There is no stipulated time frame between gradings as many of our members have trained before, some members seem to fast track through the first 3 or 4 gradings.  Our offline Dojo has examinations every three months, but really its all down to the individual, as people progress at different speeds. 

Our Inner Circle private Facebook group is where we put all the live class details, extra video tutorials and it's also an area to ask questions and recieve real time feedback.

The monthly fee for Inner Circle and Monthly members will always stay as it was when you first become a member, but this may increase in the future for new members joining, but existing Dojo members fees will never go up.

There is no grading/testing fee from 10th Kyu to 1st Kyu for our Monthly and Inner Circle members. Karateka taking a Black belt test will incur an extra fee as it is very time consuming.

We do ask our members to get their own karate uniform (gi) and belts, we are also looking at the cost of printed certificates, (please see question 4 regarding certificates). 

We have three live zoom classes each week at the moment. They are all included for the Inner Circle members.

The times below show UK time ~

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Class Times Below Are In UK Time Zone

Wednesday ~ 1700 hrs - 1800 hrs 

Thursday ~ 1700 hrs - 1800 hrs

Saturday or Sunday~ 1700 hrs - 1800 hrs (added to the facebook page on the Friday if not told the week before)

The APP is included for Monthly and Inner Circle Members. As soon as join the Dojo, go download the App (Shotokan Bites), create a free account (don't pay anything), then email us and we will grant you access.

Testing is included up to and including 1st Kyu for Monthly and Inner Circle Members. Lifetime members can access the testing for an additional fee.

Each belt/ranks examination is explained inside the respective belt/rank course.

Test videos are uploaded to Youtube and marked as unlisted, there is a full explanation of how to do this inside each belt/rank course.

Inner Circle members will reciev a video review for every belt rank test.

Black Belt examinations have fees as they are much more involved and very time consuming.

All successful karateka recieve a downloadable certificate, but our members can also order a beautiful printed certificate, which will be mailed direct. The printed certificates are purely optional.

We would prefer our karateka to wear Gi for testing, but this is optional and up to each member.

The EIKA patch can be ordered from inside the Dojo.

All fitness levels are suitable because you train at home and only do what you feel you can handle, you are in total control, the fitter you get, the more you can put into your karate practice.

You do not need much space at all, even with the kata, we have a technique where you can practice the whole kata in a five foot square space

We have members that have injuries and they work around those injuries, we have some members that do not kick and thats fine, they focus more on upper body work.

We do like our members to video their exams in a karate uniform (gi), but this is not compulsory. We have a Dojo patch (see question 10) Other equipment is purely optional, as in a punch bag, makiwara (striking board), recommended books, etc.

This is a very good question and one of the hardest things about training at home. One of the most important concepts of karate is Ikken Hissatsu or to finish with one blow. We try and instill this concept in our members by explaining that when blocking and attacking techniques are practiced at speed, they should be executed as if your life depends on it, when you hit the makiwara a full speed, you should not just try to hit it, but break it,destroy it! (obviously after you have executed hundreds of techniques lightly.

We are planning training camps so karateka who are unable to practice partner work and Karateka who want to test for the kumite sections can do so. These EIKA training camps will be enjoyable and fun.

It can accomplished quite quickly, but is entirely down to the individual and also the results can sometimes be very confusing and not make sense at all, let me explain.....If someone is practicing once per week and someone else is practicing three times per week, you would expect the person practicing three times per week to way more advanced after six months, but it depends completely on the attitude of the karateka whilst training, if someone is totally focused and applying the concept of Ikken Hissatsu with all their fast moves and train once per week, they will be way stronger and progress much faster than someone training three times per week, but simply going through the movements with no intent, so it's all down to the attitude of the karateka.

We use the Shodan-Ho system for our black belt testing. This means that successful karateka can test fully online to black belt, but it doesn't include partner work. Shodan-Ho is still black belt and some people just stay at that, others want to demonstrate kumite also.   

Here at EIKA we do not believe fighting is the be all and end all of karate, but kumite is an essential part of karatedo, because of this we have the option for successful black belt karateka to demonstrate their kumite to the examiners on one of our annual training camps to ratify their rank, if they wish. It's all down to the individual really, most are happy with their black belt and a few like to show us their partner work.

Traditional Karate is highly beneficial and suitable for adults over 50, even those in their 60s,70s and beyond, as it is a highly adaptable, low-impact martial art. The practice emphasizes technique, balance, and mental discipline over intense competitive combat. If you are over 50, CLICK HERE to check out our free video reward course.