Thinking about trying karate? Your first session is completely free.
Hear from our members
“I was scared of that kind of stereotypical regimented shouty kind of club and the KDS seemed the most relaxed and approachable club.”
– Susan
“Karate style full of traditional, functional, practical training. No competition or fight in a ring emphasis, just good solid traditional Karate.”
– Rob
“Being a parent takes up so much time and I wanted to develop a social community outside of parent-related activities!”
– Angela
“I’ve developed physically and mentally in ways that I never anticipated.”
– Neil
Location
Cardiff Martial Arts Academy,
Unit 8,
24 Norbury Road,
Fairwater,
Cardiff,
CF5 3AU
(Starting from Thurs 21 May 2026)
Please contact us before attending so we can let you into the venue.
What to expect
If you want to try Karate Do Shotokai, your first lesson is completely free.
It is helpful to know in advance if you are going to visit us, so we can welcome you on the day.
We work hard, but our practice is friendly and informal. Many of our new members are either new to karate entirely, or have trained in other styles.
What happens during a practice
All you need for your first lesson are some sports (or loose) clothes, and a bottle of water. We’ll ask you to sign a form to cover your insurance for the practice, and our Chief Instructor will email you after the practice with some instructions on how to join the club.
Normally, we start the 2 hour session with a 20 minute warm up (a mix of cardio and stretches). Don’t worry if you’re not very flexible or haven’t done exercise for a while, you can take the session as slowly as you need to. You’ll find it gets easier after each session!
The remainder of the session varies each week. We learn kata (learn more about kata), kumite (sparring), and practise how to move, defend, and attack through a variety of techniques. We don’t run beginner’s classes, as our sessions can cater for both new people as well as graded members. The club has 4 instructors who will take you through the stages of each training session.
Do let us know if there is anything that might affect your warm up and practice.
At the end of the session, we try to spend 5 minutes stretching the muscles we’ve used.
