Shido-Kan Karate of Mahwah

Awesome dojo! Sensei Mitch is dedicated, caring, and passionate in having students excel beyond their limits and become competent in self defense, technique, and focus! He inspires his students to work hard and practice and that discipline transfers to other areas in life. I highly recommend!

Both of our boys are taking classes at Shidokan Karate of Mahwah. I can say that the teaching is always superb and the curriculum is well scaffolded for all levels & age groups. Sensei Mitch is always encouraging kids to focus, providing corrective feedback and challenging his students to push themselves. Our little one is very shy, but Sensei Mitch has managed to pull him out of the shell in no time. Now he cannot wait to go back to the class! By far, one of the best things we have done for our kids.

I have both my children enrolled at Shido-Kan Mahwah and it has been one of the greatest decisions my wife and I have made. Sensi Mitch has been teaching them since they were in daycare. He teaches them discipline and self control. The kids enjoy going to karate and work hard as a member of the team while working on themselves individually! Highly recommend

Our son has attended the Shido-Kan Karate school for about a year and a half, and we have to say that Sensei Mitch is just great. He pushes the kids to be better and considers their experience level when matching the kids up for Fight Club or sparring. He encourages the kids to push themselves, and some might be offended that he's tough, but that's exactly what we wanted so that our son can train appropriately. Bullies are everywhere, and we want our son to get the right kind of training so that he becomes physically and mentally tough and can defend himself, but at the same time use his skills responsibly as Sensei Mitch teaches. My son started as the shortest kid in the class and Sensei Mitch kept pushing him to be better, and matched him up with bigger kids within a belt or two of his experience level. My son enjoyed his experience and continued to look forward to each class as development opportunities (and just plain fun). If the kids are too mismatched, then Sensei Mitch instructs the more experienced kid to just defend themselves and not overwhelm the less experienced students. Some people might be offended by this approach, but it makes sense to me and offers a challenge to the less experienced kids to get better. I've seen Sensei Mitch responsibly encourage the kids to do better and stops the various fights to give a demonstration of what could have been done better or to offer advice on technique.

Everything Sensei Mitch does seems appropriate to toughen the kids, and many have stayed with him for many years. Even then, Sensei Mitch reminds the kids that they are learning a valuable skill but need to use it responsibly even if the other kids tease them (and also to remind the kids to thank their parents for the opportunity to learn Karate). "Don't you ever be the bully, but be ready to defend yourself if the other kid throws the first punch." Now what parent wouldn't want their kid to learn these valuable skills so that their child grow up able to responsibly defend themselves (and have a fun time sparring with other kids to hone their skills)? We highly recommend that parents check out the Shido-Kan Karate school in Mahwah, and watch the Fight Club sessions on Friday evenings.

This is the superior northern Bergen karate dojo. The lessons are authentic. When you get trained here it's not just for fun and play (although they do have exciting games for the kids), it's legitimate real-world training. My son has learned respect and discipline here, and he loves going to boot! His grades are stellar now and I believe it's due to Sensei Mitch and his dedication to the kids.