Karate school combines martial arts with Japanese culture

Seichou Karate, a dojo in central Annandale, offers classes in Japanese cultural traditions as well as martial arts.

The school moved from Old Town Alexandria to 4534-B John Marr Drive in December.

Students at Seichou Karate range from age 4 to people in their 80s, says founder, president, and master instructor Richard Romero.

Seichou offers a traditional karate program for adults that includes meditation, yoga-based warm-ups, technique, movement patterns, free fighting, traditional weaponry, self-defense, and board breaking.

Karate classes for children not only focus on physical fitness; they also help kids develop self-control, respect, discipline, and teamwork.

A new program, called Harmonize & Flow, teaches karate to differently abled, neurodiverse children and adults.

Anyone interested in learning more about Seichou Karate can sign up for a free class.

In addition to karate, Seichou offers classes for kids, teens, and adults in the Japanese language and shodo (the art of Japanese calligraphy) and classes for adults in ikebana (the Japanese art of flower arranging) and personal self-defense.

There’s also a class for kids on using an abacus for arithmetic computation.

Romero earned a black belt at age 12 and studied karate under renowned master Shigeru Oyama. He lived in Japan for five years, where he taught karate and English. He founded Seichou Karate in Alexandria in 1997.

Seichou Karate also celebrates cultural events throughout the year. In March, the dojo is commemorating Girls Day by following the Japanese tradition of displaying ornamental dolls in traditional dress on a platform covered with red fabric.

In May, the dojo will celebrate Boys Day. Earlier this year, Dojo participants made mochi by pounding steamed glutinous rice imported from Japan with a huge mallet.

 “We take a holistic approach to martial arts and cultural arts,” Romero says. “Nobody else does this.”