Kids & Teens Karate
- Focus, discipline & confidence
- Taught by Sensei Avi & Sensei Ruth
- Belt progression with real standards
- Every child starts with a personal assessment
Traditional Shotokan · Nishiyama System · Est. 1982
Karate as it was meant to be taught.
A direct line from Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan, to your first class on the dojo floor. World Champion Sensei Avi Rokah teaches every adult class himself — in West Los Angeles.
Adults — first class free · Kids — placement by assessment class · No experience needed
The Lineage
Three generations. One unbroken transmission.
1868 – 1957 · Okinawa → Tokyo
Gichin Funakoshi
Founder of Shotokan
Brought karate from Okinawa to mainland Japan in 1922 and founded the style practiced worldwide today.
1928 – 2008 · Tokyo → Los Angeles
Hidetaka Nishiyama
10th Dan · Funakoshi's heir
Co-founder of the Japan Karate Association; taught traditional karate in Los Angeles for nearly 50 years.
1981 – Today · Los Angeles
Avi Rokah
9th Dan · World Champion
Nishiyama's personal student for 27 years — now teaching that same transmission on Pico Blvd.
Programs
A path for every student.
Serious, fun, and safe. You don't need to be in shape to start — the training builds you, day by day.
The Core Practice · Budo Karate
Adult Karate
- Technique over strength, skill over speed
- Complete workout: strength, mobility, balance
- Moving meditation — train body and mind
- Self-defense independent of size
Cross-Training Arts · Built on budo fundamentals
Jiu-Jitsu & Wrestling
- Ground skills to complement striking
- Expert instruction, supportive culture
- Great conditioning & body awareness
- Train one art or combine them
New · First class Sept 4
Mixed Martial Arts
- Striking & grappling, unified by budo principles
- Timing, distance & efficiency over brute force
- Same disciplined, safe dojo culture
- Limited spots for the opening cohort
Sensei Avi Rokah lives and breathes karate.
Avi came to Los Angeles at 21 to study with Grand Master Hidetaka Nishiyama — intending to stay six months.
He trained under him daily for 27 years, until the Grand Master’s passing, becoming his prized student and
heir apparent.
Today he is one of the most sought-after instructors in the world, teaching seminars across many countries
every year — and every adult class at his own dojo, personally.
"In karate, the ultimate opponent is oneself. It is about being the best one can be, and improving every day."
1994
World Champion
5 ×
US National Champion
9th Dan
Black belt rank
100 +
Black belts qualified
27 yrs
Under Master Nishiyama
WTKF Pres.
World Traditional Karate Federation
From the Dojo Floor
Learn the "why" behind every technique.
Kata Study
Gojushiho Sho — the "old man" kata
Sensei Avi breaks down one of Shotokan's most advanced kata, as Nishiyama taught it.
Principles
Power from the ground up
How correct movement patterns create maximum power with least effort — at any age.
Kumite
Timing and distance win fights
Use the opponent's power to your advantage — the essence of budo strategy.
Schedule & Visit
Two ways to step onto the floor.
Adults: your first class is free. No contracts, no experience needed — wear comfortable
clothes and arrive ten minutes early.
Kids & teens: every child begins with a paid assessment class, where Sensei evaluates
their level personally and places them in the right group. It’s how we keep standards high for every student
on the floor.
Rokah Karate Dojo
Book Your First Class 9218 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035
Monday evening
5:30–6:15p Kids Karate · White & Yellow belts Karate
6:00–7:00p Youth Jiu-Jitsu · Ages 8–15 Jiu-Jitsu
6:15–7:00p Kids Karate · Orange to Purple belts Karate
7:00–7:45p Youth Karate · Brown & Black belts Karate
7:45–8:45p Adult Karate · Advanced Karate
8:45–9:45p Adult Jiu-Jitsu Jiu-Jitsu
Tuesday evening
5:30–6:15p Youth Karate · White & Yellow belts Karate
6:15–7:00p Youth Karate · Orange to Purple belts Karate
7:00–7:45p Youth Karate · Brown & Black belts Karate
7:45–8:45p Adult Karate · Beginner Karate
Wednesday evening
5:30–6:15p Kids Karate · White & Yellow belts Karate
6:00–7:00p Youth Jiu-Jitsu · Ages 8–15 Jiu-Jitsu
6:15–7:00p Kids Karate · Orange to Purple belts Karate
7:00–7:45p Youth Karate · Brown & Black belts Karate
7:45–8:45p Adult Karate · Advanced Karate
8:45–9:45p Adult Jiu-Jitsu Jiu-Jitsu
Thursday evening
5:30–6:15p Youth Karate · White & Yellow belts Karate
6:15–7:00p Youth Karate · Orange to Purple belts Karate
7:00–7:45p Youth Karate · Brown & Black belts Karate
7:45–8:45p Adult Karate · Beginner Karate
Friday evening · from September
5:00–6:00p Mixed Martial Arts · Teens & adults MMA
Sunday morning
9:00–9:45a Youth Karate · White to Orange belts Karate
9:45–10:30a Youth Karate · Green belts & up Karate
12:00–1:00p Youth Jiu-Jitsu · Ages 8–15 Jiu-Jitsu
Mixed Martial Arts — Fridays 5–6pm, teens & adults. First class Friday, September 4 · founding cohort limited.
Reserve a spotFounding Cohort · September 2026
MMA, built on budo fundamentals.
A new program from a 9th dan world champion: striking and grappling unified by the principles that make traditional karate work — timing, distance, and efficiency over brute force. Same floor, same standards, same culture of respect.
When Fridays, 5:00–6:00pm
Who Teens & adults, training together
Starts Friday, September 4, 2026
Cost Free to reserve — no commitment
We'll be in touch before September 4 with everything you need for your first MMA class. See you on the floor.
Begin. That is the hardest technique.
Join a dojo where every student — age 6 to 60 — trains with a direct link to karate's founders.
Book Your First Class