Reviews of Northern Karate Schools

I am a parent and my child trains at Northern Karate Schools. We have been there for approximately 4 1/2 years and are very happy with this school. The instructors are very good and there is always a lot of instructors on the floor teaching. If your child needs extra help you can book review classes which are one on one with your child. With a hectic work schedule, I really like the fact that there is a good variety of times for me to take my child and that there are classes everyday and I am not limited to specific days. I also like the fact that there are no hidden costs and everything is always included in the programs. There are no extra fees charged for belts or gradings. I recommend this school to any parent who is interested in their child learning a life skill such as Martial Arts.

We enrolled our child to the program to help embrace some key principals that should be inheriting with the teaching of martial arts. Over time, respect, control, calm temperament and humility will be entrenched in their upbringing and influence their approach to other aspects of their life. Although our child has been with the program for less than a year, it appears from our observation of the students at the advanced levels that these key principals are not practiced within the training. Developing and harnessing proper techniques should be stressed at the earliest level and developed throughout the program.

These days, it is a tremendous challenge for the sensei within this program (as it with the teachers in our schools) to bring focus and discipline. Perhaps institute a minimum age would certainly contribute to the solution. Perhaps having parents more responsible for their child’s behavior within a class environment will help with their child’s development.

The instructors are energetic, enthusiastic and captivating. My child does take comfort with them. We hope with our support and encouragement, our child will follow the direction of the sensei and develop and embrace the key principals of martial arts.

The classes are very crowded and kids get pushed through the colored belt levels with little to no effort. Classes are split by the kids' colored belt level yet the instructors spend much of the time either tying up belts, or one on one time with kids that are just not getting it while the others in the group sit and watch.

Every child is awarded stripes during stripe week (first week of the month) regardless of skill level or attendance - purpose for this is to keep them motivated however this is demotivating to those who are trying hard and watch others who don't even try get the same rewards.

During grading exams at the end of the month, children that still require assistance (even getting help DURING the grading) are all getting pushed through and moving up.

Seems there is only credibilty once you level up into the Masters program.

The instructors are all very good, no complaints about them.

Too many students in one class. Only one qualified instructor per class the rest are all students teaching the class. Gave the parents the impression of one fee per different belts only found out they charge different fee for different color of belts. The training is purely for fun, not discipline in anyway. The kids can have fun in the class but not getting much out of the class in terms of martial arts sense.