Results Are In: Best of Liberty Hill 2026
The official results are out, and we have two pieces of wonderful news to share with our community.
🥈 SHIN GAN DOJO — RUNNER UP, BEST MARTIAL ARTS
For the fifth consecutive year, we earned a top-two finish in Best Martial Arts — continuing a streak that reflects our dedication to traditional martial arts in Liberty Hill.
| Year | Result |
|---|---|
| 2022 | Runner Up |
| 2023 | WINNER 🏆 |
| 2024 | WINNER 🏆 |
| 2025 | Runner Up |
| 2026 | Runner Up |
We know there are many excellent martial arts options in our area. Being recognized year over year — first under the name Urban Defense Academy, and now as Shin Gan Dojo — is an honor we don’t take lightly. Whether you’ve trained with us for years, just started your journey, or simply know our name around town, being chosen again and again affirms that our focus on quality instruction, community involvement, and genuine care for each student’s growth resonates with you.
While we officially split our programs last year, focusing our traditional martial arts at Shin Gan Dojo and our firearms and armed self-defense training at Urban Defense Academy, our core mission hasn’t changed. We are dedicated to providing a grounded, welcoming space where students can build confidence, master real-life self-defense skills, and learn to protect what matters most. Knowing our work in the dojo and on the range makes a difference for you and your families means everything to us.
🏆 URBAN DEFENSE ACADEMY WINS COMMUNITY CHOICE
And the celebration doesn’t stop there — our sister school earned the biggest surprise of the year.
Community Choice is unlike any other honor on the ballot. There is no regular category for firearms training — so Community Choice exists for exactly this purpose: recognizing the businesses our community loves that don’t have a place on the standard ballot. Every vote for UDA was a write-in. Nobody simply checked a box next to our name. Each person who voted for us had to think of us, remember what we do, and take the extra moment to type it in themselves.
That kind of support can’t be accidental. It means the work we do — both in the dojo and on the range — has earned a genuine place in the hearts of this community. To everyone who wrote us in, nominated us, and voted for us in our very first year: this award is yours. Thank you.
Whether you train with us or not, we’re proud to contribute to a community that celebrates local businesses — and even prouder that you keep choosing us. From our family to yours — thank you, Liberty Hill.
With gratitude and respect,
Sensei Brian & Gigi Simmons
Shin Gan Dojo | Urban Defense Academy
