At Frontier Martial Arts, students don’t just earn belts—they gain confidence, discipline and life-changing skills.
Jeff Booker, the owner, has dedicated his career to teaching these principles through a range of programs.
Originally operating as Talon Martial Arts, the studio rebranded in January to better reflect its mission and expansion beyond Taekwondo.
Now based in Krugerville, the school offers five distinct programs: Taekwondo, Krav Maga, Jiu-Jitsu, Iaido and kickboxing.
Booker, a fifth-degree black belt and master instructor, wears many hats in his role.
'My job is to teach classes,” Booker said. “I develop the instructors and the leaders. I'll do marketing. When you own a martial arts school, you do everything from cleaning toilets to giving presentations to schools.”
Beyond physical training, Frontier Martial Arts fosters personal growth and lifelong connections. Their school’s after-school program provides structure and purpose beyond typical childcare options.
'With the after-school program, we’re kind of competing with local day cares, except we give them a lot more purpose than what they’re doing,” he said. “We pick them up from school five days a week. They come in and do classes four days out of the five, including Taekwondo and one day of Jiu-Jitsu. It gives the parents, especially working parents, the opportunity for their kids to have an extracurricular activity without having to spend even more time after work in the evenings when they’re exhausted.'
Students can begin training as young as 4 years old in the Itty Bitty Tigers program, and there is no upper age limit to learning martial arts. Booker shared a story of an older student achieving a major milestone.
'The oldest one we’ve had, and it wasn’t our location but, in another location, we had a 74-yearold lady get her black belt, and she didn’t start ‘til she was almost 70,” Booker said. “She did all of the stuff that we taught her. You think of a black belt as being Bruce Lee and kicking everybody’s butt, but that’s really not what a black belt is about. A black belt is about the continual improvement, the continual learning and the spirit of never giving up.'
For many, Frontier Martial Arts is more than just a training facility— it’s a second home. Brylee Rehm, who has been part of the program for nearly a decade, found a sense of family within its walls.
Rehm began as a student and became an instructor at 14 years old. Now 19, she continues to teach and mentor younger students.
'I've been doing karate for like eight or nine years at this point,” Rehm said. “It’s definitely given me a lot to do, and I love working with the kids. They’ve always got something hilarious to say. I think a lot of the time, people find a family in it, and it’s been like that for me, too. ... I teach the after-school program on Taekwondo day, ... and it’s like I have 12 little brothers.'
Booker believes the lessons learned through martial arts extend far beyond the mat.
'Everybody has value, and I try to show that to them,” Booker said. “Hopefully, they show that to others.”
Booker emphasized the characteristics that martial arts instill in people.
“What we're looking for is those exceptional students, that want to excel, that want to be leaps and bounds ahead of their peers,” Booker said. “When they get up into their teen years and even up into college and adulthood, people that get their black belts are just a lot more successful in life because of the discipline and the perseverance that they've learned when earning their black belt when they were younger.”
Booker has seen students grow into successful professionals, and they credit their achievements in part to the values instilled at the school.
'For me, I just want to keep on teaching kids to be successful,” Booker said. “We have kids that have gone on to Harvard, become doctors, worked for Microsoft and all kinds of great careers. It’s always neat to hear them say, ‘The stuff I learned from you has helped me so much in where I am today.’' Booker’s vision for Frontier Martial Arts is not about teaching techniques but about shaping character.
'You don’t know if you like it ‘til you try it,” he said. “It’s like a little kid who tries ice cream for the first time. Giving it a try and coming a little bit out of your comfort zone, all you can do is learn.”
But Booker stresses that personal growth doesn’t have to come through martial arts alone. It’s about building confidence and character in any endeavor.
'The bottom line is do something that makes you confident in what you do and show people what you’re worth, what value you have and that you can do anything,” Booker said.
For more information on Frontier Martial Arts, visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/frontierma or the Talon Martial website at talonmartialarts.com.
