Partner program
Tiny Tigers Karate
Listening, balance, and taking turns, wrapped in tiger games.
The art
A first martial arts class built for three to seven year olds
Tiny Tigers is karate for little ones, and it is honest about what a four year old can do. The class is built from short games that hide the real lessons: balance on the beam, freeze on command, wait for your turn, crawl like a tiger, roar like a tiger, stand still like a tiger watching.
Themed weeks give the class a story. Balance of the Bamboo, Heart of the Tiger, Eyes of the Eagle, Speed of the Monkey. Each one teaches a skill and a virtue, and each ends with a stripe on the belt.
Where it comes from
Sensei Sally Nolte, a third dan in karate and tae kwon do, built the program for Cloud Forest families who wanted their youngest children on the mat before the kids classes begin at five. It runs as a partner program with its own tuition.
What it does for you
The whole class is a game of paying attention. It transfers straight to preschool and kindergarten.
Beam walks, one-foot freezes, and animal crawls build the basics every sport later depends on.
Waiting in line for the tire jump is a lesson in itself.
Tiny Tigers graduates step into Kids Kung Fu or Goju Ryu already knowing how to bow, line up, and listen.
What a class looks like
Thirty minutes for the youngest, forty-five for the four to seven group. Circle time and a bow, tiger stretches, a balance course, a stance or a block taught as a game, then the tire jump or the tunnel crawl to finish. Stripes are awarded on the mat in front of everyone.
Your first visit
The program is paused until later in the school year. Leave your name and we will call you the week the new session is announced. Visits are free when classes resume.
Questions before you come? Call 336-542-5920 or email support@traincloudforest.com.
Students in this class also train