Maple Ridge Karate Center
We're martial arts experts first and foremost. We combine traditional Okinawan Goju-Ryu karate with brain-based, age-specific training to build confident, focused, resilient kids.
Our Approach
To develop our program, we sought out top experts in children. That includes child psychologists and experts in how kids grow and develop. Kids build motor skills and cognitive abilities in stages, so we designed our curriculum to work WITH those stages for the most powerful, fun experience possible.
The result is game-based martial arts training with a twist. Drills that kids love, yet they learn their martial arts moves faster than traditional schools. Our method of teaching helps kids learn faster, focus more, and retain information quicker.
At Maple Ridge Karate Center, we don't just teach martial arts — we are utilizing martial arts to build skills that carry outside of the dojo. The respect kids learn from karate, whether from bowing, standing still and waiting for the next command, can be one of the most important benefits of this martial art, and it often carries over into school, helping to improve behavior and even grades.
Sensei Suzanne Saccani
Suzanne Saccani has been training in the industry for over 20 years. She has an excellent reputation with working with preschoolers and children. Her Early Childhood Education background gives her an edge with her teaching skills. She understands how children learn and adapts to each student's individual style with patience, humour, and a heart of gold.
Kids respect Sensei Suzanne when discipline is needed, and adore her the rest of the time. Children know she has a heart of gold but respect her when discipline and body control is enforced. She brings the best out of every student by keeping classes fun, controlled, and safe, with high expectations that keep everyone on track.
Suzanne trains under Sensei Frank Clayton (7th Dan Goju-Ryu, 5th Dan Ryukyu Kobudo), a Canadian Black Belt Hall of Fame inductee with over five decades of experience and more than 600 black belts produced. Sensei Clayton opened his first BC dojo in 1982 and later expanded to Maple Ridge. Many of his former students now have children training at our school.
Yondan 四段
Meibukan Goju-Ryu Karate, 4th Degree Black Belt
20+ Years
Teaching Children's Martial Arts
We Are a Black Belt School
It takes 4 to 6 years of dedicated training to attain Black Belt. All of our Black Belts are certified through the International Meibukan Gojyu Ryu Karate Do Association in Okinawa, Japan, recognized worldwide.
Canadian Martial Arts Academy Network
We are proud to be affiliated with the Canadian Martial Arts Academy in Powell River, BC, under Sensei Frank Clayton. This connection gives our students access to a broader martial arts community and internationally recognized certification.
4300 Joyce Avenue, Powell River, BC V8A 3A2(604) 483-1803Visit prkarate.com
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