When BKMA was first started, we were just a group of "friends" that wanted to hang out and train in the martial arts, sharing what each of us knew. More and more people heard about us and asked to join. Many of those people have always wanted to learn the martial arts but found it impossible because of financial reasons. We would never turn anyone way because of that want to focus on spreading our style to others, not trying to make a buck.
Over 20 years later we host our classes at locations that require very little month rent from us (such as churches or city parks) and have student pay the minimal that is needed to operate a martial arts school.
All of our instructors are volunteer and do it for the love of the art. To this day, if a student can't pay they will not be turned away. All that we ask is that they pay what they can when they can and help with alternative payment method (like cleaning the dojo). All of these arrangements will only be known between the student/parents involved and Sensei Braun.
BKMA has joined different associations to provide our members with rank recognition, school support and better training opportunities.
The first one was founded by the late grandmaster, Rev. W. Foster; the Yin Yang Do Karate Association.
The second one is the United States Karate-Do Kai, under the direction of Grandmaster Phillip W. Koeppel.
BKMA's founder, Christopher Braun Sensei, is also a founding member of the Feeding Crane Kung Fu International lead by Grandmaster Liu Chang-I.
And lastly, we belong to the Shogun Federation of Martial Arts, lead by Gregg Brown Sensei.
To learn more about these groups, please click on their names to be brought to their individual websites.
Yes, we do train in 4 different wooden weapons within our system.
The first weapon that our students train with is the escrima sticks (baston). This is is taught from white belt through green belt.
The second is chizikun-bo. These are taught at the blue belt level.
At brown belt we teach kenjitsu, or sword training. Students will use the bokken for most of their training and gradually change over to a metal blade.
The last one is a tanto, or knife. This is taught at black belt (1st degree).
Students are welcome to train in other weapons; in fact we host seminars on different ones often by bringing in masters of Okinawan Kobudo.
The first Saturday of each month is dedicated to weapons training. Please see the instructor first for details.
No. There is no fee for the testing, belts, or certificates. Ranks are always earned and never bought. All of our ranks are still recognized by the Associations that we belong to (see above). Because of that, no student will ever "pay" for his rank. We feel that ranking is a part of training and our privilege to be a part of the student's progression in the martial arts.
To view our rank requirements, please click the button below.
Uniforms are nice and do help the student get into a "mind set" for training, however they are not required. Its always best to see if the student will stay with the training before investing in a uniform.
Uniforms (if you do wish to wear one) should be the fold-over, or traditional, style Karate Gi. You can wear any color you wish or mix and match. We do sell them in black, white, blue, red or pink.
One of our most common question is "Can I come watch a class?" No. You won't understand if you like the training or not by sitting on the sidelines. You can, however, come and participate in classes for a few weeks to see if you or your child like it. We are not a business and not looking for your money. We want people that will become students. Come and try the classes for free and see if you want to become a member of our dojo family.
It is important to know where our traditions come from and who was our teachers. Please see our martial arts lineage HERE. If you have any questions about our lineage, please feel free to reach out to us.