Akka Karate USA

If you're looking for a dojo that has the best interest of your child......that is, along with teaching your child the the art and skill of Karate, but also the key values and virtues to be an exemplar member of the community, then AKKA Karate in Westport - under the direction of Ritu Nanos and her team - should be at the top of your list! We are on year 4 with our son, now going for a Black Belt!! I highly recommend you stop by and speak to Ms Nanos directly. Certainly a hidden gem in our community!!

Wow!!! I have been an athlete my entire life and have never before had such effective workouts! Not to mention each class actually gets me one step closer to a Black Belt (life long dream). I'm 43 and only eight months into the program. Goes to show it's never too late to start! After a couple of months of training in the Kenpo program, I joined the Tai Chi program as well, and cannot even begin to describe the depth of my experience. Having done yoga for over two decades, I thought I knew what to expect from a slow moving martial art, but I am blown away!!! Not only is the instructor brilliant, gifted, patient, and wise, the forms and movements have stretched and healed my body. Tai Chi has proven to be my favorite of the two programs. Don't get me wrong, it's not really about one program over the other -- they complement each other beautifully.

Mrs. Nanos is an excellent instructor unfortunately she didn't teach the classes we could get to and the instructor for those was not a good fit for us. We were going to classes with our 5 year old and the A/C was broken most of the summer so we didn't want to take her to class. We also didn't read our contract well enough. The buyout for the year is 90% of the contract value. When our schedules changed and we couldn't make it to class anymore we ended up paying for 6 months of an expensive membership for nothing. Be sure you can absolutely commit to a year before signing up.

I have been taking karate lessons at AKKA for two years now, and I think the program is great. They provide a good combination of self-defense technique, physical fitness, and hands-on sparring and grappling that has not only improved my own self-defense skills, but has helped me to become more physically fit overall. The attitude is very positive and encouraging here, and it is great for both kids and adults.