Classes are structured around basic martial arts movements, techniques and philosophies. Lessons use a mixture of American-style instruction as well as traditional Japanese-style martial arts instruction, all centered around the performance and use of forms called kata in Japanese.

Kata is a choreographed sequence of movements that increases in difficulty the higher the level of kata. Each level focuses on new and increasingly difficult techniques, stances and movements. Sho-rin-ryu kata are all named for the ideas behind the kata (Ji-On = “The sound of a temple bell”) or the name of the master who created the kata (Kusanku). Constant practice of kata not only increases proficiency in techniques, but also strengthens muscles, increases flexibility and teaches Osensei Yamashita’s 7 Tenets of Karate: Balance, Coordination, Speed, Power, Distance, Timing, and Relaxation.

Kata is the foundation of our movements and techniques which allows us to mature in our martial arts lives. Much like basic arithmetic allows us to do more complicated math, which can’t be achieved without deep knowledge of the basic skills, kata and the order we teach it allows us to progress into more complicated ideas which can only be achieved when the fundamentals are well-understood.