Lil' Cubs
Lil' Cubs is a co-ed fun filled class specifically structured for the very young, usually for children between 3 & 4 years old. Emphasis on this class is on learning and developing skills such as: Listening, respect, manners, discipline, enthusiasm, self esteem, positive attitude, following directions, peer interaction, motor skills, hand-eye coordination, muscular development, and mental/body awareness. Some Karate skills are taught, but lessons are learned through having fun.
Lil' Tigers
Lil' Tigers is also a fun filled co-ed class for children ages 5 & 6 years old. This class focuses on many of the skills and elements taught in Lil' Cubs but with stricter guidelines in preparation for the "real" Karate class that children will start once they reach 7 years of age. More Karate techniques are sprinkled in with the discipline and fun.
Youth Karate
These classes are for children ages 7 through 12. Here we develop a student's techniques, focus and determination. There are three levels of classes offered in this age group: Beginners, Novice and General. Color belts are awarded according to skill and after taking an examination which occurs approximately every three months - students' rank must be earned, they are not given. Though not mandatory, students are encouraged to participate in tournaments to gain further knowledge and understanding of the art. Many times over parents and teachers have complimented on the self-control and diligence our students demonstrate - a testament to both the students and to the success of our program.
Adult Karate
Adult classes are for anyone from 13 and older. For the adults, we focus more on the art aspect of Shotokan Karate. Stretching, basics (kihon), forms (kata), sparring (kumite) and self defense comprises the adult curriculum. Like the youth classes the adult program is comprised of three levels: Beginners, Novice and General. Beginners are strictly white belts; Novice are yellow & orange belts; and General level contains blue, green, purple, brown and black belts.
Shindokai Martial Art
Superficially, traditional martial arts styles tend to incorporate movement patterns which can loosely be described as falling into two movement categories: circular and linear. Ben Otake recognized that each movement category - circular and linear - enjoys an advantage vs. the other category depending on such factors as response time, distance, and power. The converse is also true - each movement style can be said to be at a disadvantage with respect to the other style, again, depending on the situation. For example, a hard front-kick is very difficult to defeat with a hard forearm block. A deflecting parry might be more successful.
With this in mind, Otake Sensei saw that it is possible to combine circular and linear elements into a new family of techniques thus combining the advantages of both types of movements. By using a continuous figure-eight pattern of movement, he has developed and refined a training method which enables the practitioner to respond and counter quickly to any attack with little or no recovery time. He calls his method Shin Shin Mugendo, or way of infinity.
