What actually happens in a children's class, what it costs, and how we keep them safe.
Kyokushin is full-contact karate. That worries parents, and it should — so here is exactly how it works for children.
Most dojo take children from around six. Some take younger. Ask your local sensei, because it depends on the class mix on the night.
Not in the first months, and not before they are ready. Beginners spend their time on stances, blocks, kicks in the air and how the class works. Contact is introduced gradually, supervised, and matched to age and grade.
At tournaments, protective equipment is compulsory. Nobody competes without it.
Every competitor
Under 18s, additionally
Under 10s, additionally
Your sensei will tell you what to buy and where. You don't need any of it to start training — only to compete.
We work on a child's physical condition from the start. The first standard we build towards is twenty press-ups, twenty sit-ups and twenty squats or belt jumps.
Nobody is expected to manage that on their first night. Some children arrive able to do two press-ups, and that is fine — we start where they are and add to it. What we don't do is pretend the standard isn't there.
This is budo karate. Budo means the martial way, and it puts character ahead of technique. Children bow when they enter the dojo, line up when they're told to, and listen when someone is speaking. That is not incidental to the training — it is most of the training.
If you're hoping karate will help your child with focus, self-control or confidence, that is exactly what this part does.
None of which means the classes are grim. They're not. We make it fun, because a child who isn't enjoying themselves doesn't come back — and because the discipline works better when it's wrapped around something they want to do.
Yes. Parents are welcome to stay for any class, at any dojo, at any time. You never need to ask.
Each dojo sets its own fees, so check your local dojo's page. Your child's first class is free everywhere, and you don't need a gi for the first few weeks — shorts and a t-shirt is fine.
Yes. There is no term to wait for and no intake date. Turn up on a training night and start.
A grading every few months, so progress is visible. A belt they earned rather than were given. Training alongside adults and older students, which children take more seriously than they let on.
And a road that goes a long way — national gradings, tournaments, camps, and eventually a black belt.
Read about how we keep children safe.