KO Kung Fu Karate

This review is for their birthday parties! My son had his fifth birthday here and it was a really easy, fun and affordable experience. He and his friends loved it, boys and girls alike and it was cute to watch. The staff was so sweet and kind to all the kids, and older students (elementary and junior high) were there the whole time to assist and demonstrate.
It began with a quick stranger danger lesson and activity which was great. Then there was a lesson on how to do simple moves. They were all having a blast learning and practicing and then doing a fun obstacle course. All of the kids were engaged– whether they had seen Kung Fu Panda a hundred times or if they were wearing full princess outfits! Parents could relax and watch the cute proceedings. Or a few wanted to participate too!
The kids sat still for the students’ demonstration (my son thought those big kids were the coolest ever, especially when they brought out their staffs) and at the end my son even got to break a board. We came a half hour early for him to learn how.
After that there was time for simple cupcakes and juice boxes and then it was done. I hardly had to bring anything and one of the awesome instructors and some ultra polite and helpful students even helped me load the car. We also met the owner and he was a real gentleman.
This was great for our group of mostly four year olds because they could listen and follow instruction. The package is for 20 I think but we only had six kids and it was really great. It was well paced, not intimidating and they emphasized that it is only for self defense. Younger siblings did mostly stay home because there wouldn’t have been anything for them to do.
The party is an hour and a half which is just long enough to hold interest and not cross into little kid crankiness territory. Also very affordable at about half the cost of parties at all the other sort of kid places like pump it up, rockin jump, museums, billy beez, etc. plus I like supporting a local business.
Highly recommend.

KO Kung Fu Rocks ! It’s a gem in the neighborhood with dedicated teachers.

My wife has been going to KO for years – a dedicated cardio-​kickboxing student. My daughter has also been attending for a couple of years now. John is an amazing instructor. Incredibly talented, dedicated and good hearted. You’ll love it and the results speak for themselves inside and out.

I absolutely love this place! Their business practices are great, and I love that children can come to as many sessions as they want. Today we are here as my son wanted extra classes to earn his stripe, and I am just reminded how sweet, but focused and thorough in their teaching, all the leaders are. My kids are 5 and 6 and we’ve been enrolled for almost a year now. They’ve learned a lot of moves.

I cannot say enough wonderful things about KO Kung Fu Karate. The instructors are warm and knowledgeable. They teach the important technical aspects, but also the equally important respectful aspects.
KO’s fee policy and lesson schedule make it SO EASY for me as a parent. I can take my girls on our schedule. No penalty for missed classes, and we can stop and start lessons at any time if we leave town.
My girls love their teachers and their lessons!

I love this place, its awesome. People here are friendly and helpful. Teachers work with children nicely and patience. They make me feel happy whenever think about going to classes here.

Been going here for years, my son who has Aspergers has done very well in improving his coordination and balance and loves this place. We typically go 3 days a week, the schedule is pretty flexible.
I have seen other schools and this one has a notch up on integrity. They don’t gift away belts and the belt tests are hours long affairs even at the lower levels.
They offer kickboxing classes and the staff are EXTREMELY nice. Students who have achieved higher belts become instructors and are very supportive of all the students.

We love this place! We have lived here for almost 3 years & am upset with the fact that I waited so long to enroll my son. He has been going to classes for about 3 months. They offer classes 7 days a week, with very convenient hours. The teachers are amazing. They work so well with the children. The atmosphere is always so positive. My son is 6 years old and is somewhat shy. I can honestly say KO Karate has boosted his confidence (he has earned two yellow stripes on his belt) & he looks forward to going to his classes every week!

My 8 year old son has been a student at KO and we could not be happier. As soon as you walk in, you are greeted by an friendly instructor and feel a sense of welcome. My son was very nervous in the beginning and the instructors were all so kind but also challenged him enough so that he was able to push himself. He has gained so much confidence in himself and his abilities. There is a feeling of respect and kindness from everyone. The instructors have the perfect balance of discipline and firm kindness. Each child is respected as an individual and given equal attention. Even with the large age range of students, there is mutual respect and the students also treat each other kindly and respectfully because that is what is expected of them at KO. It teaches not only incredible martial art skills but also life skills that will help children at home, at school and in life.

My kids have been students at K.O. for a little over a year, and it’s been a great experience. We’ve been really impressed with Master Ozuna, Mr. Curran, Mrs. Curran, and all of the instructors – they’re knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and kind, and they have good command of the classes. The students really benefit from the small-​group instruction that takes place during every class. My kids have learned a lot, gained self-​confidence, and feel like part of a community. We’re happy to have found this school.

This is a wonderful school, where both my son and daughter have been taking classes for the last two years. Beyond just their continuing advancement and how much they enjoy it, there are a couple of things that stand out for me.
1. Atmosphere. The atmosphere created by the people at KO, from John Ozuna down to the student teachers, is unflaggingly positive. They are teaching children and adults to deal with aggressive, dangerous situations, but I have never witnessed nor heard of any aggressive or intimidating behavior by any of the staff. This gets reflected in the clientele; there are some very, very capable martial artists here (men and women), but there aren’t any meatheads.
2. Mingling. Classes often include students of many levels and ages. While instructors may peel off smaller groups to work on different techniques as appropriate, classes begin and end together and do a fair amount of training together. I feel like it’s good for everybody, young and old, beginner to advanced, to spend time around those who are somewhere else on the spectrum.
Lastly, I’m surprised to read Eric R.‘s negative review, based apparently on a teenager making funny faces through a window. While that’s certainly possible, to leap from that one extremely narrow experience to «this student’s character represents their the school» is not just an unjustifiable generalization, but, as I and every other reviewer can attest, is patently untrue. Master Ozuna would have absolutely zero tolerance for any threatening, intimidate, rude or in any way disrespectful behavior from any of his staff or students to anyone. Please don’t allow yourself to be swayed by his review of a school that he only interacted with by walking past a window.

I have been taking the cardio kick boxing class and I LOVE IT!

My son and daughter have been taking Karate here for almost 2 years. This place is awesome, very family friendly! Keep it up. =)

First, let me say that I have no experience YET with how these folks operate their karate studio when it comes to lessons. What I can say is that they are a GREAT place to have a kids birthday party.
As parents, we’ve all hosted or been to events at places like Pump-​it-​up, The Jungle, Chuck E Cheeses, parks, etc. And, those are all great places to hold events. But, what if you’re tired of those place or you really want to try something a bit different? This may be the place for you!
My daughter has been talking about wanting to take karate lessons and we saw this place when we stopped at a nearby restaurant for dinner and thought we’d ‘check it out.’ We found out they host birthday parties here and thought we’d give a try. SCORE!!!
The staff here started off with a lesson in ‘stranger danger’ and how the kids should respond. This is something we THOUGHT we’d covered fairly well with our daughter but… let’s just say it’s nice when the lessons are approached in a different manner, too. These days, one can never be too careful with our kids.
The kids were engaged, asked questions, and got to practice how to handle themselves when it comes to ‘stranger danger’ all in a manner that was fun, totally in keeping with the party theme and in no way threatening to the kids. Kids got to hear other kids ask their questions, view the «wrong way» to handle a situation as with as the correct way, and it brought out questions of their own. I wouldn’t have thought ‘stranger danger’ «belonged» in a party setting but this worked VERY well.
The kids also received a few karate lessons, watched demonstrations, and played karate related games. The program ended with my daughter breaking a board for the class (she’s had virtually no background — just a few minutes of instruction from the staff). The whole program was awesome and, as I told the staff, MUCH better than I had hoped for.
Our party was yesterday and today I heard from yet another parent who talked about how much fun her son had and about how «pumped up» and animated he was when he got home and told of his experiences. As the mom said, «It’s always a good sign he had fun.» I got the impression that otherwise, it’s the usual «How was the party?» «Good…» end of conversation. When they talk about it on and on, you know they’ve enjoyed themselves.
Anyway, if my daughter’s serious about wanting to learn karate, this is the place we’ll take her. If not, I can say in all honesty that it appeared the kids had a GREAT time, at least.

Our 7 year old son started at KO Karate nearly one year ago. We had our initial lesson w/​Mrs. Curran. We immediately felt comfortable and reassured that our son was in good and knowledgeable hands. The staff are really kind and want to make sure that KO students really LEARN their techniques; students do not easily earn stripes or test for new ranks. The students have to work hard and truly understand and know their belt material before progressing. Students are able to learn at their pace, the studio is a great value as students can attend daily if they want.

The teachers are all wonderful as are the Junior Instructors – Mrs. Curran, Mr. Curran, Mr. Ryan, Miss Schmidt and Mr. C each have a different, but effective approach to teaching their students. These instructors ensure that the students are taught with respect, dignity and care – no matter the age of the student. The instructors all have a passion for Bok Fu Do Kung Fu and it shows in how they teach. This all comes from Master Ozuna’s love for his studio and this art. While busy, Master Ozuna makes himself available to chat and check in with KO families and is open to suggestions (e.g. adding classes on weekends to curb over-​crowding) as they come up.
This is a phenomenal Karate school, with phenomenal instructors.
During this last year, my son has gained strength, balance, passion and confidence (areas he has struggled with). We attribute it to KO and its teaching methods.

KO Karate also has birthday party packages. We had one for my son, and he had a fantastic time! I highly recommend it! Mrs. Curran and the Junior Instructors created a memorable and fabulous party for my 7 year old son.

I have been taking private lessons at K.O. Karate for the past 4 months. Mr. David Curran is my teacher and he is easily one of the best teachers I have had in my life. He is a true master of his craft and knows exactly how to teach an individual based on their physical fitness and flexibility. My experience at K.O. has been nothing short of amazing. I decided to write this review mostly because I feel given that the people who run this school seems to be more focused on teaching their craft well rather than making tons of money we should make it a point to highlight such places in an era where everything seems to revolve around money and materialism.
The staff at K.O. are truly great martial artists, you can see that immediately in the way they conduct themselves. Mrs. Curran (who is the mother of David) is another amazing individual, she has a ready smile for everyone and makes you feel very welcome and comfortable at the school. Master Ozuna is truly a master in every sense of that word, he holds two world records and yet he is extremely friendly, approachable and always has supportive advise whenever I run into him.
I want to emphasize that given my crazy schedule at work the only reason I am still training here regularly and has made amazing progress (given how unfit I was when I started) is because of the truly inspirational support I get from Mr. David Curran, he continues to be a fantastic teacher and keeps me motivated and has given me the support and guidance needed to cross some of the barriers that were not within my skills or ability.
In this short time, K.O. has become the one place I look forward to going most no matter what happened during that day, I know I will leave the school feeling better for my time there.
One thing to note about this school is that, they will not give you a belt or let you take a belt test if you are not ready for it. I really had to work hard to be ready for belt or stripe testing, and the tests are very comprehensive. Even in basic stripe tests I had to perform the techniques as if I am being attacked not as if I was training, so you should be ready to EARN your belt, I feel great every time I succeed in such a test!

I absolutely love KO and I am not easy to please! All the instructors are kind, yet highly disciplined; encouraging, yet pushing you to be your best.
Mrs. Curran always has a genuine smile on her face and she and the rest of the wonderful staff seem more than happy to answer any question (and trust me, I got a lot of them.)
From what I have seen, they take an avid interest in each and every student, meeting them where they are and helping them achieve their own personal best. They work with some mentally and physically challenged students as well– and the focus, the respect and kindness are no different. To me, that speaks volumes of the dedication KO has to their students– no matter who they are or their limitations.
Having had to leave one martial arts school due to some unethical behavior, I wanted to make sure I put my kids somewhere I could trust and KO has def. won my trust — so much so, I am also now taking classes.
I also wanted to make sure I found a school that didn’t pass out black belts like candy, but actually made you bust your rear and work for each and every achievement.
In response to an earlier review:
I am not sure if you did so or not, but did you ask what your son needed to improve upon in order to get his next advancement? As I said, the entire staff has always been willing to answer any questions I have.
However, If we expect things to just be given to our children, we can never expect them to learn discipline or character. Having to work hard and even be disappointed in not getting what they want (when they want it,) will teach them how to overcome (and how to not let disappointment destroy them)
Better to learn early how to deal with disappointments and failures in life, than grow up being overly-​sheltered and then shell shocked by the real world.
Better they learn to earn their success than become spoiled adults who feel entitled to whatever it is they want whenever it is they want it.
Every parent should want their child to succeed. But every good parent wants that child to earn their success and also get the opportunity to learn and grow from their failures.
I am happy that KO has made my kids work for their belts. Sure, they have been disappointed because it sometimes took longer than they wanted. But when they are passed to their next belt, they know they earned it — that they gave their personal best and that they deserved it.
And the satisfaction they feel knowing they worked hard, learned whatever they needed to learn, persevered and overcame (all on their own with no interference from Mama,) is a reward in itself. And one that will last them a lifetime — and certainly longer than a belt!
Thank you KO– you are not only growing up strong martial artists, but strong young men and women as well!

For years my husband and I had been looking for the right martial arts school in the Bay Area to join. We had tried a couple places, but they didn’t have the right vibe or quite fit what we were looking for.
We wanted to be in a nurturing and supportive environment where the learning was not negatively competitive, and where we could grow spiritually& mentally as well as physically. We have found that In John Ozuna’s KO Kung Fu Karate.
KO offers daily karate classes which helps when coordinating workouts with a busy personal schedule. I also love the sport kickboxing and cardio kickboxing classes! They are both a really great workout and a lot of fun!
That being said, KO is more than just a place to learn martial arts & to get a good workout. The quality of the instructors lead by the example of Master Ozuna is outstanding! One of the things I personally value most about the school is the level of integrity demonstrated by the instructors and the respect that is shown to each student young & old. The students consistently receive personal attention, encouragement and guidance from the instructors. I always feel that I am supported by my instructors and I know they want to see me succeed & grow as a student.
I highly recommend this school to anyone considering taking martial arts, cardio kickboxing or sport kickboxing. The moment you walk through the door you will know what I mean when I say KO Kung Fu Karate is an amazing school!

I took sports kickboxing here for a few months and absolutely LOVED it. The staff is friendly, amazingly attentive and give you great direction. The classes are fun, energetic and kick your ass! The class schedules worked perfectly with my schedule and the membership fees were affordable. I was bummed to leave this place after moving to SF, but highly recommend it if your down in the South Bay.
Master John Ozuna and his staff are wonderful!

My son’s been taking karate here since July 2007 and has done really well. I’ve been very impressed at how well they work with the kids. There is no pressure to move up the belt ranks quickly; every student moves at their own pace. There are plenty of instructors and teen helpers in each of the kids’ classes to help all the students individually, and they are wonderfully patient with even the most hyper of kids.
I highly recommend this karate studio for kids. Not sure about their adult instruction (I go to a different dojo for my own classes) but I love their enthusiasm.