Class Information

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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 Imada Kancho 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 Imada Kancho 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	$30.00
	Green	$30.00
	Purple	$35.00
	3rd Brown	$40.00
	2nd Brown	$45.00
	1st Brown	$50.00
	Black	$75.00

Imada Kancho 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. Imada Kancho 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.