About The Dojo

Mission Statement
To Inspire students by building confidence in their ability to overcome obstacles and accomplish goals with strength and courage.

Instructor Bio
Javier Lozano, Jr. has been training in the martial arts for over 16 years.  He obtained his 1st Dan black belt in Wado-Ryu Karate-Do at the age of 13 and was recently promoted to 3rd Dan in October 2006.  Javier has also trained and taught for 3 years at a local Tae Kwon Do school in Lakewood, Colorado.

As a Professional Sport Karate competitor on a national circuit, Javier traveled throughout the United States winning numerous national tournaments.  In 2000, he won a World Title in point fighting by the North American Sport Karate Association (NASKA).  In addition, he won a state title by the Colorado Karate Association (CKA) in 2001.

History of Wado-Ryu
In 1934, Hironori Ohtsuka Sensei founded the Japanese martial art, Wado-Ryu Karate-Do.  Ohtsuka Sensei believed that “violent actions may be understood as the way of martial arts, but the true meaning of martial arts is to seek and attain the way of peace and harmony”.  This is why he created Wado, meaning “way of peace” or “way of harmony”.  Because of Ohtsuka Sensei’s influence in the sport, Wado-Ryu is one of four styles that Japan has officially recognized as Karate.

The Dojo Etiquettes

Please keep to these rules at all times when coming to The Dojo of Karate or inviting guests.

1. Keep uniform neat and clean.
2. Please remove all jewelry before entering class.
3. No gum chewing in class.
4. Demonstrate a formal “bow” as you enter and exit the dojo floor.
5. Please arrive 10-15 minutes prior to your class.
6. If you are late for class, please wait at the side  by the mirrors until an instructor gives you permission to join class.  Late students will not receive class credit.
7. No shoes allowed on the dojo floor.
8. Always remove your belt before leaving the school.
9. Respect other people’s property and belongings.
10. Please do not bring food or drinks, other then water, into the school.
11. Please stay off of all equipment while class is taking place.
12. Stay off the mats until you are asked to line up for class.
13. Do not teach what you are learning to other people outside the school without permission from your instructor.
14. Always be curtious to fellow students and others at or away from the school.
15. You must have permission from your Head Instructor to compete in tournaments, and a school uniform must be worn.

Sparring Rules

Sparring is ONLY permitted under the supervision of a Black Belt instructor.

Protective equipment is required, which includes (but not limited) hand pads, feet pads, shin pads, chest pretector, head gear, groin cup (for males) and mouthpiece.  Equipment must be soft foam dipped type and in good condition.  No heavy taping of equipment is allowed.  Fingers must not extend beyond the end of the glove when the hand is held open.  Toes must not extedn beyond the end of the boot when fully extended.  All equipment is subject to school approval, and can be purchased at The Dojo Pro Shop.

Absolutely no contact is permitted to illegal target areas: back of neck throat, sides of neck, spine, knees, legs, or groin.

Light touch contact may be made to all legal target areas: chest, stomach, ribs, kidneys, and the entire helmet area.  Light touch contact means there is no penetration or visible movement of the opponent as a result of the technique.

Absolutely no blind spinning techniques are permitted while sparring, you must look at your target.  In addition, no running jump kicks, sweeping of the legs, or hitting a downed opponent.

Violations of these rules will result in loss of sparring privileges.

Counting In Japanese

1.  Ichi ———————————- E Chee

2.  Ni ———————————– Knee

3.  San ———————————- Saan

4.  Shi ———————————- She

5.  Go ———————————- Go

6.  Roku ——————————– Row Coo

7.  Shichi ——————————- See Chee

8.  Hachi ——————————-  Ha Chee

9.  Ku ———————————- Koo

10.  Jyu ——————————– Jew

Student Creeds

As a new student you will only need to memorize #2.  After a couple months of training, you will than need to memorize all 3 Student Creeds.

1. I will develop myself in a positive manner and avoid anything that would reduce my mental growth or my physical health.
2. I will develop self-discipline in order to bring out the best in myself and others.
3. I will use what I learn in class constructively and defensively; to help myself and my fellow man, and never to be abusive or offensive.

Black Belt Principals

These Black Belt Principals are the foundation of our school.  Students will be required to memorize all of these principals throughout their training at The Dojo of Karate, and will be given ‘mini’ homework assignments to learn about the different Black Belt Principals.

• Courtesy
• Honesty
• Integrity
• Perseverance
• Self Control
• Humility
• Indomitable Spirit
• Loyalty
• Honor
• Sportsmanship
• Punctuality
• Dependability
• Obey Your Parents
• Courage
• Self Discipline

Required Equipment

White Belt - Hand pads ($29.99) & Feet pads ($29.99)

Gold Belt - Nothing

Orange Belt - Head gear ($34.99), chest protector ($39.99), shin pads ($24.99), and cup (males only) ($9.99), mouth piece w/case ($5.99).

Blue Belt - Nothing

Purple Belt -  Wado-Ryu Curriculum DVD, Vol. 1

1st Green Belt - Weapon: Bo and Weapon DVD

2nd Green Belt - TBD

1st Brown Belt - TBD

2nd Brown Belt - Boken/Katana and weapon DVD

Conditional Black Belt - Wado-Ryu Curriculum DVD, Vol. 2

Belt Tests

All students who are eligible to test will receive paperwork that will need to be signed by their parents and teachers (adults sign their own).   Signed paperwork, all required equipment (please refer to the required equipment page), and testing fees must all be turned in and/or purchased prior to testing.  In order to ensure students get the appropriate equipment, The Dojo requires students to purchase all mandatory equipment at the school.

To find out when you are scheduled to test next, please go to our Testing Board.

Stripe Test Week

Stripe test week is held the first week of every month.  The purpose of stripe test week is for the Head Instructor to evaluate who is ready to test for their next rank, and see how far along a student is with their curriculum.  In order to test for their next rank, students must have the following amount of stripes on their belt:

• White Belt - 2 stripes, 16 classes
• Gold Belt - 3 stripes, 24 classes
• Orange Belt - 3 stripes, 24 classes
• Blue Belt - 3 stripes, 24 classes
• Purple - 3 stripes, 24 classes
• 1st Green Belt - 4 stripes, 32 classes
• 2nd Green Belt- 4 stripes, 32 classes
• 1st Brown Belt - 4 stripes, 32 classes
• 2nd Brown Belt - 4 stripes, 32 classes
• Conditional Black Belt - 6 months probationary belt
• 1st Dan Black Belt

Students that do not have the required amount of stripes prior to testing will not be eligible to test, and will have to wait until the following month.

Karate Memberships

Beginners Program

This is our beginners martial arts program designed for students that are interested in trying out Karate.  All students at The Dojo will begin in this semester long program.

Black Belt Club

The Black Belt Club is simply for students who are no longer just trying out Karate, but know they want to become a Black Belt.  Students can start qualifying for Black Belt Club when they are a gold belt with good attendance and a great attitude.  When the Head Instructor feels a student is qualified, they will receive an invitation from The Dojo of Karate.

Benefits of being in the Black Belt Club - Embroidered uniform, special classes for Black Belt Club members, weapons curriculum, discounts on seminars and special events, and reduced testing fees (expect Black Belts).

Master Club

Master Club are for students that have displayed great enthusiasm and dedication in their martial arts training while carrying themselves in a positive manner.  This includes displaying a great attitude and attending class regularly.  Since The Dojo of Karate is a Black Belt school, we encourage all students to look beyond Black Belt, and view martial arts as A Way Of Life.  Eligible students will be invited into Master Club around Green belt, since they are extremely close to obtaining their ultimate goal of becoming a Black Belt.

Benefits of being in Master Club include, but not limited to - an embroidered uniform, special classes for Master Club members, discounts on special events, seminars, and testing fees, and 10% off all Pro Shop items.

Other Activities

Buddy Day

Every 3 to 4 months The Dojo will have Buddy Day.  This is a day when students can bring one of their friends to class and teach them (under instructor supervision) some of the martial arts techniques they have learned and play fun Karate games.

Birthday Parties

Are you having a birthday coming up soon?  Great!  We want to help host your party.  The Dojo will allow you to invite up to 20 friends to attend your child’s birthday.  Birthday parties will be  on Saturday afternoons and last for 2 hours.

This is what The Dojo will do:

1. Send out all the invitations.
2. Rent the school for 2 hours.
3. Provide the pizza, drinks, and prize packs for all the kids.
4. Play some fun games and learn a little karate.
5. Maybe even teach some self-defense for the parents.
6. And, most importantly… clean up the mes

The cost is $199 for the birthday party and all you have to do is provide the cake and a list 20 friends your child would like to invite, so we can send the invitations.

The Dojo will have other activities throughout the year.  Make sure you check out our calendar every month.

Referral Program

So you’ve referred someone to The Dojo of Karate…

First, thanks for the referral, as we always appreciate it!

The Dojo realizes when our students and parents refer us to their friends and family, you and/or your child must be benefiting from martial arts training.  We believe a referral is an extension of our students satisfaction, and we do not want that to go unnoticed.  Thus, our referral program and contests.

The Dojo will always accept students that have been referred to us throughout the year.  To show our appreciation, for every student that enrolls in our Kyu Club Program, The Dojo of Karate will give a complimentary gift card of $50 to the student who referred us.  These gift cards will be redeemable to stores such as Best Buy, Target, toy stores, and other exciting locations.

The Dojo will also periodically host contests for the entire school to participate in.  This contest will be based on who refers the most students that enroll in our Kyu Club Program.  The winner of these contests could win prizes such as game consuls, bikes, martial arts gear, and other sweet prizes.

When contests are being held for the entire school to participate in, then the $50 gift card program will be eliminated since the prizes will exceed the value of a $50 gift card.

So, if you want a chance to win some cool prizes and great gift cards, keep an eye out for friends and family members that would probably enjoy Karate lessons.

FAQ

How often should we attend classes?

Typically we like to see students come to class about 2-3 days per week.  This gives a solid level of motivation for the student and parent.  Anything less, and students tend to loose interest or their skills decline.  Anything more, and students may get burned out quickly.

What do we do when we go on vacation?

We have a Vacation List at the front desk for you to fill out and communicate when you and/or your family will be on vacation.  Please try to attend a few extra classes before and after your vacation so your training stays on track.

My child participates in other sports throughout the year.  What do we do when the season starts?

These are all great activities that are fun to participate in, however your martial arts training is not an activity, rather a way to instill life skills.  Martial arts will teach you important life skills like goal setting, discipline, concentration, self confidence, and self-defense.  Martial arts is also a fantastic physical method of cross training.  In addition, with The Dojo’s convenient schedule and the ability for one to choose the days they want to attend class, there is no reason why Karate cannot be a part of your life, while you play in other activities.

What if my child complains about coming to class or starts losing motivation?

This is a common theme with children and any activity that requires dedication, however we all know the importance of learning how to follow through and commit to things we start.  To deal with this behavior, understand that your child may be delighted with the lessons and still demonstrates no motivation to attend class.  It is critical to talk to your child at a later time and discuss what their issue are and possibly involve the instructor to help resolve any problems the child may be experiencing.  Keep in mind, we teach children lessons through our actions, so if we teach children to quit, we have hindered  their growth.