News, Updates & Events
The Dojo of Karate Joins Guseikai
October 26th, 2010 – Westminster, CO — Recently, The Dojo of Karate & Fitness, a Westminster, CO based traditional Japanese Karate school was informed they will become a member of the US based Wado Guseikai USA.
Wado Guseikai USA is widely considered as one of the best US based Wado organizations that is directly affiliated with the JKF-Wado Kai (Japanese Karate-do Federation Wado Kai), the governing body for Wado Kai Karate.
Chief Instructor, Sensei Bob Nash is a 7th Dan Black Belt through the JKF-Wado Kai and operates the Wado Guseikai USA branch out of Seattle, Washington. He is respectfully recognized throughout the United States, Europe and Australia as one of the top Wado Kai practitioners and teachers.
Sensei Nash currently trains under Dr. Hideho Takagi Sensei, 8th Dan Black Belt JKF-Wado Kai, who opened the first Guseikai dojo in Tokyo, Japan.
What Does This Mean?
The Dojo of Karate is the only Wado Kai Karate school associated with Wado Guseikai USA in the Denver Metro Area. The only other school in Colorado apart of this organization is in Conifer, CO called Conifer Japanese Karate-Do with Sensei David Sasaki.
By joining Wado Guseikai USA, The Dojo of Karate will be apart of an international organization that is widely recognized as a top tier dojo throughout the United States.
The best way to look at this is… Wado Guseikai is to Ivy League Graduate School, while your local martial arts school is to Junior College in your state. The standards are much higher, and the quality of instruction is much better.
This is not to undermine other martial art schools in the area, it simply means that obtaining a Black Belt at The Dojo of Karate will be much more challenging, yet once you achieve it, you know you are considered one of the best.
Benefits of Being a Member at The Dojo Of Karate
Students that become a member of The Dojo of Karate are essentially a member of Wado Guseikai USA. With that said, Sensei Bob Nash will make periodic visits to host a Wado Kai Karate Seminar in Colorado in order to help improve students and elaborate a wealth of information and knowledge about Wado Karate.
In addition, students will have an opportunity to train in Tokyo, Japan with Takagi Sensei, at his dojo. As mentioned before, Takagi Sensei is widely recognized as the best Wado Karate-ka in the world.
Lastly, any student that qualifies to test for their Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt, if they pass, they will be recognized in Japan through the JKF-Wado Kai. Their certificate will be signed by the current president of the JKF-Wado Kai and carry an official stamp that is recorded on the certificate and in a “book of Black Belts” to certify one’s Dan rank.
The Dojo of Karate Chief Instructor
Chief Instructor, Javier Lozano, Jr. owns and operates The Dojo of Karate & Fitness. He is currently a 3rd Degree Black Belt through the U.S. Eastern Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Federation. However, the JKF-Wado Kai does not recognize his current rank, therefore, he needed to train and retest for Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt.
This is a humbling act for anyone, especially since Javier has 20 years of martial arts experience, as well as numerous accomplishments, including being a professional athlete in Sport Karate to winning a NASKA World Championship in fighting, to name a few.
Javier took the Shodan exam in Nashville, Tennessee on October 24th, 2010 and passed.
“This was probably one of the most difficult examinations I have ever taken in my martial arts career, due to the high demands that are required in becoming a Black Belt through Wado Guseikai USA. I still have skills to improve, but this is simply a stepping stone to becoming better in Wado Kai Karate and allowing my students to grow and improve their skills too. I plan on testing for my Nidan (2nd Degree Black Belt) in May, 2011 back in Nashville, Tennessee.”
The pass rate for Dan examinations in Wado Guseikai USA is 50% — meaning only half of all participants past the test. This time around, though, there was a 100% pass rate for the 1st time. That was an amazing accomplishment by a group of 8 testers.
Are You Interested In Training In Wado Kai Karate?
Call The Dojo of Karate immediately and setup an appointment with Mr. Lozano so he can teach you some basic martial arts techniques. You don’t necessarily need to have the immediate goal of becoming a Black Belt right now. All you need is the willingness to learn traditional Wado Karate. Everything else comes with time. There is no obligation to tryout his program, and it gives an introduction to Karate.
Call 303.920.4500 today or contact him at: [email protected]
Adult Self-Defense Workshop – Saturday, November 6th
You hear it all the time…
“Woman gets attacked while walking to car in Wal-Mart parking lot.” Or “man gets assaulted while jogging down biking path in suburban neighborhood, in broad daylight.”
Normal people are starting to become victims in everyday situations.
Everyone Is Now A Potential Victim
Well, there could be several reasons. Was it late at night? Were you walking / running by yourself? Were you on your cell phone or distracted when this happened?
The list can simply go on…
And, there’s no way that you won’t ever become a victim. Seriously.
That’s why self-defense training is more imperative today, then ever before, and the reasons are obvious. We see those reasons everyday on the news.
On Saturday, November 6th from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM, Chief Instructor – Javier Lozano, Jr. will be hosting a free adult self-defense workshop at his training facility located in Westminster, Colorado.
This is a great opportunity to learn more about awareness of your surrounding and what to look for in possible attackers.
In addition, Javier will be teaching students proper self-protection techniques, such as strikes, kicks, blocks, and escapes. His techniques taught during this seminar are very easy to learn, yet extremely effective.
“Some people always ask me, ‘don’t you need to know some sort of secret move to disable your attacker?’ And, my response always is, ‘NO’. Let’s face it, you probably won’t remember all of those fancy moves that work great for lifelong practitioners. During the heat of the moment, when your adrenaline is rushing, and you practically freeze because of anxiety, are you going to remember all of those fancy moves?”
Here’s what is important to understand when learning self-defense skills during a workshop or short training course.
The moves need to be simple to learn and understand. If they are too complicated, your chances of retaining that information are slimmer then none.
In addition, they need to be effective and to the point. None of that extra, unnecessary movement that can kill precious time when escaping from an attacker.
How do you know whether the stuff you will be learning during this adult self-defense workshop is actually valuable??
Checkout our last free seminar we hosted a few months ago
How Good Is This Self-Defense Instructor?
Chief Instructor Javier Lozano, Jr. has been training in the martial arts for over 20 years, with 17 years of teaching experience. He is a certified 3rd Degree Black Belt in Wado Karate, a Japanese combative art. He is also a former professional athlete, winning a NASKA World Championship fighting title and a CKA Colorado State Championship fighting title.
Javier is also a certified self-defense instructor and free style grappling instructor through MASAI, one of the nations leading martial arts black belt instructor certification organizations.
With his vast experience and knowledge in the martial arts and self-defense, Javier will give you a solid understanding on how to defend yourself in almost any given situation. More importantly, though, he will restore your confidence and teach you awareness skills that are taught nation wide by professional officers in major metropolitan areas.
When Is The Free Adult Self-Defense Seminar?
Again, the seminar will be hosted on Saturday, November 6th from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at The Dojo of Karate in Westminster, CO. They are located on the northeast corner of 128th Ave. and Zuni St. in the Safeway Shopping Center.
Please contact them at 303-920-4500 to reserve your spot, or go to their website at: http://www.AdultSelfDefense.com.
Wado Kai Karate Seminar With Robbie Smith
The Dojo of Karate has been fortunate enough to have a great Wado Karate practitioner, Sensei Robbie Smith, teach a seminar on Tuesday, June 15th from 7:30PM to 9:00PM at our facility.
This is a great opportunity for students to learn new skills & fundamentals, as well as improve their current techniques.
Sensei Smith is considered by his peers as one of the best Wado Kai Karate-kas that is not based in Japan, where our founding style was created.
He operates a dojo in New Zealand called New Zealand Wado Kai. He is a 6th Dan Black Belt with more than 30 years of experience.
To train with Sensei Smith will be an opportunity of a lifetime for many students pursuing to become a Black Belt at The Dojo of Karate.
Seminar Cost
This seminar is by invitation only. No exceptions. Only students that are a minimum rank of Purple belt will be invited to attend.
Since this is extremely last minute, The Dojo of Karate will be covering most of the cost for this seminar.
There may be a small fee to participate, such as $10, but that has not been determined.
To train under an accomplished martial artist such as Sensei Smith would cost significantly more in other situations. But, Sensei Lozano would like for most students to experience this opportunity.
**All students must wear a full Karate uniform, gi tops and bottoms, as well as their current ranking belt.
We look forward to seeing you guys on Tuesday, June 15th at 7:30PM
Sensei Lozano
Karate Students Kick Breast Cancer, One Pink Belt At A Time
Westminster, CO — June 3rd, 2010 — Martial Arts students at The Dojo of Karate & Fitness show how they can help kick and punch breast cancer by wearing Pink Karate Belts in class during the week of June 7th to June 11th.
This is a new fund raising program created by owner and Master Instructor, Javier Lozano, Jr.
He decided that their Karate school needed to demonstrate their support to the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, taking place in the Rocky Mountains from June 25th to June 27th, 2010.
“As a business owner, I feel it is my responsibility to get our school together as a community and stand up for something that is important. Breast Cancer is something that affects friends, families, and loved ones”, says Lozano. “In my opinion, business owners have a moral obligation to their clients to give back to the community. We are in contact with so many people who live different lives, and we have an opportunity to influence our community because of the small degrees of separation among various people.”
Martial Arts students at The Dojo of Karate and Fitness will be purchasing Pink Karate Belts for $15 per belt, with $10 of the proceeds going towards the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.
During the week of June 7th to June 11th, Sensei Lozano has designated it as Breast Cancer Awareness Week, where students will be exchanging their current Karate Belts for Pink Karate Belts. And, students will give up their earned ranks of continuous martial arts training to become a unified rank of Pink.
All students will be learning how health and fitness can help prevent their chances of disease, such as breast cancer. And, by maintaining an active lifestyle that incorporates healthy eating habits, this will allow students and their families to live a more prosperous life.
More importantly, though, it gets the Martial Arts studio together, like a community.
“People want to be apart of something that is bigger than them. They want to be able to give back in a way that actually affects their community. We all want to be proud of something and fight for it. By getting our school together with this new fund raising event, our members feel more empowered than before, and that’s exactly what Martial Arts is really about. It’s not about the kicks and punches, but about how you can help someone else achieve their goals”, says Sensei Lozano.
In addition to the sense of community The Dojo of Karate has created, Sensei Lozano is also creating the future leaders of America through martial arts training.
In every class, students are challenged to become leaders by working hard and leading by example. If someone is having a hard time learning a new technique or move, it’s their responsibility to teach the students who are struggling.
If they have a new child trying out Karate classes, it’s a current students job to teach them the ropes and shadow them during their 1st couple of sessions.
Why?
That way students begin to take pride and ownership in their training, at every level.
Those are character traits The Dojo of Karate is always looking to develop in every child because eventually they will have an opportunity to lead a group to follow a common goal. Or start learning how leadership can translate over to great causes in society, such as raising money for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.
Lastly, The Dojo of Karate & Fitness will be hosting a Breast Cancer Boot Camp on Saturday, June 12th from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM. This is how parents and members of the community can get together and help raise money too.
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