Our 3 dojos have different training times on different days. To see which dojo times suit you, click here. Each class runs from one to one and a half hours, and usually begins with a short warm up exercise, followed by training of basic techniques (Kihon). There is a brief break in between the training. This is followed by face to face sparring training (kumite), and the class is concluded usually with the practice of formal exercise of Kata.

We teach many self-defensive moves and techniques. As our training scheme can be physically demanding, you will gradually develop a good athletic stamina and strength. You will also be rewarded with learning a way of discipline, commitment and confidence.

We are all beginners when we first start. Our Dojo provides a friendly support to those who are starting out. You will be looked after by one of the instructors or senior students whilst training.

Yes. You, your friends and families are welcome to watch through our training as there is a plenty of seating space. Just show your face up and we are happy to answer any inquiry in regards to our club.

As you may know already, we normally wear a white karate suits (karate-gi) for the training. However, most beginners are free to wear any comfortable outfit, such as T-shirts and tracksuit bottoms. We ask all students to take off any accessories such as wrist watches or earrings as they can be dangerous during the training. We also train with bear feet as this is necessary for the nature of our exercise. You are recommended to bring some water and a towel, as you will find them helpful after the training!

Do not worry if you are female - our Dojo’s chief instructor, Ms Tomiko Mitsuoka (7th Dan) herself is a female karate master. Although the majority of our students are male, we also have several female students from all age groups. We do not have a karate class for Ladies only at the moment, all our classes are mixed.

You can start training with us before deciding on becoming an official member of our federation. You will need to pay a visitors fee for our classes. Once you have decided to train with us on a regular basis, you are recommended to become a member of W.S.K.F, as this will also allow you to take official grading and be insured under the federation’s name.

Although many of the terminologies of karate are spoken in Japanese words during the training, the class itself is taught with English language. We usually translate the meaning of these words as we mention them so that you will be familiar with them. But we recommend you to understand and say all the Japanese that we say because to pass a grading you need to know the Dojo-Kun and the numbers up to 10 in Japanese.

It is advised that your children should be at least 6 years old to join our class, as children under this age may find many of our exercise to be too complex to follow.

It takes normally a minimum of 3 to 5 years of regular trainings to become a black belt. To earn a black belt, you would have to pass a grading test for “1st Dan”. Dan grade comes after 10 “Kyu” grades, which means that you will need pass 10 grading test before achieving a Dan grade.

The number of physical injuries during normal training sessions in our dojo is surprisingly low, as the Shotokan karate style is primarily a non-contact karate. If in the case of a small injury, our instructors will have a first aid kit to help. Once you become a member of our dojo, you will be insured under the federation’s name.

You are recommended to train with us ideally two times a week for Senior grades or once a week for Junior grades. This is necessary if you would like to improve on your skills on a consistent pace.

Not unless it is a problem with you. We are friendly to any ethnic or age group as we have wide range of members. If you need to wear a certain accessories for your religious reason, please talk to our instructors as they are open for arranging a special exception.

The literal translation of “Karate” means “empty hand”. Although some karate styles include weapon training, World Shotokan is strictly a non-weapon based style.

It depends on each individual, but it is usually beneficial to have some martial arts experience in terms of your physical stamina and flexibilities. Also, many martial arts share similar codes and disciplines towards training. However, you may find the difference of training style and techniques to be difficult to get used to, in this case please talk to our instructors for more advice.

If you are still a member of W.S.K.F or other Shotokan Federations, such as J.K.A (Japan Karate Association) and S.K.I (Shotokan Karate-Do International), you are entitled to re-start training from your current grade. If you were trained for other karate styles and want to keep your grade, you may be asked to take a test grading in front of our instructor. Otherwise it is entirely your decision if you would like to start as a white belt.

It is generally helpful to train by yourself. There are many books and video tapes to guide your personal training in your own spare time. It is especially advisable to practice Kata exercise in between the classes to refresh your memory. Please keep coming back to our instructors for proper guidance so you do not develop unnecessary habits whilst training on your own.

We do not advise you to train under multiple Dojos. This is because every Dojo has a certain way of the teaching process and attitude, and you may end up confusing yourself on which advice to follow.

Unless under special circumstances, it is not our policy to let our student skip forward their grading.

It is unlikely for an instructor to teach a student outside of our normal training times. However you are welcome to ask our instructors to arrange a short extra training time before or after the classes.