Although Sensei Tanabe no longer leads the classes, the new sensei/head instructor Gus is superb and so are the associate instructors. I did tons and tons of research into authentic martial arts schools in northern Colorado (north of Denver, specifically). LWK is a small-ish dojo that will actually teach your child respect, discipline, work ethic, and confidence. It's not a place to send your kids for half a year only to quit when getting promoted to their third belt level is too hard. The instructors pay so much attention to detail and are even handed in having both junior and senior students polish their forms. They're also very approachable, offering up direct assessments upon request in class based on student concerns. There is an opportunity at the end of every class to get instructor feedback so you/your student will know what to work on. They are transparent about the costs, with no huge jump from the introductory period to the first official month. You can find both the tuition rates and class schedule on the website and see if it will work for you before joining. There are family discounts and a weapons class was recently added to the roster. Another area where LWK is awesomely transparent is that they have pamphlets on how belt promotions work: what forms/moves are the students expected to master. That way you have a clear idea of how to move forward. This is because LWK has been around for thirty years, which says a lot. This is an environment where the students do traditional Japanese martial arts warm ups, learn the Japanese names of their forms (nothing overwhelming), bow to each other when entering the mat/sparring/leaving class/demonstrating their forms at the end of class, where senior classmates voluntarily help junior classmates, where they recite a code of honor at the beginning and end of every class, where expectations are clear, and hard work is the norm. If you/your student are looking for a place with learned teachers, a decades long tradition of quality instruction, old school values of dedication/respect, and a welcoming-and-self-challenging environment in which to train, this is it. As with everything, you will only ever get what you put into it. 15 minutes per day of at-home practice never hurt anyone. I hope that this is giving the reader a sense of what the school is like and that it's set up for students to succeed. Everything is transparent, the tuition is reasonable (and many forms of payment are accepted), to eliminate obstacles to joining so the student and their family can just focus on their work and progress. Progress is enriched here because LWK is highly involved in the authentic Karate community in northern Colorado. They're among the handful that host a tournament every year, judging certification clinics are held here, and the recent inclusion of the kobudo (weapons) class shows a commitment to exposing students to Karate as a whole. Signing up to LWK is to join a Karate ecosystem with peers to challenge you/your student towards betterment. My only complaint is that the complimentary uniforms are affordable due to being cotton/polyester blends, and plastic-based synthetic fabrics are highly environmentally damaging in the wash because they shed lots of microplastics that wreck oceans and inevitably come back to harm the human biosphere as well. If you're a person who is committed to slowing climate change and believe that human behavior has been immoral on this topic, then I'd recommend looking into 100% cotton uniforms and belts before signing up for LWK. read more

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This is by far the best Karate facility in Northern CO. Sensei Tanabe and his senpai staff are excellent with both kids and adults.

This place is the real deal! Sensei Tanabe is AMAZING with the kids. They have fun, while also gaining masterful instruction. My daughter has gotten so much out of her lessons. In just six months, she has learned so much, she's more confident, more willing to try new things, more focused, and doing better at school. She now has the desire to set and achieve goals, and believes in her ability to do so. Priceless! Try it (first lesson is free), and I am confident you will be impressed! read more

Our 13 yr old son has been going here BECAUSE of Sensei Tanabe for almost 6 years now and we LOVE IT! He's great with kids. He has helped our son understand the meaning of discipline and focus. Just enough firmness while having fun on occasion. Be aware though, when it's time to focus, he's business and very serious. Strongly recommend this dojo! read more