Alexandria Shotokan Karate Club: Schedule

Training Schedule
    Tuesday, 7:00pm-8:30pm in the Gym
    Thursday, 7:00pm-8:30pm in the Gym
    Friday, 7:30pm-9:00pm in the Aerobics Room **

Regular Classes - Sensei Marino leads the classes in a traditional manner with stretches, warm-ups, kihon (blocks, punches, kicks, and waza - technique) combinations. At Sensei's discretion the class may be divided by rank to allow for more focused improvement. Assistant instructors and Sempai may lead one of the groups, in accordance with Sensei's direction, to focus the training on the patterns and objectives of Sensei's designed class.

Alexandria Shotokan Karate Club (ASKC) adheres to the principles and precepts of the Japan Karate Association (JKA) and its founder, Master Gichin Funakoshi's disciplined Karate philosophy of harmonizing of mind and body for balance, strength, perseverance, and patience for total confidence and self-mastery. Accordingly, ASKC places great importance to the traditions of dojo etiquette, respect, and disciplined training with energy, spirit, and enthusiasm. Class begins at 7 p.m. and members are expected to make every effort to begin training promptly.

**Open Class - Friday evening is an "open" class. This is a time for ASKC members to work on reviewing the week's training, practice kumite/sparring, work on remedial/advanced kata, do interval/weight training, and hit the heavy bag for "makiwara"-type training. Though it is not as structured as the weekly training per se, there is always a senior Sempai available to lead the class. The floor in the aerobics has a certain amount of "give" as a dance floor, and the full-length mirrors on the walls are excellent tools to assist the karate-ka in improving comprehensively. Moreover, it is an excellent opportunity to train by yourself or with other members in a more informal setting.

Enrollment

Visit first - We suggest coming to watch a few classes and discuss your goals and objective with the instructors. This allows you an opportunity to ascertain if Karate is right for you.

Try us out - Next, we suggest that you join in a few no-cost training sessions to gain a better understanding of the workout. This gives you a chance to decide if Shotokan Karate is something you're really interested in. Once you determine that you would like to join, we can assist with signing you up as a full YMCA member or Participating Community member. Cost for the memberships are YMCA member - $55 per month; Participating Community member - $65 per month with an annual charge of $55 per year.

Join us - Once you've finished your introductory lessons and you've decided to sign up, you'll just pay a simple monthly fee for as long as you're with us. No contracts, no testing fees, no multi-month payments.

IMPORTANT - All ASKC membership is dependent upon the approval and discretion of the chief instructor, Sensei Cesare Marino. We are an independent, non-competitive Shotokan Karate dojo that adheres to the basic principles and traditions of the JKA. It presents an ideal training program for Karate practitioners who, for whatever reason, cannot devote themselves to full-time martial arts training. Through these training sessions, ASKC has promoted the physical, mental, and spiritual benefits of the Karate by practicing in the traditional Shotokan manner.