My brother wrote The Karate Kid movies (we trained together) and my Karate program adheres to the principles detailed in the films, that Karate lies in the heart not the hands. IMHO Karate is not for fighting but for character development. Physical fitness is a primary focus followed by detailed subjects to stimulate the children's minds. We also work on our feelings and behaviors as they are what power our strong Karate Spirit. The point of my class is to build fearless and compassionate children with tools they can use outside the classroom. Of course, the kids will learn to defend themselves physically and emotionally. I strive to make the classes fun and jam packed with both serious and playful activities. Many of my students tell me Karate is their favorite activity. I understand. It has been my favorite activity, meditation and exercise for over 50 years.

The style of Karate I teach is Traditional Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate. Goju means “hard/soft” as in Yin-Yang. It is a style based on balancing the mind, body, spirit, and approach to life. The children will learn basic self-defense, anti-bullying techniques, stopping attacks, punching and kicking. A key point of my teaching is that I do not allow “sparring” or “free-fighting”. Those are good for winning tournaments, not self-defense, and sparring leads to injuries that we do not tolerate. I utilize two-person, controlled drills. This allows full powered attacks and defense in a very safe environment. It is a wonderful s