Charm City Kenpo Karate

Kenpo Karate for Kids
Kenpo Karate for Adults

Kenpo Karate for Kids

Few recreational activities have as much to offer children as Kenpo Karate. Kids noticed this before we did - they asked us how they could learn more about it. We started thinking about the differences between teaching adults and children. Eventually, we developed separate programs for pre-schoolers and children. The results have been very satisfying.

TINY TIGERS
KARATE FOR THE VERY YOUNG
(Ages 4 & 5)

We created the first preschool Karate Program in the United States. Our goal was not to develop five year old black belts to impress parents - we wanted to entertain, stimulate, and educate children. This is a difficult assignment because their coordination, muscles, and emotions are not yet fully developed.
Research tells us that most of our personality is formed by the age of six. Kenpo Karate can contribute to developing healthy attitudes towards ones self and others. It does so by teaching courtesy and fair play, while instilling a sense of accomplishment and self confidence.
First and foremost, classes are serious. But they are also an activity group and stay within a young child's attention span. Children learn discipline, karate traditions, confidence, basic stretching and exercise, and simple karate skills like the "donkey kick" and "dead cockroach". Additionally, they learn communication skills that prepare them for first grade and graduation to a belt graded karate program. But most of all it's just fun!
Learning is individually structured. It is generally best to let the child try a class as an introduction. Beware that once a child tries karate, commitment is inevitable and you must be prepared to be the parent of A Karate Kid.

CHILDREN'S KARATE
(Ages 6 - 12)

Children in age groups six to twelve enter a belt-graded program where they develop substantive Karate skills. We structure the classes to emphasize the interests and needs of the child. Among the many skills the children learn are self-defense methods, Kenpo movements, flexibility exercises, and sparring techniques. We limit class size so instructors are able to pay individual attention to each child and carefully control the situation.
We welcome visitors and encourage parents to sit in on children's classes. We take pride in the quality of our programs and believe in the value of our instruction - especially for the young, who have the most to gain.

KARATE BIRTHDAY PARTY

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Kenpo Karate for Adults

Kenpo Karate is a modern self-defense art. It is alsoa method of physical and mental conditioning. We teach physical skills which you can retain for a lifetime, as well as ways of thinking and dealing with everyday problems. Every course of study we offer - from simple self defense classes to intensive black belt work - shares these qualities.

"Karate" is a Japanese term for a form of self-defense developed in China and India. It's origin and early history are lost in antiquity, but the art is at least two thousand years old. Kenpo Karate is one of several Karate styles currently popular in the Western world. It features unusually fast hand and foot combinations intended for practical self-defense. Kenpo is realistic and employs sound logic and theoretical innovations not yet used by other systems. Karate exercises are varied, easy to perform, and good for conditioning.

Although Kenpo is one of many schools of self-defense, there is no "pure" form of Karate, and there never was one. To quote Ed Parker, the founder of American Kenpo, "When 'pure' knuckles meet 'pure' flesh, that's 'pure' Karate". Different styles were founded by students who borrowed from their teachers and contributed their own ideas. And even though Kenpo is quite modern, many of it's ideas come from the classical Chinese. This is not because we wish to imitate the Chinese, but because the ideas are good.

Kenpo Karate movements develop coordination, strength, flexibility, and mental focus. You don't need any special expensive equipment; you can practice at your convenience, in your home or at our Studios.

Kenpo teaches realistic methods of self-defense, utilizing all of our natural weapons (like the hands, elbows, feet and knees), in ways that anyone, not just exceptional athletes, can perform. It emphasizes speed, power, agility, and accuracy, but requires no special strength or abilities.

The practical focus of Kenpo makes it an ideal art for anyone looking to defend themselves in the modern day, especially women. Typical self-defense classes that are taught to women involve outdated, un-realistic "common sense" moves. Kenpo has been proven many times on the streets, and the coordination and flexibility of women is an asset in martial arts.

Unlike health clubs, our programs focus on the individual - you will receive personal attention in every class. This attention begins with understanding that people are different - they don't all want the same things from training. So we listen to discover what each student wants to learn. Then we structure the training, adapting traditional oriental training methods to accomplish the student's wishes. At the same time, we strive to make the learning experience fun. People enjoy coming to our Studios, whether to work with the instructors, or to combine exercise with socializing.

Young Adult Program

Our Young Adult program is designed to fit students who are too mature for the kids classes, but are not yet ready to work with adults.

This program teaches self-defense skills, respect, concentration skills, and the foundation of proper fitness that will stay with the student for life. This training begins simply with learning to loosen up by stretching properly, and proceeds to condition your body and mind.

These students are involved with the adult classes, but have their own instructor and are slightly more social than the regular adult class. This is not to say they do not learn Kenpo, or that classes are disorganized, just that they are tailored to the students.

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