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Read MoreFamily-Oriented. Behavior-Based. Community-Minded.
Martial Arts training, at its core, is the Art of defeating oneself, and defeating in one’s self weakness and vice. Central to that end, is a tireless pursuit of self improvement through training, academic study, and artistic understanding. Karate training is most certainly an art form, but it is one that is misunderstood in the West far more often than not. In America, it is misused in many cases as a...
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Read MoreAdult Training at the Cutting Edge.
Members of Kyokushin-Kan International Karate Organization, Ligo Dojo instructors (and some students) travel to Japan one or more time per year to participate in international instructor's seminars hosted by Kancho (Chairman) Hatsuo Royama, and other instructors at the very top of their field worldwide. Adult Ligo Dojo students are always invited to tag along (there is, of course, the issue of cost, and student who have gone in the past have to pay their own way).
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Read MoreAt the Best Rates in Town!
Train for as little as $59 per month, $49 per month if you pay for the year upfront. If you join as a parent and a child together and opt for the free-parent plan, that's 2 students for only $59 per month! We are a nonprofit and our rates tend to be less than those of other area schools. However, in order to make ends meet we do have to remain strict with our payment policies. We serve many kids per year that are either subsidized, or paid for entirely, by grant money awarded...
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Read MoreKids Learn Real Karate!
We are not a babysitting service. Kids from the age of 6 can attend class everyday of the week, and we will watch over them and keep them safe, but we emphasize karate first and foremost, and kids' learning and progress is held to a high standard."Kids Learn Real Karate at Ligo Dojo," we say, and parents who haven't been exposed to karate-for-kids in America, or who have only had exposure to it at one or two select martial arts schools, may raise an eyebrow. "What's real karate?" they ask.
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Read MoreAnd We’re a Nonprofit!
You benefit, and so does your community. Your rates are cheaper, and your dues help support young people in the community who can't afford to pay. We're a nonprofit, so we're able to emphasize authentic karate, and rather than on taking as much of your money as possible. This online presentation of our nonprofit work can be found on four separate pages. After reading this first one, please read about our Young Warriors Program, see the Articles, Awards and Accolades page, and then finally read about How You Can Help.
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Read MoreRead About Our Free Parent Policy.
The dojo benefits. Families benefit. Kids have an opportunity to learn something WITH mom or dad. One parent per enrolled child can train FOR FREE at Ligo Dojo, provided that parent attends a minimum of 8 classes per month. That’s only 2 per week, but families should take note! Parents benefiting from the Free Parent Plan DO pay $99/month for any month they fail to attend the class minimum, and...
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Read MoreAnd Our Traditional Roots in Japan and Korea.
Founder Nathan Ligo has been practicing Kyokushin Karate for 30 years, including two years spent in Japan (1990-1991) in a renowned residential program for the personal students of Mas Oyama (1923-1994) the creator of Kyukushin Karate. Nathan Ligo became one of only 3 non-Japanese students to be given a diploma, although Nathan’s was an honorary one, his having remained in the program for 600 of an...
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Read MoreOur Young Warriors Program Serves Disadvantaged Youth.
The Young Warriors Program has been one of the highest recognized, and highest utilized, of all of the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council (JCPC) pograms funded in Durham County, consistently, over the past 5 years. We have recently branched out and now offer JCPC funded programming in Orange County at our new, second location in Chapel Hill, and we have added a Department of Public Safety multi-county...
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Read MoreNathan Ligo : Author, Nonprofit Director, Instructor of Kyokushin Karate.
Nathan Ligo, shown here receiving Triangle Community Foundation's 2011 What Matters Innovation Award for Nonprofit Excellence, is an author, a karate instructor for Kancho Hatsuo Royama's Kyokushin-Kan International Karate Organization in Japan, and the founder and director of a nonprofit organization...
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Read MoreWe Host Our Own Tournaments.
We host our own tournaments two times per year locally, and take kids and adults (those who choose to go) to out-of-state tournaments several times per year as well. We even have a long history of taking adult students overseas for international competition, but clearly there is the issue of cost, and it is likely that such opportunities would only be for the most motivated. One easy mistake that...
ABC News Interview Nathan Ligo
Young Nathan Ligo : See Fight #7
Short Film Young Warriors Program
Budo Karate West Blog Posts
Help Support Two Ligo Dojo Students Competing this June in Japan?
Two Ligo Dojo Instructors, Amy Kaufman and Don Harris, will be representing the United States in Kyokushin-Kan's World Kata Championships this June 23, in Tokyo. Can you help support the cost of their trip? Even small amounts count. Click here to read about their trip and their needs. Read More on Budo Karate West
Budo Karate : The Sundomei, The Full-Contact, and Kyokushin-Kan. Part 1.
Some history of Kyokushin karate here, in an article by Nathan Ligo. How Kyokushin karate relates to the traditional karate of Japan. How Kyokushin was the one that broke the mold. Read More on Budo Karate West
Ikken Part 3. Kancho Royama's International Instructor's Seminars.
In Part 3 of Nathan Ligo's article on Ikken, he gives the reader a step-by-step how to practice "Hai", one of Ikken's most useful exercises for the beginner. Sensei Ligo completes his discussion of why Kancho Royama considers Ikken a vital part of Kyokushin-kan's international instructor seminar content. Read More on Budo Karate West
Kancho Royama's Central Message Re. International Instructor's Seminars in Japan
Kyokushin-Kan is NOT just another IKO. Kyokushin-Kan is a unique karate organization on a unique path, described by Kancho Royama and other instructors at Kyokushin-Kan's international instructors seminars in Japan. Any adult Ligo Dojo student is invited to attend. There is only the issue of cost. Read here, and the author will discuss that cost, as well as what might be gained by attending. Read More on Budo Karate West
A New Ligo Dojo Technical Committee Training
This Budo Karate West blog post describes a new training opportunity for adults at Ligo Dojo, as well as come critical advice for all Ligo Dojo Students: "Make karate something you'll cancel other things for, not something that you cancel every time something else comes up, you'll still spend virtually the same number of hours, but the quality of your training will vastly improve!" Read More on Budo Karate West
About Bunkai : The Merging of Kata and Kumite
A discussion of Bunkai on Budo Karate West in a category in which the author discusses the content of Kancho Royama's international instructors seminars in Japan. Of interest to every Ligo Dojo student, since Bunkai represents the missing link between kata and kumite, all of which we practice daily at Ligo Dojo. Read More on Budo Karate West
Fight to be First. An Excerpt from A Kyokushin Beginner's Guide
Here on Nathan Ligo's Budo Karate West blog, Ligo Dojo students can find an excerpt from Nathan Ligo's forthcoming book, A Kyokushin Beginner's Guide: Replicating Mas Oyama's Budo Karate in the Western Dojo. A recommended read for all Ligo Dojo students! Read More on Budo Karate West
Bunkai: Kyokushin's Missing Link by Nathan Ligo
Here is part one of Nathan Ligo's essay on Bunkai, Ligo Dojo students gain additional information that is "need to know" in terms of their nightly training at Ligo Dojo. Instructor Nathan Ligo has attended more of Kancho Hatsuo Royama's seminars than any other American. Being also Kancho's interpreter in many cases, Nathan is poised to convey the heart of Kancho's content . . . Read More on Budo Karate West
A Black Belt Magazine Article about Mas Oyama on Budo Karate West
On the Budo Karate West Blog read about Kyokushin's founder, Mas Oyama, in an article written for Black Belt Magazine in 1994. At the time of his death, Mas Oyama had 12 million students in 130 countries around the globe. Mas Oyama was the man that broke the mold, and created full-contact karate from what, up until his time, had been little more than a stylized dance. Read More on Budo Karate WestNo Better Time than the Present.
Call Us Anytime!
Welcome to the Ligo Dojo website. My name is Nathan Ligo, director of Ligo Dojo. Please don't hesitate to contact me. All of the dojo's numbers connect directly to my cell phone. Also, be sure to "follow" the Budo Karate West blog, where dojo members get regular updates. I'm so happy you've found us!
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