After school martial arts sits in a useful gap for Canberra families. Your child trains at their own school, straight after the bell, with no drive across town and no second trip out of the house on a weeknight. For a lot of working parents that logistical difference is what makes the difference between a child who trains consistently and one who stops after a term.
How on site programs work
The instructor comes to the school. Classes run in the hall or a designated space directly after the final bell, so children move from their classroom to the mat without leaving the grounds. Parents collect at the end rather than in the middle of the afternoon. Everything runs during the school term and pauses over the holidays.
The curriculum is the same one taught at our regular venues. Children who start in an after school program can continue in evening classes later without repeating anything, and they grade through the same belt system.
Book a trial. First class is free.
Which children it suits
It works best for primary aged children, roughly five to eleven, who have energy left at the end of the school day and benefit from structure before they get home. Children who find unstructured after school care difficult often do noticeably better with something that has clear rules and a visible sense of progress.
It suits some children less well. If your child is genuinely depleted by three o'clock, an evening class after a break and a snack may serve them better. You will know within a session or two which category they fall into.
What a session involves
A warm up, technique work, partner drills and a structured finish. Children learn the same fundamentals taught in every other class: stances, blocks, kicks, patterns and the etiquette that goes with them. Sessions are non contact for this age group, supervised by qualified black belt instructors, and grouped so a six year old is never training alongside a teenager.
No uniform is needed for your first class. Comfortable clothes and a water bottle are enough for a first class.
What to ask before enrolling
Who is teaching, and what grade and teaching experience do they hold
Whether every instructor holds current Working With Vulnerable People registration
How many children are in a class and how many instructors supervise
How children are grouped by age and experience
Whether the program connects to a wider curriculum, or stops when the term does
What happens at the end of the session, and how collection works
The last one matters more than parents expect. A program that ends cleanly with a clear handover is a different proposition from one where children drift.
Where we run
We deliver after school programs on site at eight Canberra schools, alongside seventeen venues across Canberra and Queanbeyan for evening and weekend classes. Families often start with an after school program and move into an evening class as the child gets older and wants to train more often.
If you are weighing up which martial art suits your child in the first place, our guide to choosing a martial art in Canberra is a better starting point than this page.
Book a free trial class and we will tell you whether we run at your child's school.
