The Academy of Martial Arts Studies
The Academy of Martial Arts Studies, 102 Crystal Ave, Suite A, Findlay, OH 45840
About
The Academy of Martial Arts Studies offers Karate, Goju-Ryu Karate-Jutsu, Ateru Goju Ryu Karate Jutsu, Toyama Ryu Sword classes, and private lessons. Students take part in activities such as standing and moving basics, katas/forms, sparring, tournament competition, belt testing, and optional board breaking. The program includes the Tiny Tigers Program, the Karate Kids Program, and an Adults Program, with all classes structured to fit the age and experience of each student.
• Ages: 3–18 years old
• Schedule: Tiny Tigers and Karate Kids and Adult Beginner classes have options on Monday–Wednesday or Tuesday–Thursday in the late afternoon and early evening, with Tiny Tigers meeting in 30-minute blocks and Karate Kids and Adult Beginner classes meeting in 60-minute blocks.
• Price: Train for 2 months for $170 and receive a free $50 uniform.
The Academy of Martial Arts Studies states that it is a family run, family based training facility with two stand-alone karate schools that offer different classes at the same time, including Beginner Series Classes that allow adult parent beginners to train on one side while their kids train on the other side with their own instructor. All classes come with a Zoom link for viewing by parents, relatives, and students who are home sick. The Tiny Tigers pre-school program focuses on basic karate moves and includes rewards such as treats and stickers at the end of class, with new belts awarded for time in and dedication rather than tests, while the Karate Kids Program is a belted system that takes students through Jr. Black Belt Competency. The Academy notes that board breaking is allowed but not required, and that its teaching style is encouraging and uplifting in a family style environment, with an emphasis that students enter as strangers but leave as family members.
The Academy’s on-staff team includes 14 certified black belt instructors, including a 10th Degree Black Belt Grandmaster/Hanshi with teaching credentials, a 5th Degree Black Belt Renshi, a 4th Degree Black Belt Renshi, seven Second Degree Black Belts, and two Shodans (First Degree Black Belts. The founder, Hanshi Kevin “Huunjin” Cullen, is the Soke, Grandmaster, and head of The Academy of Martial Arts Studies, has been consistently training in Goju since 1973, and holds a 10th Dan Soke in Ateru Goju, with recognition by the World Head of Family Sokeship Council as a legitimate Soke and Grandmaster in 2013. Other leadership includes Sensei Harley Ferris as Chief Instructor, Renshi Jim Zellner as Chief Assistant Instructor, Sensei Greg Lowery and Evan Boehler as Assistant Instructors, Dr. Alexis Caroline (Lexi) as technical developmental advisor for the Tiny Tigers program, and Renshi James Kindle and Renshi Larr Etzler as instructors. Many instructors hold academic degrees, including bachelor’s, master’s, and a PhD, and work in fields such as university teaching, marketing, firefighting/EMT, and occupational therapy, with the Academy stating that its instructors are nationally and internationally ranked and certified and that its martial arts instructors have over 100 years of martial arts experience ranging from 50 years to a minimum of 8 years per instructor.
The Academy of Martial Arts Studies describes itself as the Hombu dojo of Hanshi Kevin Cullen and as a true Academy of Martial Arts Studies that accommodates students from age 3 and up and instills the precepts of Health, Education and Commitment. It has been voted The Best Martial Arts School for four years in a row and counting by Findlay and Hancock County. The Academy is recognized by the World Head of Family organization as well as seven other international councils for its 5 Hands Systems as part of Ateru Goju Ryu Karate Jutsu, and it states that Hanshi Cullen is the only instructor in the world teaching the renowned 5 Hands Systems, the soft Kung Fu aspect of Ateru Goju Ryu Karate Jutsu. Hanshi Cullen’s seminar series has taken him to Europe, the Caribbean, Japan, China, and locations across the USA, and he has been invited to teach at the Northern Shaolin Temple in China, on the Martial Oceans shipboard seminar series, at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio from 2012–2017 as the only traditional karate expert from Ohio, and regularly at the Action Martial Arts Magazine Hall of Honors.
Last updated August 16, 2026.
• Ages: 3–18 years old
• Schedule: Tiny Tigers and Karate Kids and Adult Beginner classes have options on Monday–Wednesday or Tuesday–Thursday in the late afternoon and early evening, with Tiny Tigers meeting in 30-minute blocks and Karate Kids and Adult Beginner classes meeting in 60-minute blocks.
• Price: Train for 2 months for $170 and receive a free $50 uniform.
The Academy of Martial Arts Studies states that it is a family run, family based training facility with two stand-alone karate schools that offer different classes at the same time, including Beginner Series Classes that allow adult parent beginners to train on one side while their kids train on the other side with their own instructor. All classes come with a Zoom link for viewing by parents, relatives, and students who are home sick. The Tiny Tigers pre-school program focuses on basic karate moves and includes rewards such as treats and stickers at the end of class, with new belts awarded for time in and dedication rather than tests, while the Karate Kids Program is a belted system that takes students through Jr. Black Belt Competency. The Academy notes that board breaking is allowed but not required, and that its teaching style is encouraging and uplifting in a family style environment, with an emphasis that students enter as strangers but leave as family members.
The Academy’s on-staff team includes 14 certified black belt instructors, including a 10th Degree Black Belt Grandmaster/Hanshi with teaching credentials, a 5th Degree Black Belt Renshi, a 4th Degree Black Belt Renshi, seven Second Degree Black Belts, and two Shodans (First Degree Black Belts. The founder, Hanshi Kevin “Huunjin” Cullen, is the Soke, Grandmaster, and head of The Academy of Martial Arts Studies, has been consistently training in Goju since 1973, and holds a 10th Dan Soke in Ateru Goju, with recognition by the World Head of Family Sokeship Council as a legitimate Soke and Grandmaster in 2013. Other leadership includes Sensei Harley Ferris as Chief Instructor, Renshi Jim Zellner as Chief Assistant Instructor, Sensei Greg Lowery and Evan Boehler as Assistant Instructors, Dr. Alexis Caroline (Lexi) as technical developmental advisor for the Tiny Tigers program, and Renshi James Kindle and Renshi Larr Etzler as instructors. Many instructors hold academic degrees, including bachelor’s, master’s, and a PhD, and work in fields such as university teaching, marketing, firefighting/EMT, and occupational therapy, with the Academy stating that its instructors are nationally and internationally ranked and certified and that its martial arts instructors have over 100 years of martial arts experience ranging from 50 years to a minimum of 8 years per instructor.
The Academy of Martial Arts Studies describes itself as the Hombu dojo of Hanshi Kevin Cullen and as a true Academy of Martial Arts Studies that accommodates students from age 3 and up and instills the precepts of Health, Education and Commitment. It has been voted The Best Martial Arts School for four years in a row and counting by Findlay and Hancock County. The Academy is recognized by the World Head of Family organization as well as seven other international councils for its 5 Hands Systems as part of Ateru Goju Ryu Karate Jutsu, and it states that Hanshi Cullen is the only instructor in the world teaching the renowned 5 Hands Systems, the soft Kung Fu aspect of Ateru Goju Ryu Karate Jutsu. Hanshi Cullen’s seminar series has taken him to Europe, the Caribbean, Japan, China, and locations across the USA, and he has been invited to teach at the Northern Shaolin Temple in China, on the Martial Oceans shipboard seminar series, at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio from 2012–2017 as the only traditional karate expert from Ohio, and regularly at the Action Martial Arts Magazine Hall of Honors.
Last updated August 16, 2026.
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