Breaking News!

We are now developing a Traditional Karate Competition Team!  We are focusing on ages 6-16.  No prior martial arts training necessary.
Contact us at (515) 987-8100 or at coach@eliteedgeonline.com for more details!

Types of Karate Classes

Students of all ages learn authentic, traditional karate-do and kobudo (weapons). Our system has a long and well-respected lineage that we draw from. We are very proud of it because of it’s integrity and effectiveness. People sign up because they want the best and most effective martial arts training around. This is what the martial arts were originally intended to be and we have made it palatable and easy to learn for everyone.


T.A.S.K. Force - Transported After School Karate
Need something for your children to do right after school?  We have the answer for you!  We will transort your child from school to our facility and teach them Karate, Kobudo, Padded Weapons Sparring, grappling, and a great fitness program designed to help them get stronger and leaner.  The best part is that it replaces childcare!  Many parents are looking for wholesome and fun activities for their children and our program has all that and responsible life skills and fitness also thrown in to help them in their daily lives.  Our parents rave about how their children become more respectful and responsible.




Lil’ Samurais (Ages 3-7)
This is a great values-based class for younger children. They learn basic body skills, balance, coordination, and responsible use of martial arts skills. Character-building values are at the heart of the training and are reinforced throughout each class. The main goal of the class is to give them the skills that will make them successful for the next level class (Youth Karate) while having a lot of fun together. Lil’ Samurais learn age-appropriate protection skills centered around anti-bullying and anti-abduction.



Youth Karate (Ages 8-13)
We use the same curriculum as the adult class but make it more fun and age-appropriate for this group. We start training in traditional weapons (kobudo) at this level. Emphasis on the finer points of karate and how to use their skills more efficiently makes this a challenging course. We encourage and challenge each student during each class and during each belt test. We believe that being challenged in their own way brings true confidence and self-esteem. Here they learn the skills and attributes that will directly carry over to the Adult Karate class.



Adult Karate
This is the original that started it all! Steeped in Asian culture, students learn how to effectively defend themselves and others while learning the respect for themselves and each other that is necessary for training at this level. Classes are concentrated, intense, and challenging. There is plenty of support from others and people have commented on the unique family atmosphere that we have. A good mix of body conditioning, skill development, drills, and philosophy. Training emphasizes self-defense, fundamentals, sparring, forms, joint locks, and throws. Everything is taught in easy-to-learn bite-sized chunks that people enjoy learning quickly.

Kobudo

Classical Okinawan weapons arts are termed kobudo. The weapons we train in are the staff (bo), truncheon (sai), side-handle baton (tonfa), flails (nunchaku), sickles (kama) as a part of our main weapons system. We also train in the oar (eku) and double-sticks (nitanbo). These weapons were commonly used tools and items that were used to defend an individual or loved ones. Each weapon is unique and encompasses a specific set of skills. Training in weapons starts as young as possible by teaching responsible handling rules and basic body skills for each weapon.

Each weapon is a separate artform by itself. Rank is gained in each weapon and each one has an individual training curriculum. Kobudo study takes a lot of time and practice. Much like karate, training revolves around basic techniques emphasizing proper body mechanics to maximize power, traditional forms, and sparring. All training is safe and supervised.

We also do fukuro kobudo which is a special sparring using padded weapons and equipment. This is actually how we introduce weapons to the younger students because it is safe and fun. This is also easily turned into a competitive format to enhance speed and timing.