Bed-Stuy Martial Arts Studio Closed By Pandemic Aims To Reopen

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — Longtime martial arts instructor Master Sabu says getting his Fulton Street studio back up and running is hardly only about the classes.

The school — open at various locations in Bed-Stuy over three decades — is also a safe haven for neighbors who need a place to stay, eat, or just hang out, the instructor, who's given name is Thomas Lewis, told Patch.

"It's about giving back," Lewis said. "Sometimes people just don't have nowhere to go. My door is open for everybody."

That safe haven is one of the chief reasons Lewis, who has been teaching for more than 50 years, has started a GoFundMe to keep his Humble School of Martial Arts up and running.

The school, which lost 85 percent of its clients during the coronavirus crisis, was forced to close its physical location amid the pandemic and has been running through online classes and in a temporary location since, according to Lewis.

With the $20,000 goal, he is hoping to move back full-time to his space on Fulton Street between Brooklyn and New York avenues.

"Chief Master Sabu's sincere hope is that once it is safe to do so, he can open back up and as things start to return to some level of normalcy, many of the students who’ve been forced to take a break from their training will be able to return and receive the love, discipline and instruction they deserve," he wrote.

As of Friday, Lewis had raised around $3,000 of his $20,000 goal.

Lewis began teaching martial arts when a child he knew died from street violence, prompting him to promote healthier ways to express emotions, according to a profile with the NAACP.

"He's witnessed so many children enter his studio fearful, lacking discipline, struggling with self-confidence or facing other challenges, and he's also seen those very same students come out on the other side with more self-confidence, focus and kindness than one could have ever dreamed of," the fundraiser says.

Throughout his career, his studios have been open, particularly each Christmas and Thanksgiving, for those that need food or a place to stay, he said.

The coronavirus crisis is not the first time the Humble School has struggled to keep its doors open.

The school has set up shop in at least four different locations over the decades, including the most recent studio, which Lewis moved to in 2013 when his rent doubled on Fulton Street, according to reports from the time.

Humble School is open to those ages 2 and up who are interested in learning martial arts, Lewis said.

"Regardless of their circumstances — it doesn’t matter their ability — I don’t turn anybody down," he said.

Find Humble School's fundraiser here.