I don't know what EPKK is, so I dunno'.
That being said,
I always believed the two main goals of Martial Arts are the development of character and the ability to train and defend oneself. I also believe every dojo is different. In the American Karate dojos that I’ve run for most of my life we based ourselves on traditional Japanese dojo etiquette. The first thing every student learned were the rules, which were strict and of which we had many. On the flip side of that - the very first thing you saw when entering the dojo for the first time was a large sign that said “We are a Martial Arts Institute of Higher Pugilisitic Education.” We taught, and practiced to the best of our abilities, the tenets of Bushido. That's from day one. I was fortunate to have opened a dojo that already had a group of Black Belts. We also had fifty young men, sixteen to late twenties, all city kids, also from day one. They learned the rules, learned a strict dojo etiquette and manners by both teaching and example. And I’ll tell you what, they loved it. I’m still in touch with many of them and they still exhibit those qualities to this day. As do their own children.
Our training was not traditional for the most part. That being said, a lot of friends of mine are traditional Karate instructors. I had all of them down to teach the occasional class. The students loved that, too. We also had an open door policy for sparring. Every Thursday night we’d spar. And every Thursday night there were guests who came down just to spar. We’d spar in different ways, free sparring (Karate style) kickboxing, boxing, point fighting, grappling, sometimes all of them together. That might sound odd, but it was natural to us. We had very few injuries, less than other places I visited.
Everyone got in shape. We ran, we were on weight training programs, we drilled up and down the floor, did two man Kumite exercises, we did pushups, sit-ups and chin ups until we couldn’t do anymore. Then did some more, anyway. We warmed up to music every night before we stretched out. We read every book on Martial Arts we could get our hands on, as well as every training film. We competed everywhere we could, making a ton of friends - who’s dojos we were invited to and went to and trained. Damn, we were so fortunate.
We held seminars all the time, not one of them to make money. Not one. We had EMTs come down to speak and teach basic first aide (students loved it) I had all those that taught me Martial Arts come down, usually every year, or anytime they were in town. I loved having my students experience other things that our dojo didn’t provide, loved having them explore the world of Martial Arts in general. Might not be the best business plan, but I didn’t open a dojo to make money.
Hindsight is always 20-20. One thing I’d do differently if I could go back to that time would be to include two Katas. One would be Sanchin, which I always liked. The other I would make up comprised of quick, solo BJJ drills. Both would be good for fitness and fighting, at least in my opinion. I know the idea of "making up a Kata" is considered almost blasphemy in some circles, but, alas, me no care.
