California Karate Academy is among the oldest karate institutions in California, founded by Jim Mather in the 60's. He provides great instruction from a technical level and with a range of intensity which he applied during his tenure as a coach with the National Karate Team. The children's program is excellent and provides an environment for children to develop personal growth. This includes not only learning karate and self defense, but also life skills such as respect for others and self discipline. The juniors will be given the opportunity to develop instructor skills if they so desire. The adult program is also very good, as the instructors at all levels are very experienced knowledgeable, and patient.
-------Jim Wheeler

Training at California Karate Academy has impacted my life in many favorable ways. I joined when I was '30 something', and really appreciated taking classes from multiple instructors. Some instructors were significantly younger than me, some older, each had the desire to help me improve my skills (not try to 'prove' how much they knew). Through training, I developed more confidence in myself and capabilities which translated into more confidence in my career. It's interesting how having physical confidence can help reduce fear in seemingly unrelated ways. When you know someone can't physically hurt you (even though logically they wouldn't try to in the corporate world, for example), it can help one to stay focused on the issue at hand from a place of confidence, not fear. Plus CKA has often been the one place where work is completely forgotten (training requires complete focus), and training at CKA is fun!
-------Gwyneth Anne

Our family started training at California Karate Academy in 1998. Eventually, as our young children grew older, the whole family joined. We have each reaped many benefits from our training in the martial arts; improved physical fitness, self-defense skills, humility, self-discipline, commitment and perseverance. We have become better listeners and leaders. The dojo is like a large family where everyone is kind and helps their fellow students. Traits of determination, compassion and loyalty are found among the students and are a reflection of the quality of the training we receive here at the dojo. Every day there is something new to learn regardless of what color belt we wear. We thank Hanshi Mather for guiding us on this long journey.
-------The Catolico Family, Marbel, Helena, Jason (16), Davis (13) and Julia (10).