No. Unlike many commercial karate schools that focus on children’s programs, BCS is primarily focused on teaching adult students and families. Older children who participate in the adult class are expected to act accordingly and will be removed if their behavior is a distraction for others.

Traditional Japanese karate is a fairly dignified thing – we don’t do all the screaming, yelling, and jumping around that you might have seen elsewhere. Don’t take our word for it – come watch a class. We’re confident that you won’t feel silly participating in one of our classes.

The short and honest answer is “it might not be” but the best way to find out is to try it.

Shotokan emphasizes smooth acceleration, whole-body power, straight-in movement, and decisive striking. As students advance, the intensity increases but the focus on continuously refining a relatively small number of fundamental techniques remains the core of our practice. A key principle of Shotokan could be stated that it’s better to develop an exceptional level of skill in a few key techniques than mediocre skills in a larger set of techniques. As such, Shotokan’s repertoire may be relatively narrower than some other styles, but the understanding of each technique goes much, much deeper.

There are a lot of reasons why the Shotokan style of karate appeals to people. Shotokan is a great way to build strength and flexibility throughout the body, particularly in the legs, trunk, and shoulders. Shotokan can be a very simple and effective form of self-defense against one or more attackers. The detail, nuance, and depth of study available in Shotokan can keep you challenged for a lifetime – there’s always something new to learn, something to refine further, and something left to discover.

Although we certainly think Shotokan is a wonderful martial art, we realize that some people look for different things in their practice. Some people enjoy the gentler practice of arts like Aikido and Tai Chi, while others look for the extreme intensity of Brazillian Jujutsu or Kickboxing. Tae Kwon Do and Judo are well-established Olympic sports and both are strongly focused on the sporting/competitive aspects of performance. Tang Soo Do is a Korean art that is very similar to Shotokan, but with a greater emphasis on head-level kicking techniques. Kung Fu is very appealing to many people for its long history and status as the original source of all modern striking arts. Arts from the Phillipines, Thailand, and Indonesia provide unique theories of combat that often include practice with weapons as part of their training.  Modern martial arts like Jeet Kun Do and Krav Maga have combined the theories and techniques from multiple martial arts to focus on effective self-defense.

We’re happy to have you try Shotokan at BCS. If you think you might be better suited to a different martial art, we’ll be equally happy to help you find a qualified instructor in the area. Just make sure you stay in touch and come back to show us what you’ve been learning!

Most likely, yes - karate is very adaptable to individual abilities. Our organization has welcomed a wide range of people over the past 57 years who have devised ways to overcome every limitation, physical or otherwise, to become competent, accomplished martial artists equal to any other.  Every student is unique to us, special needs or not, and we're not here to tell anyone they "can't" do something - we're here to find out what they need from us so they can.

In most cases, yes. We’re happy to make reasonable accommodations for students based on their unique physical limitations, but students ultimately have to decide for themselves if they will be able to rehabilitate (or work around) their old injuries.

Our advice is to consult your physician before starting, tell us what your limitations are before you begin training, take it slow, and listen to your body.

Prospective students who suffer from severe knee, hip, or back injuries may be better suited to a martial art like Tai Chi that places less strain on the lower body and trunk.

First of all, high kicking isn’t a big part of Shotokan karate – most kicking techniques are targeted to the torso and lower body. Stretching is a key part of all classes, and most adults find that their flexibility can be improved significantly with time and regular effort. Improved flexibility is a tremendous benefit of practice and will help you avoid injuries outside of class as well.

Maybe. Most regular classes at BCS are split 50/50 into teaching and training. What’s the difference?

Teaching is focused on introducing and explaining new skills and new details about existing skills. It’s a balance between verbal explanation, physical demonstration, and individual repetition and immediate correction. We try to give students as much new information as possible at each class so they can practice properly on their own.

Training is defined as group practice led by an instructor for the purpose of refining existing skills. Some amount of teaching happens at all training sessions, but classes focused on training tend to be far more physically demanding. If you’re repeating a familiar technique or drill over and over again with only brief comments and corrections from the instructor, you’re training.

Practice is the third component of learning karate. It’s what you do on your own, by yourself or with a partner but without an instructor present. This is where you challenge yourself to remember what you’ve been taught and push yourself to make the insights and correction from training permanent. Practice is when you make some of your most important discoveries about karate and when you come up with the kind of questions for your next class that enable you to make real progress. Without practice, karate is just an exercise program.

In clubs where most of the focus is on training, students may get a more sustained cardiovascular workout that can lead to weight loss. Likewise, students who practice karate on their own with long enough periods of sustained intensity can realize some weight loss benefits.

Doing anything only once a week will not help you lose weight. However, BCS students who attend most of our classes and practice regularly on their own may find that karate certainly does help them lose weight.

Probably. Devoting some time each week to any mentally and physically challenging activity will reduce your stress levels. Giving yourself a couple hours to break from your normal routine and forget about everything except what you’re doing “right now” is a great way to recharge your batteries. A good instructor can help you focus intensely on one or two elements of performance at a time during class, and as you get better at doing that, you’ll likely find that your concentration at work and/or at school improves as well.

It should, but you need to start out with enough self-discipline to get yourself to class each week! If you end up enjoying karate so much that you work harder to complete your regular obligations on time so you can attend class, then that will have a positive effect on your self-discipline. If you decide that you want to improve your stamina for karate more than you want that extra jelly donut, you’ll be able to say that you’re becoming more self-disciplined.

Self-discipline describes a pattern of behavior that supports achieving a goal, particularly when the required behaviors are more difficult than what we’re naturally inclined to do or less pleasant than the behaviors we’ve chosen in the past. Achieving a goal is a progressive series of cause and effect relationships where the “cause” element is your own behavior.

Cause and effect relationships tend to be separated by a great deal of time in our everyday lives. If we don’t study hard in September, we fail a test in November. If we overeat for a couple weeks, we’ll find out later that we’ve put on ten pounds. In these two examples the consequences of bad choices and undesirable behavior are deferred, so the incentive to do the right thing isn’t particularly strong.

In karate, however, cause and effect often happen within seconds of each other. We choose correctly or we don’t and the feedback is usually immediate. Having this concrete model to understand cause and effect can help students generalize the lessons of karate to their everyday lives, improving the choices they make and leading to a more self-disciplined character overall.

Practical, real world self-defense is about awareness, avoidance, and de-escalation, all of which can be learned rather quickly. As far as physical self-defense skills, the only honest answer is "It will take a while."

For most people, the underlying question is “will karate help me be less fearful?” People never want to be in a situation where they have to defend themselves, and in reality, very few normal adults will ever have to punch or kick someone in self-defense. But one of the most significant benefits of karate practice is that, over time, you will become more confident as you realize that you can effectively respond to physical violence if necessary. A strong grasp of basic self-defense skills leads to less fear overall – less fear of meeting new people, going to new places, or trying new things.

Going back to the intent of the original question, it usually takes at least six months to a year for most students to feel that they’ve been able to incorporate enough karate into their existing defensive instincts to improve their physical self-defense skills under pressure. If this seems like a long time, just remember that being able to perform techniques in the controlled environment of class is not the same as being able to perform while a real attacker is really trying to hit you!

Shotokan kumite is not "fighting" like one would expect in a tournament competition or a MMA match - it's testing your understanding of theory and technique with a partner.  Kumite begins with very carefully controlled partner drills. Over time, these drills are performed with fewer limitations and restrictions until you reach the level where you are permitted to freely choose the techniques you use and the timing of your attacks. It might look like "fighting" to an outsider, but it's more like playing a game of physical chess with an opponent. 

Above all else, the focus is on control and safety but like any other activity with physical contact, occasional bumps and bruises are part of the training. We supervise all kumite practice carefully to be sure that students are maintaining full control of both their actions and their emotions. Excessive contact, bullying, and recklessness are not tolerated.

No, not if you don’t want to. We encourage students to challenge themselves at least once in the environment of a tournament competition, but it’s not the focus of our practice and it’s not required to advance in rank.

Less than half of our students have ever competed in tournaments, but those who do tend to do very, very well.  Over the past 38 years, our students have won 11 individual AAU National Championships (Gold Medalists), over 70 Silver and Bronze medals at the AAU National Championships, one Junior Olympic Gold Medal (17yo Division), and one Gold Medal at the Pan Am Games.

When starting out, a t-shirt and sweatpants are fine. You can purchase a karate uniform (gi) at any time, but you will need a uniform to advance to the level of 8th kyu.  Sleeves and pants should be hemmed or rolled so we can see your wrists and ankles when you’re training.

Our students wear a plain white cotton gi – no patches, insignia, or other markings are used.  You may be used to seeing club patches on uniforms, stripes or embroidered names on belts, school logos splashed across the back, and a variety of other decorations but you won't see any of that at BCS.

The karate uniform (gi) as we know it today was adopted by Shotokan's founder to eliminate social and economic distinctions and ensure that all practitioners, regardless of rank or background, shared the same attire to foster a sense of community and shared purpose. An unadorned white gi, worn by all ranks from beginner to expert, is an expression of humility and inclusiveness that reminds all of us that our focus should be on the practice itself rather than external appearances. We believe that solid fundamental techniques, crisp and coordinated movement, and strong posture are the best way to “mark” ourselves and make our affiliation and skill level known to others.

BCS karate-dō is about the performance, not the paint job.

Students who have earned rank in other clubs or other styles are welcome to join us at their old rank if they are comfortable doing so. If you want to continue working toward a higher rank in Shotokan, we’ll be happy to accomodate you as you learn the details and nuances of our style. When we feel you’ve reached the same level of Shotokan-specific ability as any other candidate for the higher rank, you’ll be invited to test for the higher rank as a member of our club.

Yes, but it's nothing to stress over. Tests are usually held every three months and students are invited to participate based on their skill level. There is no charge for testing.

Progression through each rank corresponds to a student's readiness to tackle new material, and each student will progress at their own pace.  Advancement to the next rank is a very straightforward process of demonstrating your competency in the full curricula associated with your current rank, and you'll only be invited to test once you've already shown that you're ready to move up.  

Unfortunately, as karate and other martial arts spread throughout the world, the idea of “teaching karate as a business” took hold. Today your average karate program will offer as many as 25 different colored belts, along with club patches and other various decorations for the belt and uniform. Children are offered “promotions” as often as every few weeks, with the excuse that it "keeps them motivated" to continue training. That's not how we work.

A change in belt color happens only three times with the BCS – white to green after about a year, green to brown after another year and a half or so, and brown to black after about four to five years of total training. There's a link to the syllabus for our full curriculum on the menu above. We don't offer junior black belts, provisional ranks, or half-step ranks - the criteria for each rank are the same for every student, regardless of age.

Moving from one belt color to another represents a significant and clearly observable change in your skill level. Shotokan karate-dō is more about what changes inside of you, not what changes on your uniform.

For most students of normal ability, the rank of Shodan (1st Degree Black Belt) can be reached in four to five years with reasonable effort and regular attendance. If you practice less frequently, you can expect it to take a bit longer.

We’ll leave that up to you to decide. 

We can say that we’re very proud of the fact that our students have visited and trained with the leading Shotokan organizations all over the world and have always been welcomed at the rank they’ve achieved with our club. 

In cases where, due to relocation, our students have had to find a new club to train with, the rank they earned with us was either immediately recognized or re-awarded quickly after establishing their new membership. With over 400 clubs teaching Shotokan in the United States, in every state and major city, it’s always easy to find a place to continue training in our style if you move out of the area. Worldwide, there are more than 3,500 clubs in the Shotokan style, in over 130 countries!