School History and Philosophy

Mills Martial Arts™ (MMA) was founded in the year 2000 with a singular guiding principle: to provide sensible, practical martial arts training. This mission is simple, but unique in today’s environment.

Utilizing his background in Tae Kwon Do (Jhoon Rhee ITF System) as a basis for students’ training and conditioning, MMA’s founder, Thomas Mills, recognized that what works in the dojo does not always work in the real world. The real world does not have controlled environments or padded equipment; so Mr. Mills decided to incorporate aspects of other martial arts systems — such as Judo, Aikido, Japanese Ju-Jitsu, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, and others — and basic self–defense techniques to make MMA’s curriculum useful in day–to–day life.

The curriculum at MMA is not determined by theory or doctrine. It is determined by what will actually help you in a difficult situation.

Mr. Mills also noticed that many martial arts schools deal with their students exclusively on a long–term contract basis. This is unfair to the student in many ways, most notably that it teaches them to value the color of the belt around their waist more than how to apply their lessons to the real world. These types of schools are known as “belt factories.”

MMA sets itself apart by focusing on the practical application of the martial arts; belts come as a result of the time and training that a student puts in, not from an expected timeline or the promised outcome of a long–term contract. The level of accomplishment at MMA comes from personal effort.

To set up a free introductory session with Mills Martial Arts, please contact us.