Kaizen Dojo

I couldn’t ask for a better influence on my son than Sensei Ford. No one else would take my son — no schools, no programs, nothing. My mother always told me «you have to be strong to be soft,» and that is Sensei Ford. He could probably kill you with a pinky on accident, but it’s like he has a PhD in Kids. He is very funny and knows how to keep the children’s attention while instilling in them respect, kindness, and hard-​work. My son has made leaps and bounds since and I am so proud of him and so thankful for this dojo.

I never thought I’d see my 6’2″ tall handsome martial artist taken down by ANYONE!!! This place is absolutely the best.

What I truly value about Kaizen Dojo is that it feels like family. Sensei Ford not only teaches my daughter Martial Arts, he also teaches her about compassion, respect, and honor. He is a rare teacher who nurtures each student’s self-​esteem while creating an atmosphere of fun and play. Our daughter absolutely adores him!

Great place to go to learn karate. Sensei Ford is great with kids. I HIGHLY RECOMMENDED you drop by to check this place out if you are looking for a place to learn karate you wont be disapointed.

Kaizen Dojo is an excellent school! Sensei Ford is a kind, respectful, and, patient instructor. This is a real Martial Arts school with real Martial Arts values. A breathe of fresh air in this new era of MMA attitudes.

A wonderful place to come and learn the martial arts, the Sensei are patient and very good with children and adults.

Genny F.
I’ve always liked Karate, so I started my son at 4 ½ years old at a different Dojo, I liked it and that’s all I knew at the time. They closed the Dojo and my son was extremely disappointed and did not wish to continue anywhere else, I had expressed my concerns to a Dear friend of mine and she told me about Kaisen Dojo with Sensei Ford. We went there to check it out for the very first time and my Son and myself were extremely conformable and happy with the way Sensei Ford teaches.
My Son asked me to enroll him ASAP and he is a happy kid once again.
Sensei Ford is a wonderful Teacher, he is kind, patient, diciplined and I just love the way he teaches Martial Arts
It’s truly an honor to have my son at his Dojo

Great teacher and positive role model for my twins. I remember that my lessons learning martial arts have never been this much fun. Super glad to have found this place in nearby torrance. There are classes mostly mon wed fri and most of the time on Saturday. Classes are 45 min long just enough to for any kid’s short attention span. They also have an adult class as well that I’m starting out. It’s very different and I’m glad to be participating with it. Prices are reasonable considering the class schedule offering. He also offers a discount if a family joins as well. I’m super glad that my kiddos are getting fun, practice, and some discipline with the program. Shout out to Sensei Rich and Seifu Rob as well.

My 2 sons have been practicing karate for quite some time now. It has taught them much more than just self defense. Karate has given them confidence; it has taught them respect and discipline.
At Kaizen Dojo, Sensei Ford teaches them both the art and technicality of karate. He breaks down the movements and applies them to real life scenarios. He is kind yet firm. He enjoys teaching his young karateka and it shows. Thank you Sensei for being a great teacher!!!

A FUN and EXCITING training style! Not only is Sensei Ford a recognized Master in Karate, he is also an excellent instructor for ALL ages.
When we first proposed marital arts to our 6yr old daughter, her first reaction was … YUCK! That sport is for boys! Her point was taken and we told her she still had to take a class (self defense is a priority to us). We looked at several martial art classes and she observed and/​or tried them out. She opened up a little to the idea of taking a marital art. BUT when she tried out Sensei Ford’s Kaizen Dojo … she instantly fell in love with it! From our daughters perspective, the class is a fun interactive session, and she wants to attend at every opportunity. However, based upon our own past Karate training/​experience, we see that in actuality Sensei Ford’s technique is to use fun activities/​games to develop children’s martial arts skills and traditional Karate training to encourage self confidence and to perfect their skills. An excellent method to encourage and maintain a child’s interest. He does this all without undermining their self esteem.
The result (w/​o the kid realizing it) is a child eager to learn/​develop their Karate skills, to understand the purpose of the Karate moves, and most importantly (from parents who believe their child is very active) she is learning focus, patience and discipline!

I’ve had the pleasure of dropping in and out of Kaizen Dojo’s classes run by Sensei Ford, and recently my own friend Sensei Anthony. I heard about Kaizen Dojo through Sensei Anthony as we were good college buddies when I travel down to visit him from time to time I always try my best to attend a Kaizen Dojo class!
Kaizen Dojo has an extremely welcoming and open environment, I always enjoy attending class and Sensei Ford has always been very welcoming! I actually train in a separate style from the Kobayashi Shorin-​Ryu that Sensei Ford has extensive knowledge of, as a Matsubayashi Shorin-​Ryu practitioner it’s always interesting to see the variation and differences between the two styles. Thankfully Sensei Ford has an open mind and can appreciate the differences of many martial arts styles, at the end of the day there is always something to be learnt from any martial art!
I really enjoy the atmosphere of the dojo, whether you’re a child or an adult there is always a class available to you and a sensei willing to teach you. I can not stress this enough: if you train at Kaizen Dojo you are truly lucky to be blessed with great knowledge, and great hours! I’m always envious of the regulars at the dojo, trust me having access to high quality karate instruction and knowledge 6 days a week is something to be truly envious of!
I highly recommend this dojo and if you’ve practiced a different style of martial arts don’t shy away! Give a class a whirl and see for yourself if it’s a good fit for you, your child, your sibling, your friend, or anyone! Trust me, I doubt you will be disappointed; if anything you’ll walk away feeling empowered and motivated to start training!

6 months ago, I was looking for an activity that would be both educational and fun for my 6 year old daughter and 8 year old son.
I came across Sensei William Ford’s Kaizen Dojo in Torrance.
I really appreciate Sensei Ford’s «organic» style of teaching, which is down to earth, caring and warm.
He’s very good at capturing all the children’s attention (with humor and subtle firmness), while still taking time to talk to each child one on one.
He also understands that each child learns at a different pace and caters to different needs, while keeping the class on point throughout each lesson.
You can see and feel the genuine desire (from all of the instructors at Kaizen Dojo) to teach the children the discipline of karate, as well as making the learning experience fun, engaging and educational.
I would highly recommend Kaizen Dojo and Sensei William Ford to anyone seeking to have their children involved in the martial arts. It helps them to focus, teaches them discipline, and builds their confidence that will carry over into their everyday life.

What can i say about Kaizen Dojo nothing but wonderful things. I was looking for a place for my daughter to learn Martial Arts. We walking into Kaizen Dojo. Where we were welcome by a wonderful Sensei who invited us in to watch his class and see if we like it and didn’t harassed us about joining right away after watching his class he invited us to come back to try a class for my daughter but at that time my daughter was not ready to start due to her shyness. It tooks us two years and looked all around the south bay area at different schools and different Martial Arts to come back to Kaizen Dojo again this time i was referred by a old friend from high school knew the Sensei. We look through the window while children where training and saw the same Sensei who we saw two years earlier still there. We waited for him to finish his class and walking in to the Dojo. He welcomed us again and ask my daughter if she wanted to try taking a free class to see if she like it. She accepted. She loved the welcoming and friendly environment at the dojo. She liked how kind and caring the Sensei was. This time she was ready after taking two free classes she wanted to joined the Dojo. I can say that the Kaizen Dojo has changed my daughter life in very positive ways. Went she first started going she was very shy and had very low self-​esteem. After joining she is a different child. She is a happy, friendly, confident and positive child. The people at the dojo is like a family. The Dojo is a peaceful and happy environment for all who goes. The Sensei has wonderful patiences for all this student’s and works with all kinds of needs. I couldn’t be more pleased with this Dojo.

Update: My son has continued taking karate lessons at Kaizen Dojo and loves going every week! He has so much fun learning and has retained so much of the lessons mostly due to Sensei Ford’s fun and positive teaching style. Sensei Ford takes the time to work with each student and encourages them to do their best.
I highly recommend Sensei Ford and Kaizen Dojo!

A word of warning: this review is a long one! There wasn’t a short way for me to write down all the details about what a great experience we’ve had so far at Kaizen Dojo, so here we go…
My 4-​year old son has been taking karate classes at Kaizen Dojo for the last 5 months. Sensei Ford and his team of instructors are very good with the kids. They are patient and really know how to run each class so that the kids get a good balance of learning/​practice coupled along with fun (and lots of laughter for everyone).
A typical class consists of warm-​up, various drills and then each child practices the katas (forms) that they are currently learning… and if they’re persistent enough in asking, the kids might be lucky enough to enjoy 1 to 2 games of dodge ball afterwards! Throughout the class, the instructors constantly give constructive feedback. Sensei Ford and his instructors genuinely care for the kids and their progress. They create a safe and fun environment for everyone. On the days when it seems that the kids are bouncing off the walls and have unlimited energy, Sensei Ford and Sempai Rich have a way with harnessing that extra energy and getting the kids to focus on improving their katas and skills.
Here’s some color on our family’s story at Kaizen Dojo. Six months ago during our first visit to the dojo, my son was extremely shy and refused to participate even though he was warmly welcomed by the instructors and students. My first impression of the dojo was that it was clean and well kept. The students were well behaved and seemed to really have fun during class, and on top of that, Sensei Ford was very friendly and easygoing, never once making me feel obligated to make a decision right away on whether to sign up for lessons. He encouraged me to bring my son back several times so that we could assess whether this would be the right fit for him.
Knowing in my heart that my son would have fun (if only he could come out of his shell), I brought him back consistently 2 – 3 times a week in hopes that he would start to participate. In the beginning, it was like pulling teeth and there were days when I would go home thinking, «Maybe he’s not ready for karate classes.» Sensei Ford patiently and diligently worked on gaining my son’s trust by inviting him to join the class whenever he felt that he was ready (there was no pressure and Sensei Ford was very encouraging). During that month, my son began to get on the mat more often and join the class during drills. It finally came to the point where he stayed on the mat for the entire duration of the class (and actually enjoyed it)! As a parent, it was such a great feeling to see this and get confirmation that all of the time I spent bringing my son back to karate was not wasted. Fast forward to 5 months later, my son is really enjoying karate, has made so many new friends and has become more confident. In June, he was promoted to yellow belt and it was such a rewarding experience to see him accomplish this!
In my opinion, there are so many positive aspects related to learning martial arts. It’s a given that you’ll learn self-​defense and gain self-​confidence. There are other things that you’ll learn that are less obvious but equally important like discipline, self-​respect, comradery and humility. If you are looking for a safe, fun and supportive environment where your child will be able to learn all of this stuff, then please give Kaizen Dojo a try!

Sensei Ford provided the exact guidance my 16 yr old son was seeking, when he enrolled at Kaizen Do-​Jo as White belt after acquiring black belt from other studio which it closed the door due to Master’s health.
My son always wanted to learn Okinawan style and most importantly continue Karate practice. Sensei Ford recognized my son’s 9 years of practice, and at the very first time Sensei Ford and his entire class welcome my son. He was relieved to be accepted (was so nervous) and exuberant to get back.
The studio is spacious and clean, but the best part is Sensei Ford and visiting instructors, all are highly trained, motivated, yet friendly. Even when the class is full, they are paying individual attention to each student, provide instructions patiently. I love watching Sensei Ford’s demo and how he explains why certain moves are done a certain way.
We are very thankful our son has found renewed commitment to Karate.
Sensei Ford is providing where student can continue and improve their practice. That’s what Kaizen (continuous improvement) is all about.

We found Kaizen dojo through Unilocal and we are very greatful to the other Unilocalers who lead us here. Sensei Ford is amazing with the kids. He has tons of patience and makes it fun while teaching the kids. We are glad we are part of such a great dojo and can’t wait until our youngest can join! Our son always looks forward to going everytime! And thank you Sensei Ginger, Jade, and Sempi for being ao great!

Five only stars? There should be a ten star rating. This place is so comfortable and you learn so much about everyday life. Sensei is fantastic he transcends his own passion and love through his teachings. A phenomenal in martial arts! Truly an arena with a bright future ahead, grateful that my son is here and just thankful he has someone cool to look up to. Keep up the awesome spirits! Live on Bruce Lee!

I wasn’t thrilled with my son’s former dojo, so we hunted around until Unilocal lead us to the Kaizen Dojo. After one free lesson, I was pretty sure we had come to the right place. After a month, I was certain. My son learned more at Kaizen Dojo than he had in the 5+ months at the other place. And, he wanted to keep learning!
Here, you’ll find a blend of old school teaching with a more modern approach. The teachers are patient, knowledgeable, and fun. Everyone enjoys class, even if you are just an observer. Students are instructed in the history and applications of different katas, as well as differences in various styles. Weapons training in the bo and arnis are a great bonus.
At Kaizen, family is important, and you become a part of their ohana. Think of it as your extended family (but without the drama). Nice!
By the way, adults are welcomed too. There are classes for us. Believe it or not, I liked it so much for my son, I joined myself. (Who would have thought I’d like kicking, hitting, and yelling so much?!) I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn the art of Okinawan Karate.

First off let me start by saying that the community within Kaizen Dojo is wonderful. You really have positive parents, families, and friends who are supportive of each other. With that said, this is the culture of Kaizen Dojo.
I grew up around different dojo’s because of my family. So compared to other dojo’s this is one of the top ones I recommend in Torrance.
I’ll start by saying that my two children attend this dojo. Like other parents; I found his dojo through Unilocal and I believe in giving honest feedback to businesses. Our experience has only been with Sempai Rich and Sensei Ford. These two are balanced when instructing together. Sensei Ford really teaches the children how to defend their selves; self discipline, self confidence, self respect and to respect others.
The teachings are always consistent. At the end of the day your children will always learn something new; while perfecting what they’ve learned. The parents also learn something new through their children. I love that everyone learns at their own pace; however there is a learning metric system that Sensei Ford uses; which I totally appreciate ie: the body of knowledge or practice to achieve a yellow belt, and so forth. There is constant communication between Sensei Ford and parents. If you want to know how your child is doing; there is no set schedule or time to discuss; he has an open door policy to address those issues at hand.
The dojo is clean, the set up is clear from hazard. All of his equipment are in one corner of the dojo. Parking is easy; however you have to be very careful when finding a parking spot; some drivers; drive faster than others. So just be aware of your surroundings when trying to find parking. The location is close to Kings Hawaiian, and a 99cent store.
Also, something to think about — most dojo’s, academies are more concerned of the quantity of students or how to reach that monthly quota for financial purposes… You won’t find that here. Sensei Ford is about Quality vs. Quantity and he doesn’t try to sell you anything. (for those who are aware of their budget like I am…)