I've been a member of the AKC since 2000. Very reputable dojo. It was established in 1969! It's the oldest martial art dojo in Atlantic Canada. Great youth and adult classes. Lots of fun for all ages. People join karate for different reasons of course. Most join to focus on self-defence. Some, especially youth members, love the optional sport tournament aspect of karate. Others join for having a fun extracurricular activity that keeps them active. Regardless what you're there for though, the club follows the traditional karate teachings and curriculum of Sensei Shane Higashi, 9th dan, of the Canadian Chito-Ryu Karate-Do Association for all its students. Chito-Ryu is the style taught here. It was created by the Okinawan karate master Dr. Tsuyoshi Chitose. Chitose, a medical doctor, was a master of two old styles of karate from Okinawa. He noticed over the years that some movements and techniques wore out the body resulting in damaged knees and other joints, bad backs, etc. He blended the best aspects of the two styles he knew, applied his knowledge of human anatomy and physiology, and created Chito-Ryu. When practiced properly, Chito-Ryu strengthens the body over time and is a very effective form of self-defence. The best aspect of the AKC though? The camaraderie. You make new friends here and everyone is supporting one another in learning karate. In addition to the strong karate program taught, that camaraderie is probably one of the main reasons the club has been in existence for over 45 years! read more

My wife trained in Karate years ago, and now our whole family has joined this club. We train with the children's class (more like a family class now), and also the adult classes. The instructors are fantastic and do great work with the kids (age 4 and 6), and they do a great job teaching to the level and ability of everyone in the class. There are free trial classes, which we took advantage of to make sure the kids wanted to continue, and the uniforms were included with a six month membership. Would highly recommend to anyone looking to either start or re-start training in Karate. read more