Steve Nugent's Karate Institute

“Being a martial artist means that you follow a code of honor, respect, and integrity that results through dedicated physical and mental conditioning. With proper instruction and a solid martial arts curriculum, students will develop themselves into a person of strong mind, body, and character.”
- Shihan Steve Nugent

Little Dragons – (ages 4-5)
Little Ninjas – (ages 6-8)
Juniors/Teens – (ages 9-14)

Our Karate for Children program is a fun outlet for kids that is built upon the foundations of our martial arts values to provide your child with both mental and physical advantages. The progressive ranking system and character focused lesson plan is a fun and rewarding program that is designed to promote the following in your child:

Confidence

Respect

Honor

Discipline

Self Esteem

Coordination

Strength and Flexibility

Sportsmanship

Our lesson plan emphasizes achievement based on merit, teaching our students to set goals, overcome obstacles and celebrate their victories. We maintain an open, energetic, and fun environment without compromising the lessons that will carry forward into their social and academic lives.

While there are inherent lessons built within our Kenpo System, we at Steve Nugent’s Karate Institute have developed the Mind-Body-Character (MBC) System to further enhance our students’ experience and training while increasing the effectiveness of our instructors. The result of our program is a true martial artist, a person who has the ability to defend himself or herself with conviction but has the intellect, confidence, and self-respect to demonstrate restraint.

MBC is a teaching system that provides a blueprint for properly training children as complete martial artists. Through MBC, we train the whole child, not just their body. The result is a strong, confident, intellectual martial artist with mental skills that match their physical skills. The MBC System challenges our students to:

Think like a martial artist

Perform like a martial artist

Act like a martial artist

It is only when all three of these goals are achieved that a student will truly “be” a martial artist and Black Belt.

For more information on our Kenpo System and our unique MBC System, please call one of our school locations and ask our no obligation, free introductory private lesson.

A simple fact: A good martial artist must have a solid understanding of the basic human anatomy. This makes sense given that self-defense requires the knowledge to strike, block, or manipulate various parts of the body. In fact, without a baseline understanding of anatomy and certain body mechanics, it would be impossible to correctly execute many of the techniques taught within our Kenpo system.

Since there are 206 bones in the body and lots of hard working muscles, we have selected the major skeletal bones, muscle groups, and target areas that we feel each student should be able to name and recognize. So as not to overwhelm our students, the information delivered in this module has been kept clear and concise. For our younger students, we have chosen very specific targets of interest that are taught using fun games and in-class activities.

While none of our students will walk out of the dojo with an MD in medicine, they will be able to point to their shin and tell you definitively, "This is my tibia!"

As professionals in the health and fitness field, it our business to do everything we can to help our members improve their health and overall fitness level. Good health requires exercise and good eating habits and trust that these two requirements are not mutually exclusive. They go hand-in-hand.

Healthy Eating Habits: Our health module will arm our students and their families with the basics for good nutrition. This information will be delivered both in-class as well as out-of-class during special, nighttime events featuring guest speakers and industry experts.

Exercise: Obviously, karate is a great form of exercise for both kids and adults alike. The MBC System coordinates our training effort, providing specific drills and exercises to target defined skill sets such as strength, endurance, speed, flexibility, accuracy, and balance. To aid in this effort, students will take part in the SNKI Challenge at both the beginning and end of the quarter so that personal goals can be set and personal gains can be celebrated.

Steve Nugent has spent years developing and perfecting programs to help his students effectively defend themselves and preserve their own safety. Throughout the years, one thing has remained constant in his training and that is staying safe is as much mental (i.e. understanding how to handle certain situations), as it is physical.

Today's world, including the Internet, introduces all types of new challenges, especially where our children are concerned. As martial artists, we feel it is imperative that we do everything we can to help our students remain "safe."

When a new student walks into a dojo, they generally see 4 walls, a mat floor, and some equipment. When a martial artist walks into a dojo, they see and feel the legacy and tradition of which they have become a part. This change of perception helps to instill the integrity, respect, and work ethic that is expected of a martial artist and member of our school. However, without understanding both the ancient as well as modern histories of the art we teach, the road to this level of understanding can be needlessly long.

In our Asia Culture Module, we will take the time to explain some basic information about the origins of the martial arts themselves, how they came to the United States, the various styles of martial arts, and the history of our own Kenpo family tree. In addition, we'll be sure that each student can recognize Asian geography including China, Japan, Okinawa, and Korea.