How much does it cost to train?

This depends upon the school you wish to train in, that is either Anshin Ryu karate, Kamishin Ryu karate or Okinawa Kobudo. Also some members train across the disciplines, for example they may train in Karate and Kobudo, or if they are a family then the parents could train in Kamishin and Kobudo while the children in Anshin; so it depends on the members preference. However, if it is a family then we do have extremely good discounts for training.

What is common to all three systems are costs of the Licence (3rd party insurance) which is £20.

Average breakdown for each school, for a single member is broken down on an hourly rate basis as most schools only train for 1 hour. However, we train for 1.5 hours, but to compare between schools the price has been broken down to its hourly rate and is as follows:

1. Anshin Ryu Karate = £2.99 hourly rate
2. Kamishin Ryu Karate = £3.22 hourly rate
3. Okinawa Kobudo (weapon training) = £3.24 hourly rate

Family discounts are available which range from 12 to 52% depending upon the classes that are taken. Please note that these prices may change prior to the up dating of the web site, so please get in contact for the current prices.

How old do I have to be to train?

We take students from the age of 5 years old, and we have students in their 60's. Below is a list of the style with the age group alongside:

Junior Anshin Ryu Karate from 7 years to 16 years old
Senior Anshin Ryu Karate from 16 years old and up (some of our students are above 60 years)
Kamishin Ryu Karate from 16 years old (we have no children's classes in this art due to the nature of the system).
Okinawa Kobudo from 14 years old.
Little Dragons Karate from 5 years to 7 years old.

 

What are the differences between the styles?

There is a vast difference between the content and application of the karate styles Anshin Ryu and Kamishin Ryu. The best way of finding out is to read the respective pages on the site. However, Anshin is like most of the styles taught in England, geared up to competing, whereas Kamishin is more geared to self-defence and because of this vital point attacking is taught in every lesson. The students do not compete and because of the way they defend themselves. Therefore, a lot of safe drilling is taught in class to enable the practitioner to put these into use if needed.

Kobudo is based upon the Matayoshi Ryu school, whereby 12 weapons are incorporated in the system.

What do you need to wear?

Students of Karate wear a white Gi (Karate Suit), those of Kobudo a Black Gi. If they are training in Karate and Kobudo then traditionally the students wear a Black Gi Top with a White Gi trousers.

Beginners can wear anything that is loose and flexible such as T-shirt and track suit or jogging bottoms. They then have up to their first grade to get a suit. We do not wear anything on our feet.

Where do I get the Gi (suit)?

All martial art equipment can be purchased at discounted prices from us, these are lower than retail prices. But we do not keep stock so they may have to wait for their order to come through. However, they can get them from local retail shops, but they tend to be much more expensive.

Can I start right away or do I have to wait to start the course?

Yes you can start right away, we don't have start dates for students. Also we give the first three lessons Free of charge so that you can try before becoming a member.

Where are the classes held?

We are located around Darlington, depending upon the class. This information can be found under the following headings of the web site:

Anshin Ryu Karate - on the Anshin Ryu Page
Kamishin Ryu Karate - on the Kamishin Ryu Page
Kobudo - on the Kobudo Page
Little Dragons - on Little Dragons Page

As a new student it is always important to ask this question, because we are teaches and coaches and therefore we should have the respective qualifications. The chief instructors and Assistant instructor have the appropriate recognised certification for the black belt grade they hold. They have also have coaching qualifications and first aid qualifications. In addition they have been Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checked and have the license and insurances in place to teach their martial arts. More information about the instructors can be found on the Instructors & BBC page. Furthermore, the Chief Instructors are regularly, a minimum of 6 times a year, going for further training with their sensei. Thus their knowledge is constantly being improved.

The Anshin karate classes are broken down into a lesson curriculum, whereby the class is arranged into warm-ups, followed by syllabus from the student's next belt, then a featured topic, then finally free style fighting. They also learn theory, philosophy and history to the art.

The Kamishin karate class is similar in that after warm-ups there is 2 to 3 sections involving syllabus work, drills, partner work, sparring etc.

The kobudo is based around syllabus work and featured weapons, such as Bo (staff), Nunchaku (flail), Tonfa (side Handle Baton), Kama (sickle), Sai (trident dagger) and Iekyu (oar). Other weapons may be also looked at, such as surichin (weighted rope), shuchu (small hand held weapon), kuwa (hoe) etc. They also learn theory, philosophy and history to the art.

Little Dragons are broken down into warm-ups, syllabus work, pad work, sparring with instructors and games. They also learn Japanese relating to their art.

We believe that a student should have a minimum of 20 to 30 minutes warm-up periods; this prevents short and long term injury. The warm-ups are structured into three sections, first joint manipulation from head to toe. This is followed by warming up the large muscles and finally into the stretching sections. This prepares the student for the type of movements that is taught in karate, some ballistic in nature. Then they have at least 1 hour for their karate training which is broken down into the curriculum as explained above.