West LA Karate School

Karate training is divided into three aspects: basics (kihon) sparring (kumite) and forms (kata) Kihon entails the practice of the basics of stance, blocking, punching, kicking, striking, moving and stance. Kumite involves prearranged attacks and defenses at a lower level progressing to free sparring (free exchange of techniques with a partner) at higher levels. Kata are the prearranged sequences of defensive and offensive techniques that preserve and encode our style. Classes selection in length from a half an hour, an hour, and 1. 5 hours. Classes are held three times per week. We recommend attending two to three classes per week (especially in the beginning) if possible, as much of the learning is by rote and repetition in the beginning.