research. The staff at AOS are professional, welcoming and were very prompt to answer any and every question I had. The instructors at this studio are very passionate about educating and guiding everyone who comes in to learn more about Krav Maga whether you are a beginner or a regular student. They provide quality instruction with great feedback and make classes fun while still pushing their students to surpass each and every challenge.
I highly recommend this place if you are looking to learn a practical self-​defense system or just want to stay active and fit! I am not a big cardio guy but you get a really good workout in while learning useful skills that may some day save your life! Totally worth it and I hate missing a single class so try it out for yourself… you won’t be disappointed.
–Russ

AOS is an awesome place to train. If you are looking to learn practical self defense techniques get a great workout and learn from knowledgeable (and patient) instructors, AOS is the perfect place to be. Oh. and there is parking, plenty of parking.

My teenagers — boy and girl — attend David’s classes as often as possible. They are never bored, excited to go, and feel great after a class.
My teens are club soccer players, and even with the regular conditioning that they do, the HIIT, strikes, chokehold release techniques, kicks, burpees, and a bunch of other things I forget, their fitness level and endurance have been challenged and increased.
But more importantly, they’re learning how to avoid becoming a victim of violence, and how to react if they find themselves in such a situation. Survival is the goal, not a trophy.
David and his wife are awesome. Feedback is given individually and in a helpful manner. Everyone is teated equally here, because everyone should know how to defend themselves.
We are so happy we found AoS!

Great owner/​instructor, great classes

The weekly group classes are really great. Even though this class is a group one, Dave spends time with each of his students and really takes his time and helps them improve their stances and defensive moves. He interacts with his students and explains his lessons with great detail and really puts into perspective for people. Makes his lessons relatable to real world scenarios. He is extremely passionate about Krav Maga and his knowledge in the matter really shows.