Two trials, two very different weeks
The free trial — built to convert:

• Priced at zero, so it has to make its money back in a signature
• Runs on volume — the more people in the door, the better the math works for them
• Instruction is often secondary to the sales conversation
• Success is measured by how many trials become contracts
• No skin in the game for you, so no honest read on your own follow-through

The paid trial — built to earn you:

• Priced low enough to be easy, high enough to filter out tire-kickers
• Runs on retention — the school only wins if the class is worth returning for
• Instruction is the entire offer, because there's nothing else to sell you on yet
• Success is measured by whether you and your kid actually want to come back
• A small commitment from you buys an honest, low-pressure look at real training

Why we charge $30 for three days
Thirty dollars isn't a paywall. It's a filter — for the school as much as for you. It means we're not chasing a quota of free sign-ups, and it means the people on our mats during your trial actually want to be there too. Real Shotokan karate, taught by real black belts, with a lineage you can trace back generation by generation. Not a script, not a hard close, not a contract shoved at you on day three.
If three days of honest instruction don't make the case for themselves, no discount ever will. That's the whole philosophy: family-operated, real lineage, no pressure, no gimmicks.

Why we don't do walk-ins
You won't find an open house at Claycomb. No walking in off the street to sit on a bench and watch a class. No drop-in, no "come whenever." Every visit is by appointment — and that's not an accident, it's a policy.
Here's why. A school that lets anyone wander in whenever they want isn't protecting anything — not the class in progress, not the kids training, not your first impression of the dojo. It's optimizing for foot traffic, not for the room. Every other gym in this area runs an open-door policy. We don't, because an open door is a school that's built for volume, not for serious training.
An appointment means when you show up, we're ready for you. Someone is expecting you, your visit gets full attention, and the class you're watching wasn't disrupted by a stranger walking in mid-kata.  It also means you took a small, deliberate step to be there — which is exactly the kind of follow-through we're trying to build in every student who trains here.
If a school will let anyone in the door at any time, ask yourself what that says about who else is going to be training next to your kid.

A note from me personally
I​'m Shihan Joseph Claycomb, and I want to be straight about who I'm building this school for. I'm not trying to grow Claycomb Karate by stacking up as many sign-ups as I can get. I'm trying to grow it with serious families — people who show up because they want to learn the art itself, and who want their kids to actually gain what training gives them: discipline, focus, respect, real confidence that gets earned on the mat, not handed out.
I'm passionate about teaching, and I'm passionate about my students' success. That's not a tagline — it's the reason I still get on the mat myself. What I teach is real Shotokan karate, no gimmicks, no watered-down curriculum dressed up to keep people entertained. If you train here, you're learning the actual art, the way it was passed down to me.

This isn't babysitting. I'm not interested in being a place where a kid gets dropped off so a parent can get an hour back.
I'm looking for parents who see training as something they're doing alongside their kid, not a service they're outsourcing a problem to. If you want your son or daughter to grow through consistent effort over time, we're the right room. If you're hoping one class a week quietly solves something at home, we're not.

What I'm looking for are families who are going to stick. People who are in it because they actually want this for their kid, or for themselves — not people who disappear the second their school schedule shifts or their budget gets a little tight. I'd rather have a room of twenty families who train with us for years than two hundred who quit in a month.
That's what the $30 trial is really screening for. Not your wallet. Your follow-through.
— Shihan Joseph Claycomb, Claycomb Karate & Kickboxing

Come see for yourself
Three days on the mat. Thirty dollars. No contract pitch. Train with a real Shotokan lineage under Shihan Joseph Claycomb — kids and adults, Fontana, CA.

Q; What is Mokuso?
A: The practice of clearing the mind before and after training while sitting in Seiza. Or in layman's terms "meditation"


With all that goes on in our lives and all the rush, distractions, videos games, television, Internet, advertisements, traffic, bills, stress, anxiety and stimulation overload that comes with living in the era of the 2000's, we have to wonder, why do so many of us often get distracted or find it difficult to mentally focus and releive stress and in some instances we cant even find the time to just relax.

Mokuso (meditation) is a simple exercise that can help with many of these challenges.

The real importance of mokso is not just doing it once in a while, rather it's the benefits of practicing it sincerely when you do actually perform it. Just like a computer, sometimes we need to push the reset button.

Mokuso can help the student clear their mind and DE-STIMULATE. It can help a person relax and slow down after a hard long day or after an intense training session at the dojo.

After a full day of school, work or life in general, the mind has experienced so many things at such a fast pace that it is a wonder why we often feel we're in the fast lane lifestyle and never seem to have time for anything or cant seem to slow down until the day is over.

Mokuso allows us to clear our mind both before an activity we wish to excel at as well as relax and RESET afterwards. 

Karate practice benefit the mind, body and spirit. Typically the mind and body follow each other almost in unison while the spirit or the inner-self of a person tags along and feels the effect that the other two are engaged in.

Example, when we do acts of kindness or positive actions, our spirit or inner-self tends to feel the positive effects of the actions we are doing. This goes for NEGATIVE actions as well.

This can apply to clearing the mind too. If we practice Mokuso often and sincerely eventually our inner-self will feel the effects of it as well.  We can start to feel relaxed and calm, yet even more alert and energized than before.

Personally I feel it is a very important part of training and it should be practiced often on your own time, not just in the dojo.

Children, with the help of their parents can learn to re-focus themselves while doing homework to re-energize their efforts and minds enabling them to complete their studies with less effort simply by doing a couple minutes of mokuso.

Good Mokuso practice habits:

- Sit upright in Seiza (kneeling) or Anza (cross legged)
- Keep eyes closed entire time.
- Breath deeply and completely at a steady and natural pace.
- Ignore sounds or distractions.
- Remain completely still
- Focus on OR think about techniques you just practiced during your training. Performing a KATA in your mind is also a great exercise. (this helps information burn in to your memory)
- Ignore any Itches, aches, numbness in your legs while sitting or even sweat dripping down your face.
- Visualize what you are thinking about with mental images.
- Do not rush, perform Mokuso between 30 - 60 complete breath cycles, (should take about 3 - 5 minutes.)

There are many other helpful tips but these are just some of the important ones.

Parents and children alike can practice this at home together, I encourage it. Try it out and see the effects of clearing your mind during Mokso and let me know if you have seen a difference in yourself.

Ready to experience Mokuso and real Shotokan training?
Try 3 classes for $30 → fontanakarate.com/start

​Oss,
Good Training.

​

1) Sho-shin – Beginner’s Mind
This refers to the type of mentality you probably had when you first started martial arts. everything was new and exciting. You were eager to learn. You had an open minded eagerness, and you had no preconceptions of how to do your techniques. you had nothing to compare it to or relate to any previous experience. You just wanted to learn. This is the mentality that you need to have even at at advances level or experience in you martial arts training.
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you know everything that you need to know. 

ALWAYS Maintain a beginner’s mind. Remain Humble. The person who thinks he or she already knows everything, is not open to learning anything. Maintain Sho-shin when you are training with others and continue to learn from everyone you meet.

2) Zan-shin – Lingering Mind “Awareness”
Zan-shin is a state of mind where you are totally in the present moment. It is a state where you are completely aware of your environment and your surroundings. You are relaxed, but completely aware and alert of everything around you and even a sense of the time that has passed or events that are about to come.

It is a state of being totally aware of your environment – front, back, up, down, and both sides. It is total awareness, a state of where your mind is always alert and prepared for action. Zan-Shin can only be achieved by serious practice and training, not playing around.

3) Mu-shin – No Mind
Mu-shin literally means mind-no-mind or “empty mind”. It is a state where you are acting but not having to think about your actions. Achieving the state of Mu-shin is at the core of Japanese martial arts and can only be achieved by years of practice.
The moon’s reflection in a lake is only clear when the water is perfectly still. If there are waves or ripples, the moon’s reflection is distorted. You could think of Mu-shin as being a state of mind where there is no distortion or thoughts, yet you are still acting.
The Japanese say that Mu-shin cannot be understood with the intellect, but rather, it must be experienced. And that is true. When you go into Mu-shin, your mind is quiet, but your body is acting. To achieve this state, your mind must be free from any conscious thought, including anger, hesitation, doubt, fear, or thinking about how to do what you are doing. You simply act. You allow your spirit to guide your body.

Before you begin your journey in Karate, make sure to do your research and seek out a credible and legitimate sensei who clearly displays their passion in teaching and intentions behind why they teach. Find a Sensei who is dedicated to teaching and karate is their own personal lifestyle. Find a Good Sensei First, before you begin your journey. Once your do, TRUST they will lead you to what is best for you. GOOD Sensei's teach Karate for the LOVE of the ART and what it does for people.

Karate Kid Excerpt:
Miyagi Sensei to Daniel: Danial San, I SAY , YOU DO, NO Questions! Deal? My job TEACH, YOUR job LEARN.

The main point here is that students must TRUST their Sensei. The order of training and when you are taught something OR NOT is because your Sensei knows what is best for you.
 
Just like a parent, your Sensei determines what you need to learn, WHEN you need to learn it, and WHAT you NEED to learn next and IF you need to learn something at all.

Just remember, it's NOT the student's job to tell their Sensei how to teach or what to teach or how often to teach something. A Student DOES NOT know what is best to learn and most of the time they dont even know what is best for them, regardless of the students age OR rank.  If it were not for your sensei, You wouldn’t have a clue what you are being taught ANYWAY!

That would be like a child telling their parent how to raise "them" and what to feed them and what manners they should learn instead of how the parent sees fit.

Would you ask a college professor to strike out a certain chapter and to only teach specific topics YOU the student deems important to FOCUS on? They have a curriculum and a process to follow. Students don't know what they need to learn before taking the course.