Washington Karate Lakewood Dojo

Charles Sweigart was selected as sensei of the Lakewood Dojo in 1995 and has run it ever since. He holds Rokudan, 6th degree black belt, in the International Hayashi-ha Shito-ryu Federation, and found what he calls “real and pure karate” under Hanshi Julius Thiry. He won the National Championship three years running and referees at World Karate Federation level, as Kumite Referee A and Kata Judge A. The dojo's stated aim is instruction “true to the spirit of traditional karate-do,” and it runs a competition team alongside its regular classes. Sensei Tünde Nagy-Sweigart teaches here as well.

Newcomers start in Beginner Karate. After a warm-up that includes everyone, new students are taken aside and taught the fundamental movements at their own pace, a method the dojo says builds confidence and takes away peer pressure. From there, training splits into kata and kumite. Kata are pre-arranged forms that build speed, strength and balance; the beginner kata stress precision, the advanced ones get far more complex, and all of them hold self-defense techniques. Kumite starts with punching, kicking and keeping distance, then adds foot sweeps and throws, and later combines speed, power and footwork against an opponent. Both are tournament categories. Private lessons are available by appointment, and Sensei Sweigart also teaches self-defense to soldiers of the 2nd Stryker Brigade at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

The building covers 5,000 square feet, with four training floors of 1,000 square feet each, dressing rooms, a break room and a lobby with wi-fi. A secondary matted room is kept for extra practice. Students range from ages 4 to 70, and kids from age 4 have their own Kinder Karate class.

Beginner classes run on an ongoing basis, so there's no set start date, and the first visit is a complimentary trial class. The dojo is open weekday afternoons and evenings and Saturday mornings, and closed on Sundays. Fees and class times aren't listed, so a call to the dojo when booking the trial covers both.