Our Instructors

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Head Instructor 

Black Belt - 6th Dan Tae Kwon Do

Black Belt - 4th Dan Tang Soo Do

Master Morris began his martial arts career at age 8 in Killarney, Manitoba.  His early training was in the art of Judo with his father as his instructor.  Master Morris moved on to study Tae Kwon Do in a neighbouring town until his family moved to New Brunswick at the age of 14.  These early lessons with his father sparked a love of the sport that has continued throughout his life.  

Master Morris found a school in New Brunswick that practiced Moo Duk Kwan Tae Kwon Do.  This style employed a more extensive use of the hands in combat than he had learned in previous schools.  Master Morris had found the style he would dedicate his life to learning.  Master Morris earned his first black belt in 1992 and has continued to teach in this discipline for the last 24 years.

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Throughout the years, Master Morris has competed in various open Martial Arts tournaments, winning grand champion and first place trophies.  He has enjoyed passing on his extensive knowledge to his students and watching them achieve their martial arts goals, both in tournaments and in the dojang.

​Master Morris has taught self defence to law enforcement and civilians alike.  In cooperation with the RCMP and Sanctuary House for Battered Women, Master Morris instructed high school girls in the art of self defence in preparation for living on their own.  In appreciation for his efforts, the RCMP awarded Master Morris for his contribution to the S.H.A.R.E. Program.

Over his martial arts journey, Master Morris has cross trained in various disciplines including Judo, Kung Fu, Modern Arnis, Karate, Jiu-Jitsu, Jeet Kune Do, Hapkido, and Tang Soo Do.  Master Morris also trains and teaches martial arts weaponry and disarming. In 2005, Master Morris was appointed Canadian Director for the United Martial Arts Society and served on the Master Advisory Council and Board of Directors.  In 2007, Master Morris was appointed Canadian Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) Chairman for World Hwa Rang Tang Soo Do Federation. 

Master Morris is a founding member of the Martial Virtue Alliance - a group of schools from the USA and Canada connected by Grand Master Michael Clark. The MVA works together closely to provide structure and legitimacy to promotions within the organization.  It also provides an avenue for students (including black belts with no instructors) to continue in their martial arts journey of learning and rank advancement.

​Master Morris opened his 1st commercial school in 1995 in Woodstock, New Brunswick.  Today, his students have schools in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.  He retains a close working relationship with his east coast students and his teacher Grand Master Michael Clark – 8th Dan. 

From 2015 - 2017, Master Morris served as the National Director for the National Martial Arts Committee for Canada by the World Martial Arts Games Committee.

​Master Morris currently holds a 6th Dan Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and a Senior Master Certification. He also holds a 4th Dan Black Belt in Tang Soo Do and Master Certification.  

​The art of Tae Kwon Do continues to be a life long journey – it is his passion and its tenets guide him through each life experience.

School Director

Master of Library and Information Science, MLIS

National Academy for Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer

Mrs. Morris has been active in sports her entire life from swimming, to dance, and gymnastics.  Her competitive gymnastics career started at the age of 5 and continued well in to her university career. Travelling around Canada and throughout the US, her gymnastics journey had a tremendous impact on her view of sports.   These early experiences set the tone for an active lifestyle that continues today.

As a competitive athlete, Mrs. Morris spent countless hours training and competing.  She has competed in numerous local, provincial and international competitions, capturing top honours.  She understands first hand the time and effort students dedicate to a sport they are passionate about.  

Mrs. Morris is a Librarian by trade and holds a Masters Degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Western Ontario.  She spent a number of years working for Calgary Public Library as the Adult Services Librarian.  She spent time designing and hosting programs, supervising staff, providing research help, managing the collection, and writing the library's fitness blog.  She was and is dedicated to providing exceptional customer service.

In 2014, Master and Mrs. Morris decided to open their own martial arts school.  Our humble beginnings in the Shepard Community Centre quickly turned in to a full commercial endeavour.  Mrs. Morris left her library career to run the school full time.   

Over the past few years, Mrs. Morris has developed a passion for fitness and training.  She is a certified personal trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine.  She is a certified MMA Conditioning Specialist and Youth Exercise Specialist.  Mrs. Morris also is CPR and AED certified. She is currently working on a certification in Corrective Exercise.

Mrs. Morris is an Ambassador for Fitness Professional Jessie Hilgenberg.   She regularly attends training camps in Arizona to continually expand her knowledge of fitness, training, proper form and nutrition under the supervision of Mrs. Hilgenberg.   

Around the school, Mrs. Morris handles every aspect of the schools daily functions.  From new student registration and orientation, SMA schedule, gear ordering, arranging belt gradings, school get togethers, designing SMA swag, she has got all the bases covered.  She is your first point of contact at the school and handles the front of house on a daily basis.  

Mrs. Morris runs boot camps, offers personal training sessions and personalized online training programs.  She is a certified Gymnastic and Trampoline Coach with 10 years experiencing coaching. 

Mrs. Morris is the social media manager and website designer for Summit Martial Arts and Martial Virtue Alliance.  

Mrs. Morris is dedicated to continuing education and lifelong learning.  She enjoys taking courses to expand her knowledge and to keep current on exercise science.

Mrs. Morris has enjoyed watching the students at SMA grow - both as young persons and as martial artists.  Some of our families have been with us since we opened our doors in 2014.   We are truly humbled by all the tremendous support and loyalty our families have shown us over the years.  For that, we are truly grateful.

Black Belt - 1st Dan

Mr. Bernardo started his Martial Arts journey on October 9th, 2010 at the age of 35.  As a father of two boys enrolled in Tae Kwon Do, his initial purpose was to share a common, fun, and healthy activity with his kids. As they continue to journey in the virtues of Martial Arts practising respect, humility, integrity, self-control and indomitable spirit, Tae Kwon Do has truly become a passion for his family.

Mr. Bernardo joined Summit Martial Arts at its inception in May of 2014.  He enjoys training with his boys and has honed his skills as an instructor over the years. On September 19th, 2015, Mr. Bernardo became the first Summit Martial Art student to be promoted to Black Belt. He hopes to inspire both kids and adult students that they too can reach their goals if they put their heart into it.

Black Belt - 1st Dan

Max started training in the martial arts in 2004 after being inspired by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Max has been with SMA since 2014, shortly after our opening day.  He has been training in the martial arts for 14 years in various styles and has competed in countless tournaments. In July 2016, Max was chosen as CTV Athlete of the Week for his Outstanding Performance and Athletic Ability. Later that July, Max competed at the 2016 WOMAA World Martial Arts Games in Essenbach, Germany, bringing home two silver medals in the point and continuous fighting divisions. 

After almost a decade in the tournament scene, Max has now found a new passion - teaching. His greatest accomplishment has been passing on his love of the martial arts to others.  He is dedicated to learning and improving his skills both as an instructor and a student. Max hopes that everyone he has the pleasure of instructing can find the same joy in the martial arts that he does.  

Max earned his first degree Black Belt on Saturday, June 2, 2018.