FAQ

No you don't have to be athletic or "in shape" to start learning, you just have to be curious enough to learn something new and willing to challenge yourself. Through training at our dojo you will see the benefits of improved blood circulation, breathing, mobility, balance, and your confidence. You're not expected to be an athlete, it's just expected that you're looking to be around good people and that you'll work to the best of your abilities.

Modern martial arts promotes the cultivation of the practitioner. We don't live in a world where violence is a thing of the past, and we do believe that everyone has the right to defend themselves, friends and loved ones. We focus on the fact that martial arts training teaches how to avoid conflict and resolve it using other methods, rather than having to resort to physical violence.

We love having visitors, but we don't allow walk-ins to just watch a class. That's why we offer the trial class for anyone interested in our dojo. If you feel that you want to watch the class first before trying it out, just contact us and we can arrange for you, or your child, to watch a class.

We've been operating since September 2015 providing karate instruction to families, adults, kids, community groups and non-profit organizations. In 2018 we included kenjutsu classes to provide another option for people that are interested in learning a weapons focused martial art.

Well, if we were we definitely wouldn't talk about it 😅. But all jokes aside, no we are not. Our aim is to provide a space for people to learn martial arts in a safe and controlled manner, and feel confident that they can avoid situations that can lead to physical violence. For members that want to test their mettle, can compete in tournaments provided by our network of martial arts clubs and organizations.

No, we are non-denominational and have students from various religious backgrounds training together. For some it's an outlet to reduce stress, or a way to find a new social circle of friends, or a living study of the past. There are philosophies that can be tied in with the martial arts, but that's something that the practitioner decides that they want to have as a part of their training. We do not promote any specific religion or philosophy. We do follow the custom of bowing at the start and end of class, as well, when working with our training partners, but the bow is a tradition of showing respect for the dedication of your training, mutual respect and prosperity to your training partner.

The kids program focuses on building the childs confidence and their own level of athletic abilities. We do have a structure and expect our students to be super focused during training, but we also want to make sure that they are having fun during the learning process.

Yes you can. We want the parents to be able to watch their kid(s) work and challenge themselves, and share in those successful experiences they have on the mats. Whether it's them improving a technique, learning a new kata, earning a stripe promotion, or making a new friend, we encourage the parents to be there to share in those positive moments.

Yes we do. We offer 15% off the membership fee for families with 2 kids or more that are living in the same household.

No, we don't promote or teach fighting. When you're child is at the intermediate level they will start to do technical sparring that is controlled with little contact. When the child is comfortable and expresses that they want to start learning how to spar and later compete, that can be permitted after having a conversation with the head instructor, or coach, the student and the parent(s).

Yes we keep the dojo clean. The dojo is cleaned on a regular basis and the mats are swept before and after each class. After the mats are swept at the end of the class, the mats get disinfected and or mopped.

For the trial class you can expect to get an introduction to the basics. For karate you will learn some blocks, some strikes, some stances and the first few moves of the white belt kata. For kenjutsu the approach is different as all trial classes are treated as a formal introduction and observing the class provides you an opportunity to be able to ask questions about the practice of kenjutsu. The reason why is this. In Japan, karate is considered to be a modern martial arts practice where as kenjutsu is considered as an older practice. The more modern schools have a modern approach where the person that's interested in trying it can try it right there. For the older schools it's expected that before you join the class you should observe it first. For each art, they have their traditions and we try to observe and practice them.

For your trial karate class it's recommended to bring a water bottle with you to use during the breaks. We have a water fountain on site that you can use to fill it up when needed. For the class it's recommended to wear loose fitting clothes, like shorts or sweatpants and a t-shirt. We don't wear shoes on the mats, but you can bring slippers that you can wear when stepping off the mats to use the bathroom facilities. Overall you will be moving around, and it's expected that you will get a good sweat.

No. We take the safety of our members seriously and it's not fair to just have someone new to the dojo just spar. We take a gradual approach with letting members spar after they've been consistantly training with us for a few months.

Yes there will be beginners, aka white belts, in the class with the senior belts. The seniors are there to help the juniors with their training, as well, provide additional leadership so that the beginners don't feel lost in the mix. The beginners are also a great reminder of where we started from, and being able to help guide them on their martial arts journey is a great opportunity to give back to the martial arts.

Yes there are. To be blunt we're an open dojo that is open to all genders without discrimination. It's expected that the members of the dojo shows mutual respect for each other, so that everyone as a whole can improve in their martial arts training.