Class Information

SKC is located at:
     Pearl City Highlands Elementary School Cafeteria
     1419 Waimano Home Road
     Pearl City, HI 96782

You can stop by any time during regular dojo hours (below) or call Sensei Paul Imada at 456-9407. You can also email SenseiSherine@skckarate.com for more information.

All students should arrive to class dressed in their karate uniform about 5-10 minutes early so all students can formally begin each session together.

Tuesdays	5:45 - 6:45PM	General Class
	7:00 - 8:00PM	General Advanced Class
	8:00 - 9:00PM	Adult Advanced Class

Saturdays	7:00 - 8:00AM	Senior Karate
	10:00 - 11:00AM	General Class
	11:00 - 12:30PM	General Advanced Class

New Students: remember to sign in every time you come to class!

Come to the dojo about 10 minutes before class to fill out an application form. If you call Sensei Paul prior to your visit, he can fit you with a karate uniform the day you arrive. If not, you can temporarily train in shorts and t-shirt.

Every new student will start with our 3-Month Special! The cost includes a discounted tuition rate for 3 months, plus FREE karate uniform and belt! Payment must be made in full by the first session and the 3 months includes month of sign up. Any additional karate uniforms, protective gear, and weapons must be purchased separately by each student.

	Child - $100
	Adult - $110

It will take a student (child or adult) roughly around 3 months to get a decent handle on the karate techniques and become acclimated to SKC. Depending on the student, sometimes they pick things up right away. Sometimes they get frustrated too quickly and want to quit. We start teaching a little bit of perseverance right from the start: just stick to it, and you’ll see, things will start clicking in by the 3rd month.

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Regular tuition will start from the 4th month onward and includes twice a week lessons for one month. The student is responsible for attending all classes; there will be no refunds for missed sessions.

	Child - General	$35 / Month
	Adult - General	$40 / Month

	Adult - Advanced	$50 / Month
	Child = ages 6 – 17; Adult = ages 18 and above

Payment must be made the week prior to or by the end of the first week of each new month. For example, January tuition must be paid for by the end of the first week of January. Check and cash are acceptable, but check is the preferred method of payment. Please make checks payable to: Shotokan Karate Center.

The new student will be taught individually (or with other beginners) by a sempai the basic blocks, punches, and kicks. They will also be taught their first kata (forms) and gohon kumite (basic 5-step sparring) during this time. Unless they pick up quickly or have prior experience, SKC will usually keep new whites

training separate from the main class until they reach their first colored ranking.

Each class will begin with seiritsu (a formal line up of students) to open class. The typical general class is run starting with a short warm up, stationary punches and kicks, then straight into training in block/kick combinations, kata, and kumite. The training will vary during the course of the year. Each class will end with seiritsu and the dojo kun.

This class will also touch on some basic weapons, they will mostly work with the boh (staff). The student will remain in the general class until they become a brown belt, in which time they will be eligible to enter the general advanced class and the Black Belt Program. If the student wishes to advance, they must receive special permission from Sensei Paul first.

SKC administers exams every 3 months which allows for the student to advance fairly quickly if they are consistent with their training. The decision to take an exam always lies with each individual student, though, they may ask Sensei Paul whether he believes they are ready to take the exam or not. It’s possible for a student to take an exam every 3 months with the exception of 1st brown (See Ranking) where he must wait 6 months to take his next exam.

Exams are conducted on Saturday mornings only and all students must attend whether they are testing or not and should stay for the entire exam. The length of the exam will be determined by the number of students testing that day.

Students should come approximately 10-15 minutes earlier to register for their exam and must be paid for on the day of the exam. The costs are below:

	Blue	$25.00
	Green	$25.00
	Purple	$30.00
	Brown	$30.00
	Black	$50.00

Sensei Paul runs all exams and he announces the results to the class approximately a week later. New belts are also awarded at the time of announcement (new belts are $5 each). Once a student passes his first exam, they are required to wear the black SKC school patch (Karate Uniform).

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SKC participates in 1 tournament per year, generally held in February. The greatest benefits of tournament training are focus and sharpness, and it helps to increase a student's sense of confidence. The majority of our students compete in kata competition and will spend approximately 2-3 months perfecting two kata (a main and a secondary kata). It can be a very nerve wracking experience, but SKC always participates as a school and we're all there to cheer each other on. It's always a worthwhile experience for everyone involved.

We are not a tournament oriented school because the greatest disadvantage to being focused on medals and tournaments is that we lose diversity. To train for tournaments, SKC would have to give up almost 60% of what it teaches to hone the student on 1 or 2 katas: and sparring. As we mentioned, SKC is more interested in developing character than winning medals, but participating in 1 tournament a year is enough to help us teach our students to conquer their fears and perform in front of a large group of people.

SKC has gasshuku (special training) twice a year, normally in the summer and winter. In Japan, gasshuku is an intensive training, usually done over a weekend to a remote location away from the dojo so it's like a karate camp. Since this isn't very realistic for us, we're created a combined training of all students that runs approximately 3 hours. The content will vary depending on the concerns of the chief instructor. Sensei Paul will bring in heavy bags, training mitts, padded shields, and his special authentic makiwara board for the students to work with. We end the day with a potluck lunch and fellowship with parents and families. Go to our Gallery to see training sessions we’ve had in the past.