If you're serious about learning karate, this is an excellent place to do it!
This Kyokushinkai school is very serious about martial arts and pretty traditionally Japanese in culture. Sensei Ian P. Harris is truly a master of his art (5th dan) and trained under Mas Oyama, himself! Sensei and the senior students are kind and approachable, but maintain strict discipline in classes. One gets the strong sense that everyone in the dojo is there solely for the love of learning and teaching karate. I'm the their most recent addition at the moment, and I really like the supportive atmosphere and studious way everyone approaches learning. In starting here, the thing I've heard most frequently from the instructors was that they expect each student to give their "all" every time they come to the dojo, with the understanding that each student may have a different "all" to give. Classes are demanding, challenging, and worthwhile.
At the time of this writing, there are relatively few students; I believe this to be a result of the dojo's heretofore low advertising profile. I only found them because they showed up on a map-search for dojos in my area! Many of the students are young adults who grew up taking the class, and it's very little surprise they've stayed. It's clear the instructors are warm and patient with children, and they establish themselves as authority figures that can be looked up to with good reason. I've been at quite a number of dojos for various martial arts in my life, and this one is a good one!
This is not a dojo to come to if you're looking to put in a year or two, get a black belt, and be done. Other schools where I've learned will give you a black belt in one or two years' part-time study. I don't want to criticize these schools for this: I am neither expert enough in those arts to judge if such advancement is warranted nor am I quick to speak harshly about something that provides meaning in others' lives. All I shall say on the subject is that it is clear that belt-testing fees are not considered an important source of revenue at this dojo. Also, if you come to the dojo with advanced belts in other martial arts, expect to be started at white belt, but also expect that they will allow you to move through the material at whatever pace you can manage.
(Finally, though the instructors aren't fluent in Japanese, all in-class instructions and karate terminology are in Japanese) If you haven't had the years of schooling in Japanese language that I have, don't worry! You'll pick up the terms for the techniques as you learn the techniques themselves, one by one.
Come on down and learn karate with us! May your studies flourish, and may you never find need to use them outside a dojo! read more
