Greg Riddle recently received the Reader's Choice Award for Fitness Instruction.
Readers of the MetroWest Daily News, Marlborough Enterprise and other
Community Newspapers voted for Greg Riddle as the best fitness instructor
in Marlborough. Students at Masters Centers should feel proud about training
with the best! (Thank you to everyone who voted for me!)
excerpted from the MARLBOROUGH ENTERPRISE
January 14, 1999
Kick and punch for health and fun
Retooled karate center offers programs that are consumer friendly
By Michael Kunzelman
Staff Writer
Bored by the repetitive routine of gyms, jogging and aerobics, Kathy
and Chad
Kaminski searched for a new way to stay in shape.
They found karate-Shaolin Kenpo-Karate, to be precise.
A year has passed since the Kaminskis, on a whim,
signed up for karate
classes at a studio located off Rte. 20. And unlike the health-club
newcomers
whose New Year’s resolutions quickly lapse, the Marlborough couple has
never
strayed from their training regimen.
"We tried gyms, but we just
couldn’t stick to it," said Kathy Kaminski.
"It’s the same thing over and over."
Karate is different, they say.
"We’ve learned alot in the last year."
Chad Kaminski said, "and it’s great
stress relief. It’s a good place to go after a long day."
The Kaminskis are learning karate at Masters Centers, one of about a
half-
dozen martial-arts schools in Marlborough. Greg Riddle, Masters
Centers
instructor, said many of his new clients are like the Kaminskis -
refugees
from health clubs and gyms.
Fifteen to 20 years ago, training in the martial arts was very
painful,"
Riddle said. "Only the strong survived. You either suffered through
it or
you quit."
Riddle said many training facilities have retooled their programs to
make
them a "little more user-friendly."
"Nowadays, more and more different types of people are looking for
training,"
he added. "If you’re looking for blood-and-guts fighting, you go to one
place. If you’re looking for a family-friendly place, you go to
another."
Chad and Kathy Kaminski joined Masters Centers about a week after its
grand
opening. Neither knew quite what to expect.
"Growing up," Chad Kaminski said, "I always wanted to learn karate,
but my
parents wouldn’t let me. They didn’t want me beating up my brother."
Both of them started off as white belts and have progressed to a blue
belt,
an intermediate ranking. In October, the couple competed in their first
karate tournament. Chad took first place in his division, while his
wife
finished in third place.
"We didn’t expect to walk out with anything," Chad Kaminski said.
"Both of
us were wondering if we should even be in the tournament."
They relish the competition and the exercise, but the self-defense
techniques
also give them piece of mind.
"Hopefully, I’ll never have to use it," Kathy Kaminski said, "but I
feel more
comfortable just knowing that I can take care of myself."
"Martial arts is not about learning how to fight," added their
instructor,
Greg Riddle. "It’s about learning how not to fight. We try to teach
them how
to avoid those situations."
excerpted from MAIN STREET JOURNAL
January 31, 1998
MASTERS CENTERS OPENS
New Local business offers martial arts instruction
By Erin Nugent
Contributing Writer
Over the past ten or twenty years, the martial arts have become an
increasingly popular way to attain physical fitness. Nothing bears
witness to
this fact more than the steady stream of martial arts centers popping
up all
over the country. One of the more positive results of this martial
arts boom
has been the advent of the Masters Centers chain which just opened its
first
branch in Marlborough at 449 Boston Post Road East.
Just about everyone is familiar with the martial arts in one form or
another.
Bruce Lee movies, the Karate Kid series and the Kung Fu TV show have all
served to popularize the discipline. However, images that such movies
conjure
up do not necessarily reveal a complete picture.
According to Marlborough branch owner Greg Riddle, Masters Centers
offers a
whole new level of safety and professionalism to the martial arts. As
he
tells it, there is no government regulation of martial arts instruction
and,
as a result, anyone can rent space and hang out a shingle proclaiming
their
expertise. Consequently, would-be clients need to shop around to
ensure they
will learn from a professional.
To put your mind at ease, all Masters Centers instructors are required
to
complete intensive training courses and to be certified to teach. As
Greg
puts it, "you know you’re going to get quality instruction here.
There’s a
big emphasis on quality control."
Riddle understands that some people have fears about getting involved
with
the martial arts. He said he was apprehensive himself, at first, until
he
noticed a martial arts class being offered as a one credit physical
education
class at Umass.
According to Riddle, he always had an interest in martial arts but,
before he
took that class, he had some serious misconceptions about it. Like many
others, he had a vision of martial arts classes being "some guy barking
out
orders and people kicking and punching and going home bruised." While
the
kicking and punching part is true of Masters Centers, the going home
bruised
stuff is not.
Marlborough’s Masters Centers is currently offering classes to meet
every age
and stamina level in Kenpo Karate, Aerobic Kickboxing, and Tai Chi,
none of
which involve full contact. Riddle describes it as "strictly a family
type of
martial arts center where there is no full contact type training."
This, however, does not diminish the self-defense aspect of the classes
taught there, especially the Karate. Though Riddle likes to emphasize
the
full-body workout provided in even his most low impact classes, he
knows the
self-defense techniques he teaches boost self-confidence in a way that
few
other types of physical exercise can.
excerpted from MARLBOROUGH ENTERPRISE
December 17, 1998
NAMES & FACES
TOURNAMENT WINNERS
- Five karate students from the new Masters Centers
in
Marlborough brought home trophies from their first karate tournament.
The
youngest, Ben Perry, is 4 years old. Others are (back row from left)
Charlies
Downey, first-place sparring, fourth-place self-defense; Kathy Kaminski,
third-place self-defense; and Chad Kaminski, first-place, self-defense.
Not
shown is Matt Coty, second-place sparring.
Martial Arts Teacher Voted #1 Fitness Instructor
