Soo Do Kwan | Karate
Alexandria Soo Do Kwan is a martial arts studio focused on teaching two arts: Karate and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Our Karate is rooted Korea but our instructors have incorporated the works of numerous other systems into our curriculum. We, therefore, have adopted a generic Korean name for our school: Soo Do Kwan (“hand way school”). Our karate is a blend of art, sport, history, philosophy, and self-defense.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Our Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu program is in place to help Karate students learn basic grappling and/or to provide quality training to those who which to pursue Brazilian Jujitsu exclusively. Our instructor offers instruction in both self-defense and sport-oriented Jiu-Jitsu.
Mission
Our mission is to make both Karate and Jiu-Jitsu accessible to everyone, regardless of physical limitations. We try to make the arts fit the student rather than to have each student conform to standards which may not be suitable for their mentality or physiology. As Gichin Funakoshi wrote in The Essence of Karate, “As each individual is free to make his training either difficult or simple, karate is well suited for everyone, regardless of age, gender, or physical condition.” We believe this is also true for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Classes
We currently have classes five days a week at Refresh Alexandria (1011 King Street in Old Town, Alexandria). Our karate classes are held on Mondays from 7-9 pm, Thursdays from 7:30-9:00 pm, and Saturdays from 10-11:30 am. Sunday afternoons (from 1-3 pm) are reserved for solo practice (with permission of the instructor only).
Our jiu-jitsu classes are Tuesdays and Fridays from 7:30-9:00 pm, and on Saturdays from 11:45 am – 1:15 pm. We also offer periodic specialized trainings and seminars. If you’d like to contact us, please fill out the form in the “contact us” tab above. We look forward to hearing from you!