Head Instructor Maureen Burke Santos is a Master Black Belt and certified instructor in Tang Soo Do and a first degree Black Belt in Kempo Karate. She began training in 1980, and has been teaching since 1983. She has studied Chinese Chi Kung since 1987 and Tai Chi since 1994, and currently holds rank with internationally known author and teacher Master Yang Jwing Ming. As leader of the Seven Stars Martial Arts Association, Ms. Santos is titular head of three schools, and she has given Master rank to Master Kelly, Head Instructor of Kelly's School of Karate in Barnstable.\r
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Her school offers classes for all age groups from age four through adult, and all ability levels from beginner through Black Belt grades. Seven Stars Academy offers a safe, comfortable learning atmosphere with qualified instructors who know how to make learning fun. My whole family joined this school in 2003 and after five years we are still learning new things from every class. My husband and I enjoy the exercise and the challenge that meets our 40-something bodies ? our children are growing physically and mentally as they become role models for younger, less advanced children. \r
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In Black Belt class, my husband and I train with students who have been with Ms. Santos for a decade or more and who still feel that she has some new insight to offer them. I have taught Little Dragons classes with her where she meets with pleasure the smallest children and gently coaxes them into the simplest of body motions. I have watched her teaching students with Down's Syndrome, Aspergers, and mental retardation, and offer a Master's belt to a M.D..\r
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To be a student at Seven Stars Academy of Martial Arts is to be part of more than just another Karate school. Seven Stars Academy of Martial Arts is a special place to grow physically, mentally, and spiritually, and the world became a better place twenty-five years ago, when Maureen Burke Santos became a teacher. Come take a class and see what I mean!
Pros: Leadership, instruction, peers, moral tone, openness, warmth
Cons: Small waiting room fills up for some children's classes
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