ZEN MARTIAL ARTS

An inclusive and ever growing system with a collection of martial arts practices and traditions, both young and old, that promote development of the body, mind, and spirit of each practitioner.

Classes on Tuesdays (6-8pm) and Saturdays (10:30-11:30am)

Students of all ages and levels are welcome!

ZEN MARTIAL ARTS INTERNATIONAL NW

The martial arts are for anyone. At Zen Martial Arts International NW, we have a multi-generational class with students of many ages and levels within our system. We not only teach you martial arts, but help you in areas such as focus, discipline, respect, patience, perseverance, and encouragement. We consistently talk about when is and isn't a time to fight. We will work with you on controlling emotions and defusing dangerous situations.
We also believe that encouragement and building people up is the best way to teach. Our classes are friendly and safe environments where people can help each other progress and will encourage each other in it.
You will not need to worry about the superstition and religion that is sometimes associated with the martial arts. We teach Martial Arts for the purposes of learning fighting techniques to be used for self-defense or the protection of others and bettering yourself as a martial artist.

INFORMATION ON CLASSES

Zen Martial Arts is committed to providing training that not only fits every skill level, background, and body type. We look forward to seeing you in class!

WHAT HAPPENS IN CLASS

Every class begins with warm-ups. This includes exercises and stretches and normally takes around 20 minutes.
After that, we start working on skills for that day, based on the class topic that day.
Half-way through class (7pm on Tuesday classes), we stop what we are doing and talk about what we were working on. We have some people that stay only for the first hour, and they are dismissed at this time.
In the second hour, we dig deeper into what we were working on during the first hour. This is also when upper belts start to work on their own material rather than teaching others.
In class, we let you go at your own pace. We encourage you to keep pushing yourself, but will never make you do something you are uncomfortable with.
Anyone teaching will try to teach by building you up with encouragement as you learn. We also encourage students to encourage each other in class!
We practice many styles of the martial arts in class including Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Judo, and Kung Fu including Wing-chun, Muay Thai, and Chi Sou.
We use weapons and techniques with weapons that come from these martial arts. We also like to experiment with other things and create our own styles of fighting based on what we know.

ESSENTIAL INFORMATION

Currently, we have classes twice a week: Tuesday (6-8pm) and Saturday (10:30-11:30am).
Classes are paid for with a monthly membership that allows you to participate in anything we do throughout the month.
The current monthly fee is $25 per month per student -OR- $50 per month for multiple students in the same family.
The first month is free! You are welcome to stop by to either watch or participate!
Adults and kids go to the same classes. We encourage people to work together no matter what age, though we do allow opportunities for adults and kids to work separately as necessary. We have a lot of students that come as a family!

UNIFORMS

You are required to wear a gi (the class uniform) during your tests, but it isn't required for every class, though we encourage you to wear it if available unless it is a particularly hot day. The instructor will get you your gi, but you have to pay for it. The uniform's cost ranges from $55 to $75 depending on size.
Belts are an addition to the uniform. You get your first belt (a white belt) with your gi. Belt promotions never cost you any amount of money.

IF YOU HAVE PRIOR MARTIAL ARTS EXPERIENCE

You do not need any previous martial arts experience to join! Come as you are! We will get you caught up on the basics and you will fit right in.
If you do have previous martial arts experience, we still encourage you to join! There is always something new to learn and work on. No matter what rank you are or were before joining, you will be recognized as a white belt in our school. However, we will not discourage the validity of your experiences. You will be able to work on techniques that are normally for higher belts if we find your skill level exceeds the normal white belt techniques, but if you want to be a higher belt in our school, you have to earn it as everyone else does.

INSTRUCTOR SPOTLIGHTS

MASTER GREG DI LORETO

Greg has over 35 years of experience in the martial arts and is currently a 5th-degree black belt in the Zen Martial Arts system. He has been running classes tirelessly for many years and has contributed much to the growth and maturity of everyone whom he has trained.

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MASTER JAMES SWARTWOOD

James, Master Di Loreto's most senior student, has 16 years of experience in the martial arts under his belt and is currently a 3rd-degree black belt in the Zen Martial Arts system. He has trained under eight different instructors in various styles, each of whom contributed to the martial artist James is today. He is happy to pass on these skills to his students and encourage them in their growth.