Midwest Karate Association

I’ve been going to Midwest Karate in St. Paul for almost two years, and it’s an excellent dojo! Senseis Joel Ertl and Anita Bendickson are extremely knowledgeable, helpful and pleasant instructors. Both have been national champions and teach karate every day, so you can’t do much better than that for instructors. Both have a little different teaching style, so it’s good to take classes with both if you can. I attend frequently with my 12-​year-​old son, and this is what many adults with older/​mature children do, so think about starting *with* your child instead of just watching them on the sidelines. For the younger children, there is a children’s program with child-​only classes, starting at age 5.
One huge thing that sets Midwest Karate apart is the availability of instruction times. There are day and evening options for all belt levels. I don’t think the senseis are ever ill or absent. If you show up at a time, they’ll teach you whether you’re with 25 other people or alone.
They accept everyone and work with them at their level, no matter what that is. There are many different people with many different fitness levels and ages, so don’t worry about being too out of shape or old or whatever. They’ll tell you when you’re ready to test for a belt or go on to a higher class. The other members are welcoming to new people, so no worries! Go there!
Joel and Anita and the other Midwest dojos feel very strongly about only awarding belts to people who have worked hard and deserve it versus some of the more «chain”-y karate places whose function is to make money by handing out belts every 3 months whether you deserve it or not. This is a positive thing, and there won’t be a mystery if you should test for your belt or not — they’ll let you know if you should or not. Sometimes they’ll tell me to do it, sometimes they’ll tell me to wait.
Other tidbits include frequent seminars focusing on different topics such as practical self defense (eg. «Defending against knife attacks»), specific katas, etc. There isn’t a huge focus on tournaments at the lower levels, but there is an annual children’s tournament and open adult tournament at the U of MN that allows all levels to compete.
Feel confident about joining Midwest Karate!!!