Kimling’s Academy of Martial Arts

Kimling’s Academy of Martial Arts has been teaching students in Oakland Park since 1996, making it one of the longer running martial arts schools along the Prospect Road corridor near North Andrews Gardens. The school sits at 169 W Prospect Rd, a short drive from Powerline Road and easy to reach from Wilton Manors and the surrounding Fort Lauderdale neighborhoods that border Oakland Park to the south and east. Nearly three decades in one location is not something many small fitness businesses in Broward County can claim, and it says something about how the school has built its student base one family at a time rather than through a marketing blitz.

The academy is run day to day by instructors staff refer to as Master Kimling and Ms. Patti, who oversee a curriculum built around karate, boxing, and MMA fundamentals rather than a single rigid style. That blended approach shows up in how the school structures its classes: young children and school age kids get after school programs that combine martial arts training with homework help, a practical option for working parents in the area who need supervised, productive time between school dismissal and evening pickup. During the summer, the academy runs day camp programs so kids can keep training and stay active without a gap in structure once school lets out.

For adults, Kimling’s offers beginner and ongoing martial arts classes built around fitness and self defense rather than competition. New students can try the program through a two week trial for $29, a low commitment way to see whether the class format and teaching style fit before signing up for a longer membership. The school also hosts kids birthday parties on site, giving local families a martial arts themed alternative to the usual party venues around Oakland Park.

What ties the programs together is a stated philosophy of “Lead by Example,” with an emphasis on discipline, self discovery, and leadership alongside the physical training itself. That framing is common in family oriented martial arts schools, but Kimling’s has had a long time to put it into practice with the same community, since the academy has served Oakland Park, Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors, and North Andrews Gardens continuously since the mid 1990s. For anyone in the area looking for a martial arts program that treats kids classes as more than daycare with kicks, or an adult self defense class that does not require prior experience, Kimling’s Academy is a long standing, independently run option worth checking out. The Prospect Road location keeps it accessible to residents throughout the northern part of Oakland Park without requiring a drive into Fort Lauderdale proper for a first class.