BKA Membership

Joining the Bournemouth Karate Academy Dojo

Benefits of joining the BKA Dojo

We teach the traditional Okinawan martial art of Goju Ryu karate.

Goju Ryu is an effective unarmed martial art that teaches its students discipline and street-level self-defense.

Sensei Ernie is an IOGKF 9th Dan of international standing, renowned for his tireless commitment to preserving and promoting Goju Ryu karate.

You have the opportunity to train in a well-run, friendly, and safe training dojo on your doorstep, that other students from all over the world travel to the UK just to train with Sensei Ernie.

Thinking of joining The BKA?

We operate on the basis that students are welcome to train at the dojo provided they behave in a way conducive to safe training, respect the authority of the attending instructors leading the class, and pay their membership fees as they go.

We do not ask our students, or their parents, to enter into written contracts that impose conditions that continue beyond the time you wish to remain a member of the dojo.

If you are interested in joining the BKA, Sensei Ernie will invite you to either watch or participate in a lesson to see if you enjoy the experience.

It is an opportunity to confirm we run a friendly, safety-conscious, disciplined, and responsible karate training dojo. Safe-guarding and student welfare underpin our management strategy, and all our qualified instructors are all DBS-checked.

If you wish to proceed, we will provide you with guidance on what karate uniforms and equipment you may need to purchase, together with details of how to pay your membership fees. Fortunately, the initial financial outlay involved as a beginner is minimal, and far lower than other sporting activities.

All we ask of you is to let us know if you decide to leave the dojo, and of course cancel any bank standing order arrangements.

Mandatory EGKA Membership.

We require all BKA students to be paid-up members of the EGKA for the following reasons:

It is the EGKA that is empowered by the IOGKF to assess and award the internationally recognised Goju Ryu karate grading certificates that entitles the holder to wear the relevant coloured belts according to their grade.
Membership of the EGKA provides students with essential public liability insurance cover during training led by a competent instructor.
Sensei Ernie will not permit his students to continue training or grade unless they have maintained their EGKA membership.

The online EGKA Training and Grading Syllabus Library.

In 2010, Sensei Ernie helped found this online teaching resource that through short-form video tutorials and demonstrations seeks to explain many technical aspects of the techniques students will be taught in the BKA dojo.

Whether students choose to subscribe to this independent service is one of personal choice. You can learn more by clicking here.