- About

Master Instructor, Steven Burger, President and founder of North County Martial Arts Academy, Inc. has an extensive and varied level of martial arts experience over the past 25 years. He trained in several styles of Karate before beginning in Tae Kwon Do in 1985 in Bellingham, under Master Richard Na.
Steve Burger’s first encounter with martial arts began at the age of 19, when he enrolled in a self defense course under the direction of Sensei Duane Sammons, a 7th Dan in GoJo Ryu Karate, at the Bellingham Academy of Self-defense. That experience whetted his appetite for martial arts, and the following year he enrolled in a Karate course while attending Bellevue Community College.
At the age of 21 while living in Anchorage, Alaska, Burger began researching martial arts schools in the area. His search brought him to Katsutaka Tanaka’s Shito-Ryu Karate Academy. He recalls, “That experience had a profound influence on me. It was the first time I became proactive in my search for the highest quality of instruction I could obtain. Sensei Tanaka, I vividly remember, was highly charismatic and a true master of his art. He was a great practitioner as well as a great instructor. From that point on I vowed to never settle for anything short of excellence when seeking instruction in martial arts. In the fall of 1985, Burger moved back to Bellingham, Washington. He remembered his short term but valuable experience with Sensei Tanaka and decided to do a thorough search for the best martial arts school in the area. This search brought about his first encounter with Master Richard Na. He believes this encounter may have saved his life, “I was going through a very dark time in my life. As a young teenager I had begun to make some unhealthy choices in my life. By my early twenties I had developed a serious addiction to alcohol and other drugs. I had grown up attending church but by then had long abandoned God. I was spiritually bankrupt. I began training in Tae Kwon Do with Master Na and started to put my life on a positive course.”
This positive change was to be short-lived, “After about 6 months of Tae Kwon Do, I began using heavily again, I was living a very negative lifestyle. I truly reached the lowest point in my life. I was unable to consistently train in Tae Kwon Do. At the same time Tae Kwon Do had been the only positive thing going in my life for a very long time and though I was unable to train, I had a desire to get back on track with my life. I remember thinking at the time I could not face Master Na. Somehow or other I was able to pull it together enough to face Master Na. In the few months I had been away I had lost 25 pounds. Master Na looked at me for a moment after I told him I wanted to start training again. He then reached into his desk drawer and pulled out my file. To this day I remember him taking out my file, removing the contract from the manila file, looking at the contract, and the money I still owed for past classes and saying, “we will just start out fresh”. I resumed my training. The next three years would be a battle of trying to stay on a positive course in life and slipping back into bouts with substance abuse. Burger relates “Tae Kwon Do remained the one positive thing in my life. On May 18, 1988 I used drugs for the very last time (at the time of this writing Master Burger has been clean for over 19 years). I became very involved in the addiction recovery process and changing my whole outlook on life. I became involved in a 12-step fellowship, started attending church again and established a relationship with God. This has made the difference in my life”.
Over the next several years he began to rebuild his life. “I continued my Tae Kwon Do training when I could. However, I also decided I needed to make up for a lot of lost time. I worked full time and resumed my education. I began a career as an addiction counselor. By 1996, I had graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services from Western Washington University. I had been working full time and attending college full time and had been unable to train in Tae Kwon Do for nearly a year and a half. Shortly after graduation from college at the age of 32, I decided to renew my dedication to Tae Kwon Do”.
Master Na had moved to Federal Way, near Seattle, Washington, by this time. He had sold his Tae Kwon Do school to Master Uoon Choi. So in the summer of 1996, Burger began training with Master Choi. “This would be a period of being able to truly apply and actually live the tenets of Tae Kwon Do. For a period of 6 years I would consistently train with Master Choi and reap the physical and mental benefits of this training. I had trained for over a long time with Master Na, but belt promotion had never been a major focus for me and so after more than 10 years of training was still a red belt. I earned my 1st Dan (1st degree Black Belt) and WTF Kukkiwon certification under Master Choi in June of 1997. I must say that I am deeply grateful for the training I received directly under Master Choi. He is a truly gifted martial artist and instructor.”
By 2004, Burger had begun training with Grandmaster Young Ho Lee. Within a short time he was teaching for Grandmaster Lee as well as providing Tae Kwon Do instruction at the Lummi Nation Tribal School, where he also worked as a counselor. During this time he discovered that he is an excellent instructor, “I had never seen myself being a martial arts instructor but circumstances led me to the role. I found that my 17 year career as a substance abuse prevention/intervention and treatment specialist gave me huge insight into the personal development process of kids and adults alike. I feel my own struggles in life and in Tae Kwon Do give me a very unique perspective and ability to relate to whoever I come into contact with. This gives me an ability to deal effectively with all kinds of people. During my time in Tae Kwon Do, I had many ups and downs. I believe I know just how empowering Tae Kwon Do can be in the lives of the practitioners who bless our training centers.”
Burger was encouraged to open his own academy, “I had never seen myself as an instructor but after years of helping repair the wreckage of people with severe problems, I was ready to be more proactive and help young people develop the life skills that could prevent them from ever having to go down that kind of road in the first place. I chose the northern part of Whatcom County because the population had been rapidly expanding there and there were no professional grade martial arts academy’s in the area.”
Burger began classes in June of 2005 at a local dance studio in downtown Lynden, “It was a perfect set-up because I had little start-up capital and did not have to put out any expenses other than the rent.
The school slowly gained a few students and Burger decided to try having a booth at the Northwest Washington Fair. The experience at the fair was a huge success,
“I went from 5 students to 30 in about 2 weeks. This did present a problem however, the busy back to school season was about to approach and I had too many students to continue classes at the dance studio. I searched and found a good location at 177 Birch Bay Lynden Rd”. Shortly before opening the doors at the new location Burger was laid off from his job as a counselor. Burger reports, “it was a real blessing in disguise, I was able to put a lot of effort into building the school”. Over the next several months the student enrollment steadily increased.
In the spring of 2006, Master Burger re-connected with his former mentor, Master Richard Na, now an 8th degree Grandmaster. Burger states “I was invited to an inner-school competition that he was hosting. He also invited me to sit in on a black belt promotion with his students. It felt to me like coming home. I looked at the professional curriculum and life skills that he was able to offer our students. I decided that it would greatly improve what I was able to offer our students”.
In the May 2006 belt promotion, our students got to meet Grandmaster Na for the first time. Burger recalls, “I remember him making quite an impression on our students and families. Grandmaster Na, in addition to being a great martial artist and instructor is a great orator and motivator. The seminars and encouragement he is able to provide our students is invaluable”.
The second year was a great period of transition for North County Martial Arts Academy. A black belt club program was formed with a complete curriculum toward black belt. A leadership program was also formed for students aspiring to be instructors. The academy changed uniforms from plain white, to blue and black uniforms for black belt club program students, and all black uniforms for leadership program students.
By the winter of 2006 the academy outgrew the space at 177 Birch Bay Lynden Rd. Even though there were plans to move into a new space across the street in the fall of 2007, the academy was re-located to a temporary location at 144 Birch Bay Lynden Rd. Burger reports, “we had outgrown the space we had and we really needed to move. The new location, though temporary, has allowed us to expand our programs and be able to provide a safe, comfortable space for our students”.
Master Burger himself has not become stagnate as a martial arts practitioner. In August of 2006 he enrolled in a fitness boot camp. He adds, “I was uncomfortable with my personal level of fitness. I had told myself I would not test for my next level unless I was in great condition. I enrolled in Bob Anderson’s Boot Camp. Mr. Bob Anderson, a phenomenal martial artist, is the owner of DATA, a great martial arts and fitness program in Ferndale. In the first 10-week camp I lost 24 pounds and got myself into the best condition I have been in for 15 years. I am extremely grateful to Mr. Anderson have referred many to his program”.
By the time of the Master Na’s Black Belt Academy black belt test in September, Burger had achieved the fitness goals and skill level he had set for himself. At that time Steven Burger was promoted to 4th Dan (degree) level by Grandmaster Na.