To begin your practice of karate at the North Delta dojo, all you need to do is register at the dojo.
Kyu tests are held twice a year in April and November. There are no fees to participate in kyu tests.
In order to participate in kyu tests or other CSK activities, you must be a member of CSK.
- CSK membership dues are for each calendar year, and are $100 per year for non-black belts. However, for new members, the first year’s dues are only $75.
- Furthermore, new members who join in the second half of the year will receive a further $25 discount from their second year’s dues
The most important benefit of being a member in CSK is the opportunity to attend practices with Ohshima Sensei. Ohshima Sensei leads only a few practices a year at the Shotokan Ohshima Dojo in Santa Barbara, California which are open to beginners:
- Kids practice (for kids and parents who are practicing) – typically held in June
- Open practice after the Nisei Week Tournament – typically the Sunday following the first Saturday in August
- Senior practice (white belts over 40 years old) – typically held in October
- Last practice of the year with Ohshima Sensei – first Saturday in December
In addition, each year, Ohshima Sensei leads a practice for women, brown belts, and black belts. Thus, the number of times that you can practice with Sensei in a year are limited.
While Santa Barbara is not a few minutes drive away, to receive instruction from the pre-eminent artist/expert in any other field that you were studying, no distance would be too far to travel.
Those of us who have practiced for many years with Ohshima Sensei cannot adequately describe the benefits we have received from his instruction. Some of what we have experienced has been captured in a lecture that Ohshima Sensei gave at Waseda University in 2003: Lecture by Ohshima Sensei.
If you wish to further your practice of karate and join CSK, please talk to one of the senior members in the dojo.