Blue Dragon offers lessons twice a week in four age-appropriate classes. Because students can always learn from each other, all belt levels train together. All class lengths and content were designed in consultation with children’s educators and psychologists.
The completion of one age-level class is NOT a pre-requisite for the next. Beginners are ALWAYS welcome. Newcomers are well supported as they start their journey with Blue Dragon Martial Arts.
Tots (5-6 years)
Youngsters are introduced to the benefits of Karate through practice in solo, partner, and group drills and scenario-based drills. These lessons incorporate a lot of play and fun elements.
If you're not sure whether your child is ready to participate, consider using our complimentary try-out week as an experiment and we can discuss the results afterward.
Juniors (7-9 year)
Children build on what they’ve learned and the curriculum becomes more challenging. Beginners are heartily welcomed and integrated quickly into the class with the support of an assigned mentor. Limited enrolment affords individual attention. Monthly personal safety discussions are oriented to each age group.
Intermediate (10-13 years)
Once again, expectations increase as skills are sharpened and physical demands are intensified. Newcomers to this class, like any other, receive assistance while settling in. Monthly stripe tests serve as guides and short-term goals in all our classes and move students toward belt examinations. Older students are encouraged to develop leadership skills by enrolling in our Assistant Instructors’ program.
Seniors (14 years and up)
This class, geared to suit both the beginner and the advanced student, is taught the full curriculum of our school. We use the concept of scalability to make the beginner feel welcome and the experienced challenged.
Because self-defence skills are rarely required in the middle of a brightly lit, warm hall with a solid, flat floor, we occasionally shake up our regular training patterns by wearing street clothes, training in the snow at night, and even in the lake during our summer water-training session.
An advanced-training opportunity is available for Intermediate and Senior students at our Saturday morning class at Jarratt Hall (9am-10am).
See our class schedule by clicking here.
.Our Curriculum
Blue Dragon Martial Arts incorporates three disciplines in every course to present a seamless and practical approach to self defence.
Warm-up
(Powered by the CrossFit Method)
Designed to improve mental and physical fitness, these challenging warm-ups help students maximize their physical capabilities. Because students work at a level appropriate to their own ability, everyone can benefit from CrossFit warm-ups.
"CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide."
"Our program delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive. Our specialty is not specializing. Combat, survival, many sports, and life, reward this kind of fitness and, on average, punish the specialist."
"The CrossFit program is designed for universal scalability making it the perfect application for any committed individual regardless of experience. We’ve used our same routines for elderly individuals with heart disease and cage fighters one month out from televised bouts. We scale load and intensity; we don’t change programs."
Okinawa Karate Goju-Ryu
This is the style of Karate we study. It is an ancient form that draws on a Chinese heritage (Okinawa is a series of Japanese islands that extend southward close to the coast of China).
Designed as form of self-defence, Karate is traditionally an open-hand form of combat using a variety of strikes and blocks, holds, throws and kicks. Although Blue Dragon Martial Arts focuses on “authentic” or pre-World War II Karate, which sees Karate more as a form of self-defence than sport; we are also grateful for the hard work done by relatively recent Okinawan Karate masters and innovators Sensei Chojun Miyagi and Sensei Meitoku Yagi who developed systems of learning Karate for those of us who came later.
Self-Defence
(Powered by The S.P.E.A.R. System Method)
Although Karate on its own is a life-long practice, Sensei Allain wants his students to have immediate tools to protect themselves. The SPEAR system answers this need in an effective and elegant manner. Canadian Tony Blauer has designed a complete Martial Arts program and has been named one of the top 10 most-influential persons in Martial Arts today.
Sensei Allain has been field-testing the program in our schools and has met and trained with Mr. Blauer at his new headquarters in West Virginia. Sensei Allain is working towards certification in this system as an instructor.
"The S.P.E.A.R. SYSTEM™ utilizes the speed and reliability of the startle/flinch mechanism to convert the sudden attack into a tactical counter. Most importantly, this system will not interfere with your current training and in fact it is most easily used as a bridge to any complex motor skill transition."
"The S.P.E.A.R. SYSTEM™ is a 'behaviorally' researched, close-quarter personal defence method utilizing the body's natural flinches and reactions to fear or violence and then converts these reactions into efficient tactical choices. Because the system is "Genetically wired and behaviorally inspired™", anybody can learn it and everybody can do it."
"It is the result of over two decades of research. The S.P.E.A.R. SYSTEM™ is so direct and efficient, it is currently being adopted by major law enforcement and military training units across the globe."