Martial Arts for Teens and Adults in Langley: Karate or Kickboxing?
“Which martial art is the best?” We get asked this a lot. Our answer is always the same: the best martial art is the one you’ll actually keep doing. A great style you quit after a month won’t do much for you. A good fit you stick with for years will change a lot.
So let’s work out which one fits you.
Start with your reasons
Before you choose a class, think about why you want to train. Do you want to:
- Feel more confident, in general or in specific situations?
- Build focus, self-discipline and self-control?
- Lose weight, build muscle or get your fitness back?
- Learn to defend yourself?
- Blow off stress at the end of the day?
- Meet people in a welcoming, non-competitive place?
- Simply try something new?
If you said yes to several of these, good news: both karate and kickboxing will help. The difference is in how they get you there.
Shotokan karate: the long game
Shotokan is a traditional style of karate and one of the most widely practised in the world. It’s the style we teach at Safeguard.
Choose karate if you like:
- Structure and progression. Belts and stripes mark your progress from white belt to black.
- Precision. Strong stances, sharp technique and kata (choreographed forms) that reward attention to detail.
- Mind and body together. Karate demands focus as much as fitness.
- Variety. Weapons training is part of the karate program.
Our Teen & Adult Karate beginner classes run on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Green belts and up have extra classes on Monday and Friday.
Kickboxing: the hard workout
Kickboxing combines punches, kicks and knees with serious conditioning. Choose it if you like:
- Sweat. Rounds on the pads and heavy bags are a full-body workout.
- Fast results. You’ll be throwing solid combinations within a few classes.
- Stress relief. Few things clear your head like an hour on the bag.
- Simplicity. No forms to memorize. Just technique, power and cardio.
Our Teen & Adult Kickboxing classes run four evenings a week, Tuesday to Friday.
Can’t decide? Try both
Both programs start with a free trial: karate with a free 2-week trial of 4 classes, kickboxing with a free week of unlimited classes. Plenty of our students do both, using karate for technique and flexibility and kickboxing for conditioning.
And both classes are for ages 13 and up, which means teens and parents can train together. It’s one of our favourite things to see.
September is a great time to start
Fall is when routines reset, and a standing class twice a week is much easier to build in September than in the middle of winter. Book your trial below, or call Sensei Troy at (604) 302-7945 if you’d like help choosing.
