American Academies of Martial Arts

American Academies of Martial Arts American Academies of Martial Arts in Bellevue, NE is a Family Martial Arts school serving since 1987. Book a free trial lesson at www.martialartsinbellevue.com
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It's bring a friend week here at AAMA, and we love that our students really get into it.We had a couple of outstanding g...
09/15/2026

It's bring a friend week here at AAMA, and we love that our students really get into it.

We had a couple of outstanding guests the last couple of days -

Last night Michelle and Jean brought their Mom and she got a GREAT workout!

She's been sitting on the sidelines watching them train for over four years, and it seems she learned a thing or two over there.

Today during the lunch class, we had a new recruit show up. We immediately got him into appropriate garb and put him to work learning his first weapon.

It's not surprising he is a natural as his father is a black sash and his mother participated in class almost until he was born. He's a certified Kung Fu baby.

AAMA students, don't forget, you can bring a friend all week.

*Onesie included only if your guest is less than 12 months old.

Today I read that people are most creative at night.The idea is that your brain is tired from making decisions and livin...
09/14/2026

Today I read that people are most creative at night.

The idea is that your brain is tired from making decisions and living life all day. So when an idea pops into your head that you'd normally dismiss as too hard, too weird or impractical, your brain is too tired to let all the excuses in.

The ideas get a little more room.

And suddenly, something clicked for me.

Some of the largest numbers of inquiries we get about martial arts come in later at night.

And a whole lot of those people don't answer the phone when we call them the next day.

Maybe that makes perfect sense.

Because the night before, they weren't thinking about Tuesday's baseball practice or Thursday's homework or how much money is already committed to everything else.

They were thinking about a problem they wanted to solve.

Maybe their child is shy. Maybe they're struggling with confidence. Maybe they have a ton of energy and need somewhere productive to put it.

Maybe it's an adult who wishes they'd developed more confidence when they were younger and has decided it's finally time to do something for themselves.

So they start searching.

Then morning comes.

School schedules and sports and work and bills show up again.

We're too busy.
It's too expensive.
We can't make that kind of commitment right now.

And the problem they were thinking about the night before gets pushed aside.

Because lack of confidence isn't a toothache.

It doesn't hurt badly enough that you have to do something about it today.

It tends to show up in smaller ways. The thing they won't try. The time they won't speak up. The challenge they back away from because they're afraid they'll fail.

And no, we can't tell you what would happen if you chose martial arts instead.

But after nearly 40 years in business, we can tell you what we've seen happen when people do.

We've watched the shy little girl who hid behind her mom grow into a strong, confident young woman.

We've watched adults become stronger and more willing to stand up for themselves.

We've watched students struggle with something, keep working at it, and eventually discover that they can do hard things.

We can tell people about those transformations until we're blue in the face.

But ultimately, you have to decide whether the problem that made you start looking is worth doing something about.

So if you've found yourself searching for martial arts late at night because there's something you'd like to change — for yourself or for your child — here's the question we'd challenge you to ask the next morning:

What will change if you wait?

What happens on your first day of Kung Fu?Mostly, you have no idea what you're doing.And that's exactly how you're suppo...
09/09/2026

What happens on your first day of Kung Fu?

Mostly, you have no idea what you're doing.

And that's exactly how you're supposed to start.

You won't be expected to know how to punch correctly. You won't know the stances. You won't know about the different belts, or that we call them sashes. You may not even know where to stand.

We do.

When a new student walks into AAMA, we show them where to go, introduce them to the instructor, then to the entire class (which is sometimes the scariest part!) and help them through class one step at a time.

Meanwhile, everyone around them is working at their own level. Some students may have been here a few months. Some have been training for years. And every single one of them had a first class where they didn't know what they were doing, either.

That's kind of the whole point of learning something new.

You don't need to get in shape first. Your child doesn't need to "practice" before coming in. And nobody needs to know anything about Kung Fu.

You just have to be willing to walk through the door.

We'll take it from there.

We might be closed this weekend for Labor Day, but the pumpkin patches are already starting to open.If you're the type o...
09/04/2026

We might be closed this weekend for Labor Day, but the pumpkin patches are already starting to open.

If you're the type of person who loves a good autumn outing in 90 degree weather, this is going to be a great weekend for you.

And if you didn't already know, Omaha is basically the mecca of pumpkin patches, apple orchards and other Halloween related activities.

We even found some games that we think our students would really enjoy while they're taking a break from sword and shield.

Thanks to our friend Justin Ogburn, Realtor - Revel Realty, we're sharing his complete guide to pumpkin patches around Omaha.

There is a link to the full guide in the first comment.

This is the story of the day my kung fu training restored order to Flight 1341.A couple days ago, I was sitting near the...
09/02/2026

This is the story of the day my kung fu training restored order to Flight 1341.

A couple days ago, I was sitting near the back of an airplane waiting to deplane and catch my next connection.

I had about 45 minutes to get 60 gates away, so I was definitely in a hurry. But nobody in the first row was even up yet. The seat belt sign was still on. We weren't going anywhere.

Then a family from a few rows behind me came flying up the aisle to get ahead of everyone.

I was annoyed, but tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe their connection was even tighter than mine. They'd announced that someone in row 14 needed to get off first because of a tight connection. Maybe they'd forgotten to mention this family.

I didn't actually believe any of that. I thought they were being rude.

But these were the things I was telling myself while I sat there trying to be zen, calm and serene.

There had been a two-year-old across the aisle from me crying throughout the whole flight. I felt sorry for her because she was literally yelling "ow" and covering her ears. I felt sorry for her mom, too. She was really trying. I've been there. It's a very helpless feeling.

At that moment, she started yowling again.

The mom who was trying to cut the line, standing next to me, made a noise and gave that mom a dirty look.

That was it. I couldn't take it anymore.

My kung fu training was coming into play right then.

I concentrated on making my body as firm as possible. I said "excuse me" as I very assertively reclaimed the aisle space, then set about getting my bag out of the overhead compartment.

She was not happy.

At first she tried to get around me. Then she was kind of sputtering and red-faced.

"We have a connecting flight to get to!!!"

I smiled.

"Me too! Where are you headed?"

When she didn't answer, I turned my back to her and got in the widest stance possible for an airplane aisle.

I mean, it wasn't like I dropped into a horse stance (how odd would THAT be? and it was more of a modified mountain stance anyway) but nobody was going to be able to move me. And nobody was going to accuse me of trying to start a fight. I was simply standing up to take my place in line.

I decided, as an extra bonus, that I'd make sure everybody in my row and the row across from me got out too.

Me and my stance restored order to Flight 1341 that day.

It's kind of fun, in a weird way, to train for being attacked or chased in an alley. But nobody actually wants to use that training unless they are Jack Reacher or Batman.

This kind of kung fu, though, we can use every single day out in the world. (I might start calling it Mrs. Rodden Kung Fu. )

Sometimes it looks a whole lot like Courtesy, Self-Control and Perseverance rolled into one tidy carry-on bag.

We had to pull out the big guns on the final day of voting.Pictured here: Mr. G. and Chuck Norris, looking about as frie...
08/31/2026

We had to pull out the big guns on the final day of voting.

Pictured here: Mr. G. and Chuck Norris, looking about as friendly as two Kung Fu masters can be.

While Mr. Norris never taught at our school, we like to think we embody the spirit of both Walker AND Texas Ranger.

And really, what more evidence do you need?

Today is the FINAL DAY to vote for American Academies of Martial Arts for Best Martial Arts Dojo in Best of Bellevue.

If you've voted for us already, thank you.

If you've voted for us multiple times, thank you even more.

And if you've been meaning to vote but haven't gotten around to it, this is it. Today is your day.

Help us finish strong and cast one final vote for AAMA!

And, of course, screenshot that vote and bring it in to spin the prize wheel. 🎡

Because we may not have Chuck Norris.

But we do have a prize wheel.

And that's pretty close.

https://bestofbellevuene.com/

Reason number 8,428 we should be voted Best Martial Arts Dojo in Bellevue?We have heart, and we're not afraid to show it...
08/30/2026

Reason number 8,428 we should be voted Best Martial Arts Dojo in Bellevue?

We have heart, and we're not afraid to show it. ❤️

One of our parents is a tie-dye professional, and our students absolutely love it when we have special tie-dye events to make our own school T-shirts.

Voting is coming to a close soon, and you can vote every day through August 31.

So have a heart and cast a vote for us in the Best Martial Arts Dojo category.

And don't forget to screenshot your vote and come spin our prize wheel! 🎡

See you on the mat.

Last year, one of our students won the Grand Champion award at the ONMAC tournament.Some of us think it should be called...
08/29/2026

Last year, one of our students won the Grand Champion award at the ONMAC tournament.

Some of us think it should be called the Grand Dragon award, just because it sounds cool, but nobody at the tournament asked our opinion.

So Grand Champion he is.

And we're pretty darn proud of him.

If having a Grand Champion training at our school doesn't help make us the Best in Bellevue, we don't know what does.

Best of Bellevue voting ends August 31, and you can vote once every day.

Vote for American Academies of Martial Arts for Best Martial Arts Dojo!

And don't forget to screenshot your vote and bring it in to spin the prize wheel. 🎡

One vote = one spin.

Grand Dragon status not required.

Remember when Bellevue used to have a really happening mall?It's still standing, but now operates as a "technology cente...
08/28/2026

Remember when Bellevue used to have a really happening mall?

It's still standing, but now operates as a "technology center."

Back when the fanciest technology they had was a fax machine and a cordless phone, our students were flipping around and wowing shoppers with our Kung Fu fighting.

Sometimes telling people a business has been open a certain number of years accomplishes nothing except making people think it's really old.

But in this case, we think it makes the case that we have stood the test of time.

American Academies of Martial Arts has been part of Bellevue since 1987.

We've watched businesses come and go. We've watched Bellevue grow and change. We've taught children who grew up and brought their own children back to train.

And somewhere along the way, the mall became a technology center.

But we're still teaching Kung Fu.

Nearly 40 years later, we're still here, still growing, still teaching and still finding new ways to serve our community.

We think that counts for something.

And we hope you think it counts toward Best Martial Arts Dojo in Bellevue.

Best of Bellevue voting ends August 31, and you can vote once every day.

We'd love your vote.

And, of course, screenshot that vote and bring it in to spin the prize wheel. 🎡

Because some things change.

Some things stand the test of time.

And some things are improved immeasurably by a prize wheel.

https://bestofbellevuene.com/

Lead instructor Mr. Robertson can't remember when Kung Fu hasn't been a part of his life.His parents first enrolled him ...
08/28/2026

Lead instructor Mr. Robertson can't remember when Kung Fu hasn't been a part of his life.

His parents first enrolled him in classes when he was four years old, and he hasn't stopped since.

He claims he used to be an angry kid, but it's hard to imagine. He's the most respectful, even-keeled and strong man some of us adults have ever met.

Put him in a room full of unruly Little Dragons and they don't stand a chance.

His calm demeanor and fun energy will have them excitedly doing push-ups and performing proper axe kicks in no time.

Parents never fail to be amazed at his skill in managing a class while the kids still have fun and learn.

If you ask him about it, he just shrugs.

It's what he has been trained to do during his years at AAMA.

After all, he used to be a Little Dragon himself before he became the strong and disciplined martial artist he is today.

He is one of many outstanding examples in our school who showcase exactly why we think American Academies of Martial Arts should be voted Best Martial Arts Dojo in Bellevue.

When you've got talent like this leading students day after day, it's hard not to be the Best.

Best of Bellevue voting continues through August 31, and you can vote once every day.

If you think people like Mr. Robertson are what make a martial arts school great, we'd love your vote.

And don't forget to screenshot your vote and bring it in to spin the prize wheel. One vote = one spin! 🎡

https://bestofbellevuene.com/

Address

2406 Cornhusker Road
Bellevue, NE
68123

Opening Hours

Monday 3:30pm - 7pm
Tuesday 11am - 1pm
3:30pm - 8pm
Wednesday 3:30pm - 7pm
Thursday 11am - 1pm
3:30pm - 8pm
Friday 9am - 1pm
Saturday 8am - 12pm

Telephone

+14027315425

Website

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