Why train karate?

At Kuro Obi Martial Arts our goal is to provide students with the best possible training they can get as martial artists. We do not teach acrobatic moves, with multiple spinning kicks and dramatic flips. While they are very impressive, they have no place in a martial art that is serious about teaching people how to handle themselves in a potentially dangerous situation.

We do NOT guarantee that you will become a champion fighter, or invincible in a self-defence situation. Such an assurance would be impossible and such a promise would be unconscionable.

What we do offer is the opportunity for students to be the best that you can, if you want to be.

Most people usually just go to the club that is closest to their home or work, and don't give anything else much consideration. This should not always be the case.

Choosing a martial arts class should be approached with some thought. Some questions and facts you might consider:

• Is it the kind of martial art you want? Does the instructor inspire you? Contact us to book a trial class to find out.
• Can you get there on time? Click here for the weekly schedule.
• Can you commit to the schedule to make a serious go of it? 
• It's a long term commitment.  For children, it's not something you can do for a school term or two and then move on. You've barely started. It's like learning the half the alphabet, but not actually learning to read any words, or for that matter write them.

Here are a few more things you should take into consideration when making your choice.

• Do you want to be part of a black belt factory the gives out black belts for profit? There are quite a few in Sydney's Inner West and they give black belts to 9 year olds after a couple of years of training.  We're not one of those.
• We don't give black belts to anyone who is under the age of 14. A kyokushin black belt requires a lot of personal commitment in time and sweat, and a mental maturity that isn't attained in most people under that age.
• As an adult It takes at least 4-5 years to get a black belt, usually longer, and each dan grade takes several years of additional training after that. Our instructors have been training for many years to get where they are to be able to teach you.
• If you start as a child, it can take 10 years or more because they train fewer hours weekly.
• We are part of a large international organisation with over 60 member countries. See our parent website for more information about that.
• We hold tournaments on a regular basis to practice what we learn. We also participate in external tournaments, and international events.  You'd be expected to participate in them.
• We hold seminars and camps for group training and bring in special guest instructors, some from overseas, some locally.

There are many more questions you might have, some of which may be answered in the FAQ page. If they're not answered there, please feel free to contact us using any of the means available.