WHAT TO EXPECT AT YOUR FIRST KARATE CLASS

You won't be the only new student.
You'll be part of a small group who are all here for the first time, and every one of us can still remember our own first karate class. Most of all, we remember how we were welcomed by everyone that day and how we've become close friends with people who were right there with us at our first class.

You won't embarrass yourself.
You don't need to be flexible, coordinated, have "good cardio" or be at your target weight. You don't need to worry about breaking any rules you know nothing about. You don't need to worry about accidentally offending anyone. You're not expected to keep up with anyone else.

There's no yelling or intimidation.
We're professional educators, not bullies. Our Club Director has taught business at Wharton, Rutgers, and Stockton University, and taught karate and self-defense at Temple University, Mercer County Community College, and Rider University.  We understand that in order to learn, students must first feel safe.

You won't get hurt.
It will be a little while before you even make light contact with anyone in class. You'll learn every move in small increments, building your flexibility and strength as you go. Statistically, you have a lower chance of injury in our classes that with soccer or basketball.

"New" doesn't mean "Less Important".
You'll be among a group of people whose karate experience ranges from "recently started" to "almost 50 years of training" but you'll be welcomed and treated with respect from day one. Transmitting the legacy and traditions of Japanese karate depends on new students, and as such you're just as important to our group as anyone else here regardless of experience or rank.

Karate is something that everyone can learn.
There is nothing we do that you can't learn how to do. And most people are genuinely amazed at how quickly they learn here at Bucks County Shotokan. Every class is a mix of explanation, demonstration, repetition, feedback, and refinement. This is true instruction in an authentic martial art, and every class builds on what you learned in the last one.

 We train in a calm, respect-filled, disciplined space.
A Shotokan dojo is intentionally simple. No trophies on display. No karate slogans painted on the wall.  No place for ego. This is where you can shut off all the mental noise that fills your day and train with full awareness and focused purpose. The dojo is a place to slow down, work hard, and build yourself one honest step at a time.

 You'll leave your first class with a clear sense of why people love studying our style of karate.
You'll feel how the stretching, breathing, and isometric training can change your body. You'll experience how the breakdown and buildup of techniques makes everything make sense. You'll understand how our focus on "just one thing" when training sharpens your ability to block out distractions and concentrate. You'll see firsthand how a common interest can bring together a very diverse group of students.  You'll progress quickly enough that "who you are" becomes "who you want to be" before you know it.