New to Karate - looking for a Dojo Los Angeles area SFV

[gpalmos]

Hi all, I am new to the art. I have been practicing Muay Thai since 2006, BJJ since 2008 (currently a Brown Belt), also trained boxing, MMA, and submission grappling.

I feel it is now time to get back to my roots. I started Karate when I was 7 for about a year, and I now want to embark on that journey again as an adult.

Part of my renewed interest has been a result of watching a surge of UFC fighters with Karate backgrounds getting to the highest rankings in MMA (Machida, St. Pierre, Thompson, Nelson, etc...).

I am in my 40s and do not plan on fighting professionally, but love to engage in competitive sparring.

Glad to be here and learn from other practitioners of the art.

I am also looking for recommendations for a gym that emphasizes a bit on the sparring side of the sport, in the Los Angeles area.

Thank you

Gus

[ninjanurse]

Welcome to KF! Good luck on finding a dojo-I am sure someone on here will have a recommendation for you as we are a vast and varied community!

[twistkick kid]

Welcome to KF!

I know of a handful of schools under the United Studios of Self Defense name in and around LA (and possibly Fountain Valley, if that's what you mean in your title by FV). I'm at one of their schools near the San Diego area and have enjoyed all aspects of training with them over the last 20 or so months.

USSD teaches Shaolin Kempo Karate. It varies from location to location and instructor to instructor, but call around to see if you can find someone who likes to focus on sparring.

They have tournament opportunities every 6-9 months, with competitive sparring divisions in addition to kata (forms).

If you put your ZIP code in here, it might give you a better idea of where the schools are in relation to your house/place of work. http://www.ussd.com/corporate/finder

hopefully this gives you a starting point for you in your search for a karate school!

again, welcome to the forums

-twistkick kid

[Wastelander]

Welcome to the forum, Gus! I'm glad you have decided to come back to karate--too many people try karate as a kid and don't get the fullest/best experience, and miss out on something great. It's awesome that you've kept going with other martial arts, too!

As it turns out, I know of three solid karate schools in the LA area:

World Budo Arts, Santa Monica, CA

Kaizen Dojo, Torrance, CA

Machida Academy, Lomita, CA

World Budo Arts is a joint operation between Tom Callahan Sensei (Kyokushin) and Vassie Naidoo Sensei (Goju-Kai). They train very hard, and do knockdown-style sparring, but are friendly people who will work with you at whatever level you need.

Kaizen Dojo is run by my friend William Ford Sensei (Shorin-Ryu), and he also has a BJJ instructor that teaches classes there. He teaches traditional Okinawan karate, with a somewhat MMA-ish approach. Very nice man, too!

Machida Academy is kind of an obvious entity in this list--it's run by Lyoto and Chinzo Machida, both of whom would be familiar to you. I have not personally gotten to train with them, but I do know a few people who do, and their feedback has been nothing but positive. From what I gather, you would be learning Shotokan karate with a blended self defense/MMA approach.

[bushido_man96]

Welcome to KF! It sounds like you've got some great experiences to draw from, and you should find it very enjoyable here.

[gpalmos]

Welcome to KF! Good luck on finding a dojo-I am sure someone on here will have a recommendation for you as we are a vast and varied community!

Thank you

[sensei8]

Welcome to KF, gpalmos; glad that you're here!!

Exactly where in the Los Angeles area are you referring to?? Los Angeles itself, or in the Los Angeles County area??

[gpalmos]

Welcome to KF, gpalmos; glad that you're here!!

Exactly where in the Los Angeles area are you referring to?? Los Angeles itself, or in the Los Angeles County area??

Hello Sensei8, I live in Granada Hills, which is in the San Fernando Valley area. It's about 20 miles West of Downtown in the suburbs.

[sensei8]

Welcome to KF, gpalmos; glad that you're here!!

Exactly where in the Los Angeles area are you referring to?? Los Angeles itself, or in the Los Angeles County area??

Hello Sensei8, I live in Granada Hills, which is in the San Fernando Valley area. It's about 20 miles West of Downtown in the suburbs.

The San Fernando Valley, huh!! Nowadays, the SFV is chock full of dojo's of all types of MA styles. To be honest, the list, published and unpublished, is quite intense since the 1960's!! Dojo's back then were sprinkled here and there, and as the years crept by, the plethora of MA schools sprung up like uncontrolled weeds; they were everywhere, just as they are now!! You should have no problem finding a credible one somewhere in the SFV. I've no specific recommendations for you, and it's not that I've no idea of what can be found in the SFV. It's just that there are quite a lot, and I mean quite a lot and in all type of locations!!

I was raised in the SFV, namely Canoga Park, Van Nuys, North Hollywood, and Burbank ever since 1958 - 1994; I was born in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1957!! Right now, I live in Houston, TX. How I got here, is quite a boring story. But, I'm constantly traveling back to the SFV quite often ever since 1994; I miss it very much!!

Good luck on your search!!

[Patrick]

Welcome aboard, Gus! I went ahead and moved this to the Karate forum, as I feel like it'll be your best bet. Thanks for joining us!

Patrick