I am too old/too young for karate.
We have members ranging from 5 years old to 50+. Although we cannot accept children under 5 (for insurance reasons) there are no other age limits on what we do. Training is catered to each individual, and as we concentrate on self-defence rather than competition we feel that we do not exclude anyone.

I have a disability so I can’t train.
We have trained people with a wide range of illnesses, from cystic fibrosis, arthritis, asthma and also children with such conditions as ADHD. As long as we know about any health problems we are happy to work with you so that you get the maximum benefit from your training.

Karate is ineffective for self defence.
We do not concentrate on competition. Our training is geared towards teaching effective self-defence lessons. We start right at the beginning with conflict avoidance and work through how to deal with aggressive situations and on to dealing with post-conflict situations. We can never guarantee success every time (beware ANY programme that does), but we firmly believe that our training will not only teach you how to deal with an attack, but also how to avoid conflict in the first place.

It’s all about fighting so I’m going to get hurt.
Karate is all about self-defence; it is not about getting bruised and battered. We train to avoid being injured in an attack, so getting bruised and battered in our training would be defeating the object. As with any sport there is always risk of injury, but these are rare accidents. (Football has a MUCH higher injury rate)

I am too shy/scared to start karate.
Everyone has a first day. We all understand what you are going through. It is scary to step through that door, but from there we will do our best to make you feel welcome. We are a friendly group, and although we take our karate seriously we also love a laugh and a joke. Karate is a social activity and a great way to make friends. Once you make that initial step it all becomes easier.