Japan Karate Institute

Leslie Kerr

The BEST place to train in traditional martial arts!

Bethany Richter

The instructors here are very talented and committed to karate as a craft. As a new student with no martial arts experience, I felt welcome and challenged to discover Wado Ryu and have continued to practice for more than two years. I plan to do so for many more. A great group of teachers and students.

Melissa Vickers

My daughters started in the Little Ninjas class around 3 years ago, when they were 3 and 5. Since then they have graduated to the big kid's class and have grown in their abilities and confidence. This dojo is very low pressure and the children have a lot of fun in their classes while learning karate. We attend one class a week, but they offer 3 different time options and students are welcome to attend as many classes as fits their schedules. My husband has since started taking the adult classes and also loves it. I would recommend this dojo to anyone who is looking for a fun way for their children to learn a martial art.

Eric Kag

My son has been taking classes here for the past year, starting with their Little Ninjas program & he has enjoyed every minute of it. Sensei Chris Shaeffer is wonderful with them (not surprising since he is a child psychologist) & exceedingly patient. He makes class both fun & informative for all the children & seems to skillfully cater to each student according to their level of ability/maturity. As for the overall atmosphere of the dojo, it seems fairly relaxed & well managed without being overly concerned about the amount of students in the class (i.e. they're not dying to get you locked into a monthly contract). They let my son attend several classes to gauge his interest before we handed them a check & we never once felt pressure to do so during those trial sessions. All of the advanced students seem willing to teach the younger ones and respectful of each other, regardless of the color of their belt. And what little observation I’ve had of the other senseis’ instruction shows a respect for the students & desire to teach their system professionally without the need to demean or subjugate. I have taken martial arts before & know the value of a well run studio with competent instruction; this is one such dojo & am glad that my child will learn to responsibly defend himself while building strong foundations of a moral character.