Where are you located?
Mountain Karate is located at 54 Carolina Avenue in the town of Saluda, NC, just off rt 176. We are conveniently located less than 8 miles from Hendersonville, Tryon and Columbus, with free parking.
We have a beautiful dojo space that is great to train in, with wood floors and natural light.
What kinds of classes do you offer?
We have classes for kids, teens, adults, and families, from beginner to advanced levels. Classes meet on weekday evenings and on Saturday mornings.
Is all martial arts karate?
Karate is the name of a variety of empty-hand martial arts that come from Okinawa, Japan.
What martial art do you teach?
We teach a branch of traditional Okinawan Karate called Yamabayashi Ryu. The name means Mountain Forest style. We have a unique approach unlike that of any other traditional karate school.
Where did your instructors learn?
Our head instructor Jeff Brooks trained in Okinawa and in the US, led a large dojo
for over 20 years, taught thousands of students, promoted about 80 of them to black belt ranks, is an influential and widely published writer on martial arts, and recently retired from a career in law enforcement, as a detective and use of force trainer. All the black belt instructors at Mountain Karate received their training from him.
Do you have gym equipment?
Mountain Karate has a full range of traditional training equipment, and we provide instruction in using them and other methods to rapidly develop high performance defensive skills and optimal fitness. We don’t have treadmills or weight lifting machines.
Why are Mountain Karate’s prices so great?
We are not on a main street or in a mall. We set our rates as low as we can to make professional, premium quality self-defense training available to everyone who wants it.
How is Mountain Karate different?
Mountain Karate classes provide personal attention for each member. Each member learns real, practical self-defense skills, in a warm, challenging atmosphere.
Strength, flexibility, endurance and focus training are built into every class, at a level that is right for each person.
Mountain Karate instructors teach real-world self-defense derived from law enforcement training, practical experience, and from decades of teaching all kinds of people, making self-defense skills accessible, useful and enjoyable for everyone.
We use kata or “forms” to teach fighting skills. Because we are not confined by the demands and limitations imposed by big organizations, we have the freedom to explore and develop deep insight to the techniques, tactics and applications hidden in the kata. The real-world environment has allowed us to test what we have discovered, prove that it works, and share it freely among interested martial artists around the world.
Is your style of karate the best martial art for me?
Our way of practicing karate makes it a full-spectrum martial art. All of our members get a broad range of fighting skills.
We are not limited to just wrestling, or restricted to only punching or kicking, or rolling, or grappling or pressure points. We use all of these – because all of these techniques and approaches appear in the kata that we practice, make our knowledge of the body’s potential, defensive tactics and combative deep, and all are valuable tools for self-defense.
Many of our members have had a lot of pervious martial arts experience. They train at Mountain Karate because they believe ours is the best martial art for them.
Is it easy to learn martial arts at Mountain Karate?
Our training goes step by step, so it is easy for people to get started, regardless of experience level. Little by little the training becomes more demanding – as each person gets stronger and more skillful – and is ready to take on a greater challenge.
Because real self-defense is not a matter of learning some tricks, or gimmicks or techniques – it requires deeply ingrained muscle memory from practice. Real self-defense requires sharp focus and will, as well as good physical skills, and the experience of using them under pressure.
Do you go to tournaments?
Although our kata are now an Olympic event, we mainly practice not for sports or tournament competitions. Most of our members train for life – for self-defense and for the personal satisfaction that comes from being fit, flexible, focused and confident.
How do I start martial arts training at Mountain Karate?
Mountain Karate offers a free private introductory session for each member. And there is personal instruction as needed in each session. You will learn step by step, at your own pace. Our regular schedule of classes – day and evening, weekday and weekend, make it easy to fit classes into your schedule, so you can go at your own pace, when it is convenient for you.
How many years does it take to learn a martial art?
When you train at Mountain Karate you will see changes in your strength, fitness, flexibility, focus and self-defense skills in a matter of weeks. But there is no limit to how far you can take it. Our members continue to stay in top physical condition, to learn more, take on new challenges. Many continue for a lifetime.
Is traditional karate real?
Some people have the idea that all traditional karate is just postures and empty
forms, with sparring that looks like boxing, and lots of formalities and organizational politics. There is some of that our there. But there is none of that in what we do. We have recovered the treasure in the traditional Okinawan arts and are bringing it to life, in the lives of our members and training partners around the country and the world.
How do I choose a martial art for my child?
Go see a class in person. Make sure the children in the class are focused, sincere, skilled and happy.
Make sure you are respected, whether you know anything about martial arts or not.
Make sure that you are not being charged exorbitant tuition, signing a financial contract, or that you will be asked to pay for many add-ons, high test fees, expensive gear, required events, or other extras.
Make sure the atmosphere is positive and respectful.
Make sure the style is legitimate and the teachers know what they are doing.
Make sure the atmosphere is encouraging and challenging without being harsh or lax.
Make sure the movement is healthy and safe, and encourages good movement technique, and that the children are not just playing and not just putting on gear and playfighting or punching each other.
Make sure they are learning good self-defense skills.
Make sure they are learning good traits of behavior and character – self-control, self-discipline, honesty, teamwork, self-reliance and respect for themselves and others.
Is karate good for a child with ADHD?
At Mountain Karate every child is encouraged to focus, in a healthy positive way. The training is fun so the kids enjoy paying attention and focusing in. They are proud of what they can do, and want to do more.
Do you have classes outdoors in the mountains?
Yes. Most of our classes are indoors, but now and then we have outdoor training, usually up high. It is feels great to train outside, it is traditional to train in natural surroundings – on mountains, in the forest, on the beach, wherever you are.
What is real self-defense?
Real self-defense depends on being alert, skillful and confident; to be aware enough to stop potential threats before they happen, and to avoid being drawn into unnecessary conflict.
Real self-defense depends on real skills, physical and mental – no trick or gimmick or figuring “I’ll just do it” will be dependable in a crisis.
What you can rely on are the skills you have practiced so often and so well they are second nature to you, so ingrained in your muscle memory, they are there when you need them.
There is no guarantee. But your chance of prevailing against a real-world threat are much higher as a trained person, with well-developed skills and a well-conditioned body, than they would be if you are not trained.
Contact us, come in for a visit or join us anytime.
