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6 Top Reasons to Try Karate

At the Orillia Academy of Karate, students come from all walks of life in all age groups and all shapes and sizes. And they all have their own reasons for joining, ranging from the desire to be able to defend themselves to the desire to get in shape.

Here are a few reasons to try karate that you may not have even considered. Hopefully some of these points will inspire you to come and try us out:

Self Confidence

Karate will help improve your posture, balance, awareness and the ability to protect yourself. Also, as your karate training progresses, you will be encouraged to perform and speak before the group and take a leadership role, either in a small group situation or with the entire class. All of this combined will have a profound effect on your confidence level in everyday life.

Self Defense

One of the most common reasons to attend karate classes is to learn how to defend oneself.  You will first of all learn how to block an attack and you’ll get to practice many different potential situations and techniques. Pretty soon you’ll find you have the ability to respond automatically and without hesitation to any physical attack.

It’s important to note that we never initiate a violent situation but rather are ready to control one should it be forced upon us.

Self Discipline

Karate requires and promotes as high a degree of training of the mind as it does the body.  Self discipline is a particular requirement in sparring, which should always be controlled, non-contact and non-violent. The idea is not to win over an opponent, but to conquer oneself.


Coordination

Karate requires a lot of hand, foot, eye, and mental coordination, which is developed over time. If you consider yourself as an uncoordinated person, our training will help you grow those skills. Even if you are a natural athlete, standing on one foot while kicking with the other and blocking with your hands is quite difficult and involves a lot of coordination.

Family Enjoyment

We encourage entire families to join and train together – it’s a great way to spend time with your family. We’ve even had families all test together for various belt levels.

Meet New People

People who begin karate together develop a bonding friendship and very often obtain their next belt levels at the same time because they work together and encourage each other during class time. Many lasting friendships have been created at the Orillia Academy of Karate over the years.

Whatever your top reason to try karate, we hope to welcome you soon!

reasons to try karate

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Self Defense at the Orillia Academy of Karate

Stats Canada tells us that, shockingly, over one-third of Canadians have been physically or sexually assaulted since the age of 15 – statistics which certainly encourage women in particular to seek out self-defense classes. But although a short term self-defense course may certainly help, enrolling in a Karate class like ours may be a better option for several reasons.

Karate classes will help you develop the ability to defend yourself from a physical attack should you ever need to.  And, equally important, you will also learn a variety of skills to help you gain confidence and awareness of your surroundings, along with the physical ability to fend off an attacker if necessary.

That being said, my advice is always to run away from an attacker if you can. If that’s not possible, you’ll be able to put to use such self-defense techniques as shown in the knife-attack video below.

Karate classes will help you to develop the confidence to handle extraordinary situations calmly, while standing your ground. When you give off an air of confidence, you’re less likely to be seen as an ‘easy target’ and therefore less likely to become the victim of an attack.

The first thing you will learn in this Dojo is how to block attacks. You can learn punches, kicks and other techniques, but without blocking first you won’t get a chance to use them. 

self defense at the orillia academy of karate

In Karate, THERE IS NO FIRST ATTACK. We never start a violent situation but seek to resolve it in as compassionate a way as we can. 

“A punch should stay like a treasure in the sleeve. It should not be used indiscriminately.’ – Chotoku Kyan (pioneer of Shorin-ryu Karate)

Self defense at the Orillia Academy of Karate: Stacie Theis defending a knife attack by Gerry Ramsay:

 

 

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Why Choose Orillia Academy of Karate?

orillia YMCA karate

If you’re looking to get in a little better shape, and would appreciate learning how to defend yourself at the same time,  there’s no better way than signing up with Orillia Academy of Karate!


There are literally hundreds of different types of martial arts styles, and you want to make sure that you are getting a good deal on your karate lessons. Karate studios vary in quality, and unless you know what to look for, you might not make the best choice. There are hundreds if not hundreds of thousands of karate instructors and, believe us, their quality and methods of instruction vary widely!

Let’s take a look at 4 questions to keep in mind when searching for martial arts classes…

How long have they been in business?

This might not seem obvious at first, but the length of time that a karate studio has been in existence is more important than you might think. Why is that? Because martial arts studios tend to come and go. Just because someone has a black belt in karate, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a good instructor.

So if a karate studio is brand new, the odds of its staying around for a long time, are fairly low. But if the program has been around for a little while, it might be safe to assume it has a good reputation.

And just so you know, the Orillia Academy of Karate Program has been in existence since 1988.

Who is the instructor?

Who is the instructor? Is he or she a well-known name?  The instructor makes all the difference. Finding a good instructor is like finding a nugget of gold. The good ones are hard to find, but when you find them, you should really stick to them. Ask the instructor or what his qualifications are and how long he’s been practicing karate. A little legwork goes a long way.

FYI: Orillia Academy instructor Gerry Ramsay started his own training with the Orillia YMCA Karate Program in 1991 and received his Black Belt from the Toronto Academy of Karate & Judo Ltd in 1999. And yes, he’s generally regarded by his students as a “nugget of gold!”

How far will you need to travel?

Location is important.  Is it close to home, and easy to access?  What are the hours? Find out all this before hand. You don’t want to be driving hours just to take a karate lesson here and there. And if you miss too many classes, you probably won’t make such good progress.

While close is better, if a really good instructor is a little out-of-the-way, that might be a good way to go too.

What’s their style?

It’s strongly recommended that you go and observe a class before you sign up. Here’s the thing: some karate schools actually allow contact…meaning that you can, and probably will, get hurt while sparring.

The Orillia Academy of Karate program is non-contact. Students are well-trained not to actually hit, or even touch, their opponents while sparring. This makes for a safe environment where you can learn how to defend yourself without fear of being hit.

So come and check us out. For more information, contact instructor Gerry Ramsay at (705) 326-8259.