Karate World — Local services in Kenilworth

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KarateWorld has been absolutely life-changing for our family! My boys struggled with behavior, attention, discipline, focus, and respect — and even our relationship as a family was starting to crack. I was so thankful to have found KarateWorld, because the improvements have been amazing! Their coaches provide personal attention to every student, and they bring so much joy to classes with music, games, prizes, and fun activities. Every class is exciting, memorable, and full of life.

What makes KarateWorld stand out is that it’s truly a family-oriented school. They host group events, parent nights out, and kids’ fun nights that help build community and social skills. When they encouraged me to join as a mom for a very low price, I wasn’t sure at first — but it turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made! Training alongside my kids gave us something to share, talk about, and bond over. Now I feel stronger, healthier, and happier, and our relationship as a family is closer than ever.

The difference in my boys is incredible. They do their homework faster and more accurately, their focus at school has improved, their behavior at home is better, and for the first time ever they go to karate with gladness. We had tried three other karate schools before, and my kids didn’t like any of them — this is the only one they love! They’ve even made new amazing friends here.

Grandmaster Jeff Dunn is truly second to none. He is the owner of the school, an 8th-degree black belt, a six-time AAU New Jersey State Champion, and a first-place winner of over 50 tournaments, he trained under Grand Master Jhoon Rhee, the founder of Taekwondo in America. His passion for teaching is clear in every class, and he inspires kids to become not just martial artists, but leaders in life. Over the past 34 years, KarateWorld has produced more than 50 AAU Junior Olympic gold medalists and many NASKA world champions. Even more importantly, their young black belts go on to finish college and become professionals — attorneys, neurosurgeons, police officers, and more.

KarateWorld doesn’t just teach karate — it transforms lives. They raise winners in life, and I am so grateful we found this school. It’s not just a dojo… it’s...

Karate world was once the GO TO spot to learn martial arts in the area… now… not so much.

I’m not one to post reviews, but I’ve recently seen some very negative and untrue reviews from people related to karate world on a competitor’s school which my family happens to go to. I know the Karate World scene as my family was going there for years. The product is lackluster and the business ethics here are shady at best. There are some positives, however they’re far overshadowed by the negatives. One thing I can tell you, despite what the manufactured negative reviews say on the other school’s page… You don’t see kids from KW coming home with trophies year after year, mastering weapons, or showing strong morals. What I do see are fake reviews posted in bunches, some clearly by kids, even one person posting twice under different one saying they were a KW student and again saying they were a TKK student. We know they weren’t a TKK student. That’s not even convincing… it’s just desperate and should tell you everything you need to know about the thought process at Karate World.

To specifically mention another bad review that was left. When the twins were unfairly let go from KW, and went on to open their own school, people didn’t get taken from KW. They chose to leave, most of them were only there because of the twins who basically ran that place. Many who left were even forced to pay penalties to break the contracts they had with KW. That says something. This is why the KW demo team is never even allowed to see the TKK demo at the town street fair every year. They’d likely lose the rest of the students. If the product was better, people would likely stay. However, it isn’t, so people leave. One thing is for sure, I don’t know of a single case where anyone left TKK to go to KW. But there are a lot of people going the other way. That should also tell you everything you need to know. #JustSayin 🤷‍♂️

If you’re basing your choice on these reviews, know this: my family trained here for years, and you couldn’t pay us to return. Weak program, shady business practices, and not the type of people I’d want around my kids....

Grand Master Dunn is a very good instructor and martial artist. But he's been less and less present each day. And it shows. He started missing classes occasionally, then for days in a row and sometimes weeks in a row, even on testing days. Problem isn't the fact that he isn't there; problem is his replacements are teenagers. His numbers 2 and 3 are 18 year-old twins who are great fourth-degree martial artists but still in the beginning of their teaching careers. They cannot be in charge of teaching classes to higher belts on their own. If Master Dunn can no longer teach the intermediate and advanced level classes on a regular basis, he should hire another senior instructor to be his number 2. Being a Karate instructor requires life experience, empathy, social skills, not only technical skills. The school needs urgent upgrade to the space too - it's small and crowded all the time. It's stuffy in there. Entrance is jammed with bags and shoes. Place is noisy and reception desk is in the middle of the noise. It's run by a dedicated family but the owner should be more present and should also be open to feedback from students and families. There isn't even a feedback / suggestion box at the space, this is the...