About Us
Teaching Life Skills through Karate
UFMA Dundurn (also known as UFMA Hamilton West) is one of 7 franchise locations of United Family Martial Arts. Our school is located in West Hamilton in the Kirkendall neighbourhood on Charlton Ave W., close to Dundurn St. S.
We have been teaching karate to both kids and adults in the area for over 20 years and have helped build strong confident individuals. The life skills that we teach and emphasize in our classes, help students with better grades in school and more focus and success in the workplace.
We take pride in our welcoming, inclusive, and family oriented environment. Families are a big part of United Family Martial Arts and we encourage parents to take an active role in their child's devlopment. We offer special rates for families as we believe that martial arts is a sport that all family members can enjoy.
Our Facilities
UFMA Dundurn is 2 storey building with 2 padded training areas, a family room, a small gym, and a childcare centre.
The main floor is where majority of our karate classes take place. The lower floor is mainly used for our kickboxing classes however, some karate classes are held on the lower floor.
The school has changerooms available (upstairs for younger students and downstairs for adults) for those who wish to change into their karate uniforms at the school. There are also two gender neutral washrooms on the main level.
Our family room is a space for those who wish to work on homework while awaiting class or for parents with small children to watch class. Before classes commence each day, the family room is used by our Li'l Ninjas Childcare program.
Li'l Ninjas Childcare is a ministry licensed 1/2 Day Preschool and Before/After school program. For more information on the childcare services, please visit the Li'l Ninjas Childcare website.
Our Instructors
Gord Waddell, Owner/Head Instructor
5th degree black belt
Mr Waddell first started karate in 1986 and became an instructor in 2000. His favourite aspect of karate is sparring (kickboxing). Mr Waddell has won world titles in kickboxing.
He enjoys seeing a student's progression and growth in all aspects of their training and how their karate training has positively helped at school or at home. The relationships that are forged last a lifetime and seeing them succeed in life is a great motivator to continue teaching.
Hamid Dwyer- Lead Instructor
3rd degree black belt
Mr H started karate in 2000 and became an instructor in 2013. His favourite aspect of karate is self defense.
Mr H enjoys showing students that it is possible to do difficult things. He enjoys watching students build their confidence, and turn drawbacks and hardships into accomplishments. Watching a student go from 'zero' - knowing nothing - to 'hero' - knowing lots and being capable of learning more.
Rhonda Moore- Lead Instructor
4th degree black belt
Mrs Moore started karate around 2005 and became an instructor in 2009. Although Mrs Moore enjoys all aspects of karate, her favourite is Kata. She enjoys fine tuning the small details in kata and working on a particular element to get it just right. Mrs Moore also loves to perform kata and competes as part of Team United.
Watching students grow and develop is one of the things Mrs Moore enjoys most about teaching. Watching her students that started as kinder kids push their limits, grow in confidence, and achieve their black belt is always a proud moment.
Kazuo Pearce- Instructor
1st degree black belt
Mr Kaz began karate in 2009 at the age of 5. He became an instructor in September 2022. His favourite aspect of karate is kata because of the focus to detail of each move. There's always room for improvement.
What Mr Kaz enjoys the most about teaching is seeing a student work so hard learning a new kata or technique and seeing the results of their efforts.