About Quest
Quest Martial Arts is a martial arts school in Aiken, South Carolina, offering kickboxing, Filipino martial arts, and other styles for kids and adults. Come and see where your own personal martial arts quest leads you.
Quest Martial Arts is just getting started, and you can help shape what it becomes. As more students join, we’ll expand our schedule and add new classes to fit our students’ goals and experience levels.
Our Story
Our Vision
Our vision is to train lifelong martial artists, not just black belts in a single style. Our vision is to foster the foundation and understanding to be able to train in any art, while finding where one's own unique quest leads them.
Class Info (Phase One)
Welcome to Quest: Phase One
Welcome to the start of your journey! A great martial artist learns to adapt to any environment. As our surroundings change, we change too.
Right now, we are in Phase One. Here is exactly what you need to know to get started.
What We Are Training
Phase One is all about building your stand-up foundation. Everything else we do in the future will be built on top of this. You will learn:
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Boxing and Kickboxing: The core of your striking skills.
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Filipino Kali: Training with single and double sticks.
What you train is important, but how you train matters most. At Quest, you will learn how to train well so you can succeed in any situation.
What to Wear & Expect in Class
Our training will change over time. In the future, we will use soft mats, ditch the shoes, and learn ground jujitsu. But for Phase One, we are keeping it simple:
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The Floor: We are training on a hardwood floor.
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The Clothes: Wear comfortable workout clothes. We start and end our journey just like we do in life—without a uniform!
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The Shoes: Because of the floor, shoes are required.
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Mat Shoes Only: You must pick one pair of shoes to be your dedicated "mat shoes." Do not wear them outside. Put them on only when you step onto the training floor.
What shoes work best?
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Normal shoes: Running shoes or cross-trainers are great for kickboxing.
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Specialty shoes: Wrestling, Tae Kwon Do, or Savate shoes work wonderfully too.
Equipment Policy
We want to make sure you have the right gear to train safely.
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Low-Cost Gear Available: I offer budget-friendly equipment options exclusively for my students.
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Shop Anywhere: You are never obligated to buy gear through Quest. You can buy your equipment anywhere you like!
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Get Approval First: If you buy your own gear, please get it approved by Quest ahead of time so we can make sure it is safe for class.
See you on the floor!
Our Instructors
Welcome to Quest Martial Arts!
I’m Mike Yuskiw.
My martial arts journey started in Rockville, Maryland, training in Tang Soo Do and Jujitsu at a local community center. In the 1990s, I fell in love with the competitive world of Olympic Tae Kwon Do, spending ten years in the discipline and competing on the local and national stage, including the Junior Olympics.
Seeking a broader perspective on combat and self-defense, my path shifted when I met Guro Michael Krivka. He introduced me to arts like Muay Thai, Silat, Savate, Wing Chun, Jeet Kune Do, and Filipino Martial Arts. Exploring these functional systems changed my approach to training entirely. Along the way, I’ve had the distinct honor of learning directly from incredible instructors like Guro Dan Inosanto, Sifu Francis Fong, Erik Paulson, and Rigan Machado.
I opened Quest because I believe martial arts is a lifelong study. I hold a 3rd-degree black belt in Premier Martial Arts, 1st-degree black belts in Tae Kwon Do and Krav Maga, and am an instructor under Tim Becherer in DDT Martial Arts. Even as an instructor, I remain a dedicated student, currently working toward my ranks in Wing Chun under Sifu Francis Fong and Savate under Silver Glove Nico Cavillino. I look forward to training with you!
