California Karate Academy

A long, long time ago, I took my two oldest children to see one of the Karate Kid movies. One or both of them, after seeing the movie, said «Let’s do karate, Daddy!» It sounded like a good idea to me.
Twenty-​four years ago this month, we wandered into CKA and took our first intro. I clearly remember sitting on the floor with my legs spread, stretching. I clearly remember the excitement on the faces of my children and my own sense of excitement. We were hooked.
That was 1988, the Year of the Dragon. It was a year in which my life changed in two important ways: I started my first business and I started my martial arts studies.
We are once again in the Year of the Dragon. I’ll be turning 60 this year. When I look back on my life and on my children’s lives, it is clear that 1988 and our discovery of CKA was a turning point for each of us. My oldest competed, becoming a three time national champion. That experience has influenced his life in many significant ways. My second stuck with it for a while, then stopped, then started again. He has never forgotten the mental, physical, and spiritual lessons that he learned.
For me, Kyoshi (and yes, I know he has a different title now, but in my mind and heart he will always be «Kyoshi») was the single most influential teacher, mentor, and general influence I’ve had in my life.
While I no longer practice martial arts, they’re always alive in me. While I was stretching this morning, feeling my age and remembering how it used to feel, I remembered Kyoshi commenting one time that we each reach an age where we wake up every day with some aches and pains and such.
I reached that age quite a while back. I’m older now, by quite a bit, than Kyoshi was when I first met him. I have more aches and pains than I did back then by quite a bit as well. I have some physical reminders of things like «don’t try to block a kick with your hand». ;-)
Being a student at CKA, being the beneficiary of Jim Mather’s patience, wisdom, knowledge, and skill — these are things that have helped to mold me, give me balance, and enable me to see the world in a different way.
Gratitude.
Happy Year of the Dragon.

I have been attending this school for over 12 years and absolutely love my experience. Learning from the legendary instructor is the best you can ask for. I’ve grown physically, mentally and spiritually over the years and look forward to many more years to come. All my three children have their black belts from Hanshi Mather. If you want to learn karate, there is no better school than California Karate Academy. I highly recommend this school to anyone!

What began as a way for a father to share an activity with his rambunctious 5 year old son matured into a life long love of the martial arts, the principles they teach, and the dojo that embodies them. I learned self discipline in pursuit of my black belt, and leadership skills through leading class exercises. California Karate Academy has had a profound effect on my life and much of the successful things in it. The dojo gave me my first job in high school; teaching several kids classes a week. When I needed a summer internship in college, the dojo came through again. One of the members gave me an invaluable opportunity with a summer internship at a local biotechnology company. Altogether 25 years have past since that energetic 5 year old put on his first karate uniform and I’m currently about to graduate from medical school and begin a residency program in anesthesiology; none of which would be possible had it not been for the cultivation and support of my parents and my dojo family.
Because of the exceptional character of the other students and the wonderful family environment cultivated by Jim and Diane Mather, I would recommend CKA to anyone seeking to learn martial arts. I plan to someday enroll my future kids there.