In 1995, Dawn Barnes spent $15,000 on her credit card and opened a small karate school in Santa Monica, CA, called Dawn Barnes Karate Kids.
She had been teaching her karate kids program since 1987 in after school programs and fitness studios, and felt it was time to take her love and hobby to the next level.
Now, fifteen years later, DBKK has seven locations in Los Angeles with beautifully designed interiors and state-of-the-art equipment. Sensei Dawn spent years analyzing how children could best learn martial arts both physically and mentally by testing movement from a variety of martial arts styles on thousands of students.
Finally, in 2010, she fine-tuned her curriculum and gave it a name, GOZEN. In the Gozen program, children learn both stand-up skills, grappling, fitness, competition, and manners! Our style is also the first ever child-specific martial arts curriculum focusing on playground appropriate self-defense training. Our mission is to "inspire self-esteem in every child!" At DBKK we are honored to be part of the village that helps to raise your child!
GoZen:
By Sensei Dawn Barnes
The word Gozen means "morning time" and "in front of you." Our childhood is the morning time of our lives, and in self-defense it is important to keep an opponent in front of you. I felt this was the perfect name for our new child-specific curriculum. With a foundation in Shotokan Karate, this new style also includes techniques from Kung Fu, Ju-Jitsu, Muay Thai, Boxing, and Wrestling!
I have been teaching children for over 20 years, and have noticed that certain Karate techniques are very difficult for them to learn. A child's body is not the same as an adult's body. By making subtle adjustments to stances, strikes, kicks, and ground defense, the students were suddenly learning twice as quickly! Even better, by allowing them to use natural movements instead of the stylized mechanics of sport karate, the children felt successful!
I also spent time evaluating the most effective, child-friendly movements from other martial arts. The goal was to design a comprehensive list of playground-appropriate techniques that focused on passive escapes, not aggressive attacks. When this goal was accomplished, GOZEN was born!
The Gozen curriculum includes KARATE techniques for self-defense, GRAPPLING for ground escapes, FITNESS drills for strength, COMPETITION to face fears, a MENTORING program for leadership, and MANNERS training for social skill development. What more could a parent want?
At DBKK, we are on a mission to inspire self-esteem in every child! Today, because our program features a curriculum that is physically and emotionally age-appropriate, the children are enthusiastic and inspired to try their best!
It does take a village to raise a child, and we invite your child to grow up at Karate Kids! Together we can build strong minds, strong bodies, and strong spirits!
