Clayton Johnson

Owner of Journey Martial Arts and 8th Degree Black Belt

Why I started

Back in the 70s, I  loved watching kung fu movies and did my best to emulate what I saw.  I jumped off the couch doing kicks, tried to run up walls and back flip, and threw furious punches in front of the mirror taking care to end each set with a cool hero pose. All I wanted was to train in a school-ANY school.  When my parents acquiesced and put me in the first school that they saw, I started training.  I was ecstatic to get the uniform.

Expectation v Reality

When the training began, I was shocked as to what I had gotten myself into.  My expectations didn’t line up with reality.  The feeling of overwhelm was surprising because I had no idea what I was doing and what was going on. The instructors were stoic. I rarely heard them speak other than to give a command.  I made mistakes and got hit with a plastic bat until I fixed what was wrong.  Since I didn’t want to get hit, I would copy a student who wasn’t getting hit. I felt less confident.   Not too long after, the school disappeared. I starting doing other things such as learning how to play the saxophone, got involved in science, and computers.  My excitement for the martial arts still existed but I wanted the level of instruction that I received when I was learning music and science.

What I learned

As I grew, I entered other martial arts programs and schools and learned what they had to teach.  This time, I took care to catalog the “why” along with the “what”.  I asked questions, practiced with as many classmates as possible, and really pushed myself to get better.

The result

After earning my Black Belt, I switched from being a part-time assistant instructor to a full-time instructor. The experiences that I had in my first school stuck with me so I made it a point NOT to do what was done to me. I love the martial arts and I love to have fun and entertain people so I did my best to make everything as much fun as possible without compromising why we were doing it. Almost 30 years and hundreds of student later, I’m still having a great time.

Master Johnson discussing self-control

What we believe

We believe that people will have a better success rate when they are having fun and understanding why the are performing a particular task.  Therefore, the curriculum of Journey Martial Arts is engineered around focus, fitness, realistic self-defense and fun. This constant and consistent training and education is essential to the growth of mind and spirit so that we become stronger people and have a healthy body and mindset.

What we do

Each training session starts by expressing the Goal. We break the goal down into smaller steps and challenges. Then we have fun meeting each challenge so that achieving the original goal becomes easier.  We encourage patience and consistently revisit the desired outcome so that students become stronger. We consistently re-examine our curriculum, procedures, and tactics to make and pass along improvements.

Affiliations

Journey Martial Arts is a member school of the International Kempo Council of Grandmasters known as the IKCG  and also the Martial Arts Industry Association, known as MAIA,   As the school’s leaders, We do what we expect everyone else to do.  We expect everyone to work hard, set goals and achieve, improve themselves, and have fun.

Longevity

As of 2024, Master Johnson has been teaching in the Port Jefferson,  Mount Sinai, and Miller Place area for 28 years. We have a great staff of excellent instructors that grew up in the school.  We love what we do and we are looking forward to the next 20 years.

Our Invitation to You

We can’t wait to see how your life changes from our classes too.  Click this button: Contact Us Today and you will have the chance to learn about our amazing trial offer.  Otherwise, don’t hesitate to give us a call and we can get you started over the phone:  (631) 476-1801

We are looking forward to meeting you.

Clayton Johnson