Testimonials

Connor Lewis has made remarkable improvements in the past 3 years that he has been working with Master Buck at Revolutionary Arts & Fitness. He has progressed from being a timid little boy afraid of the dark, showering, and afraid of dogs to a blossoming, brave young man. He worked hard at earning his blue belt as he struggled with memorizing his forms with other taekwondo instructors but works very well with Master Buck. Master Buck is a true mentor, wonderful role model, and excellent teacher. He spends a lot of individual time with Connor to teach him essential life skills that will be necessary for Connor to become a responsible young man.

Connor overcame his fear of dogs when he went on a field trip to Brandt Veterinary Clinic with his classmates. He listened to a Doberman pinchers heart beat with a stethoscope, which was an absolute miracle, and now has his very own dog, “Misty”. The two of them have a brother / sister bond that is unbelievable.

Connor has overcome many more obstacles than just conquering his fears; his mother and father have both had health issues that had a significant impact on Connor. His father had an insulin reaction while they were alone at a local park and had to be rescued by the EMT’s when Connor was 5 years of age. Connor’s mother has heart issues and had a quadruple bypass in 2011. She has had repeated hospitalizations and continues to have complications from her diabetes; all the while Connor provides inspiration for her to overcome her own obstacles. Connor, too, has had numerous health issues. He has asthma but doesn’t let that slow him down in the least.

Connor has also had to deal with his parent’s separation and very contentious divorce. He struggled to accept the end of his parent’s marriage but has seemingly matured and moved on as well. He currently lives 93% of the time with his mother and his new step-father, John. He plays Academy Soccer for the Venice Falcons and takes piano and voice lessons with Deborah Stern at Sarasota Music Center. He keeps his mother on her toes with an extracurricular activity every day of the week. He also performs very, very well in school as he remains on the Honor Roll year round despite dealing with his ADHD.

Connor has truly come out of his cocoon and is excited about what the future holds for him. Without Master Buck’s leadership and guidance, Connor may have continued to struggle with the obstacles he has encountered in the last 9 years of his life. He believes in and has great faith in himself today. Many of his childhood fears and phobias have disappeared because of the confidence and character building instilled in him during his taekwondo lessons. For that, we are truly grateful.

Sometimes wonderful people come into our lives when we’re least expecting it. I met an absolute gem in our community, by accident, four years ago, dropping off a child-crafted thank you poster to Revolutionary Martial Arts. I caught Master Buck Buckmaster in a rare free moment. He agreed to start teaching Tae Kwon Do to our preschoolers once a week.

Four years later, we couldn’t be happier or more grateful that Master Buck is part of our preschool family and our community. His presence is unfailingly calm, patient and kind. He has welcomed all of our children to his class and is especially gifted in dealing with special needs students. In this day of fractured families and many children without fathers on the scene, Buck is an admirable male role model.

Master Buck actively teaches community service to all of his students. This holiday season they collected for The Mayor’s Feed the Hungry Campaign and Toys for Tots. The thank you I was originally dropping off was to Revolutionary Martial Arts for collecting cat food to feed the homeless cats of Venice Cat Coalition. This is the charity supported by Shamrock Preschool.

We were even further blessed this year when Buck let us know that a local doctor was underwriting the class for all of our students. Our students are the children of local service providers and tradesmen. These are families that were hard hit by the recession and are still recovering. The small tuition that Buck charges was often out of reach for these families. Now everyone can participate. Nobody needs to be left out. Thank you Master Buck Buckmaster for all that you do for our community.

Dear Buck,

I want to thank you for taking time to visit our apartment community and for the wonderful demonstration you gave to our senior residents.  I’ve received very positive feedback from the residents that attended.  Your informative speech, along with the self defense techniques you demonstrated were very well received by our residents.  I felt that you spoke to each resident on their level and the personal stories that you shared were appreciated.  Your passion and skill for your art was evident.

Thank you and I hope that you will visit us again in the future.

Sincerely,
Dennese
Property Manager
Rotonda Lakes Apartments

RMA has been an extremely positive influence in my son’s life.  He has become a respectful, courteous and confident young man.  He has learned perseverance and self-control — all under difficult circumstances.  His school grades have improved and I have received compliments on his behavior and positive attitude as he is always willing to help.