Your Karate

Thank you, Sensei Gus Suwaid, for picking up a copy of *Your Karate*. We connected online through some private sessions, and even through a screen, your humility and genuine love for karate came through loud and clear. I hope we get to meet in person one day. All the best on your karate journey, Sensei Gus — I hope this book helps you along the way. OSU! 🙏

Since releasing my book, Your Karate: How to Make Karate Work for You, many people have reached out asking about seminars and in-person training.

I am now taking bookings for seminars across Canada and internationally. Whether your dojo wants to focus on kumite strategy, kihon and kata , fighter preparation, or conditioning, I can customize a session that fits your group.

I am also offering private one-on-one lessons, currently available only in Barrie.

For bookings and details, send me a direct message or visit the Contact Kicks Dojo website via the link in my bio.

Osu!

Senpai Dezső from our Barrie dojo gifted a copy of Your Karate to his brother in the Netherlands.
I'm really moved by this, especially knowing the quality of these two, as brothers and as friends.
Forever grateful for this.
Thank you.
OSU! 🙏

This one means a lot. Senpai Veronica Williams purchased a signed copy of Your Karate and gifted it to Shihan Jerry Poe from American Vital Karate. I've known both of them for a while now, and even though we haven't connected in a while, knowing they thought about me like this is truly humbling. Thank you again for the support. A big Osu!

If you want to supplement your karate training, Adding kettlebells to your routine could be a great option.

They are great because you don't need a gym and you can use them anywhere. They build real functional strength, improve your core and hip power for striking, and help you maintain muscle mass without losing speed.

At the end of the day, you are in charge of your own body and mind, both on and off the mats. Stay healthy and fit, everyone.

Big thank you to Sensei Maria Varga, leader of Kyokushin Army Band Dojo in Transylvania, Romania, for purchasing a signed copy of Your Karate: How to Make Karate Work for You.

I am always inspired by your dedication to your dojo, your students, and your relentless commitment to Kyokushin Karate. I hope this book brings you real value and fresh perspectives on your martial arts journey.

Arigato Gozaimash*ta.

OSU!

📖 Your Karate: How to Make Karate Work for You is available now on Amazon! Tap the link in my bio to grab your copy today.

Why i don't call our kids classes "Little Ninjas" like a lot of schools do?

It's not a knock on anyone else's choice, plenty of great schools use the name and it works fine for them. For me, it's more about wanting to be intentional with the words we use around our students.
Ninja sounds cool, catchy, easy to put on a sign. But historically, the shinobi (ninja) of feudal Japan weren't warriors in the samurai sense. They were hired for espionage, sabotage, and sometimes assassination, and their methods, deception, disguise, poison, working outside the rules of open combat, were exactly what made them useful. Where the samurai code valued honor and open confrontation, the whole value of a shinobi was doing what a samurai wouldn't.

That's just not the identity I want to build around our kids, even in something as small as a class name.

Words shape how kids see themselves, long before they understand why. That's part of what 24-Hour Warrior is about: what you call something, what you train, how you carry yourself, none of that stays on the mat. It follows you into the rest of your life.

So I'd rather call our students karateka. Sometimes little karateka, sometimes just karate kids. Simple, direct, and it actually means something: someone walking the path of karate, training with discipline and respect, not hiding in shadows.

It might cost a little on the marketing side. Catchy names sell. But I'd rather our students and their parents understand what we actually stand for, even if it's a smaller draw.

Thank you, Senpai Juan Bross from New Jersey, for buying a signed copy of my book. It's a great privilege and feeling to know that my book can be of help to you. I hope you enjoy it.
Shihan Steve.
Juan Bross