Karate near the Bell campus on Nuns’ Island

Already training at a gym, at the office or near home? Keep it. Karate does not replace it: it adds what a machine does not give you. Techniques to learn, coordination, footwork, work in pairs, and an instructor who corrects the movement. The class follows a curriculum graded by belt: you come to progress, not just to get a workout done. The gym and karate: what the dojo adds explains what the two do together.

On your own, it is easy to put the session off until tomorrow. A class at a fixed hour, an instructor expecting you and a group learning at the same time as you make regularity simpler. You start together, finish together, and everyone moves forward at their own pace, belt after belt. Coming with colleagues adds a shared appointment to the week; coming alone lets you meet people who do not work where you do. Either way, nobody asks you to be fit already: fitness comes with the classes.

After hours in front of a screen or in meetings, an hour at the dojo is spent standing, barefoot, moving. In the WKO Shinkyokushinkai first-year textbook, an examination covers kihon, ido geiko, kata, conditioning (knuckle push-ups, jumping squats), flexibility and kumite. Stretching and conditioning are part of the class: they are not added on the side.

This page promises nothing for your back or your health: it offers an active, structured hour in which you learn something. If you have an injury or a particular condition, talk to a health professional before starting, and tell the instructor.

What if you swapped part of rush hour for a moment of your own?

Rather than hitting the road at the same time as everyone else, you can train first and head home afterwards. We cannot tell you what traffic will look like when class ends: that depends on the day, the hour and your route. What is certain is that the hour at the dojo will be yours. Adult classes, from age 14, run at fixed hours five days a week: the schedule shows which ones fit your week, and Is twice a week enough? helps you find the right rhythm.

From

Bell campus
1 carrefour Alexander-Graham-Bell, Verdun

To

KarateIDS dojo
550 chemin du Golf, suite 010 (basement), Verdun, Quebec H3E 1A8

• By carFree parking: park in the loop in front of the building.Route in Google Maps ↗(opens in a new tab)
• By bikeThe cycling route suggested by Google Maps.Route in Google Maps ↗(opens in a new tab)
• On footThe walking route suggested by Google Maps.Route in Google Maps ↗(opens in a new tab)

No travel time is shown here: Google Maps works it out from the hour, the mode and your exact starting point on the campus. Once there, drive into the 550 parking lot, park in the loop in front of the building and follow the Kyokushin signs to the basement entrance. Suite 010 is on the lower level; access is by stairs. Starting from elsewhere on the island? Getting to the dojo from your part of Nuns’ Island works out the route from any starting point.

Do I need to have done karate before?

No. What an adult beginner needs is enough health to take part and the wish to learn; no prior fitness, no flexibility, no experience of another martial art. During the trial period there is no need for a karate uniform: sportswear and a bottle of water are enough, and what to bring to your first class has the list.

Can I come with colleagues?

Yes, on your own or with others. Each person registers for themselves and progresses at their own pace: this is not a corporate activity. Our classes run in both languages, which is why this site exists in four.

Who can take part in the free one-month trial?

People who work at the Bell campus: Bell employees, employees of the other companies on the campus, consultants and contractors. Register online for the free trial and say so when you arrive at the dojo: the trial is extended to one month.

Is this offer from Bell?

No. It is an initiative of the KarateIDS dojo, with no official connection to Bell. The dojo is not on the campus, it is not a Bell supplier and the trial is not an employee benefit. The campus serves here as a landmark: it is where the three routes above start.