Parents,

Do you want your child empowered with the qualities of focus, discipline, respect, self-control, confidence, leadership & self-defense?  At TheDOJO we Unleash Human Potential...here's how:

The DOJO is a very different kind of martial arts school. Our unique martial arts education practices Intelligent Curriculum which Unleashes Human Potential. Intelligent Curriculum includes Peace Education, Healthy Eating, Focus, Project Based Leadership Training, Self Discipline, Environmental Green Projects to name just a few components. Children safely learn all the platforms of self-defense in the martial arts. Karate, Judo, Jujitsu, how to throw an opponent, punch and kick, sparring, grappling, boxing, and how to defend themselves from a bully or stranger. Empowering children with the types of tools they need to overcome adversity in life is what we do best. When we teach children the martial arts we are really teaching them about life.

Our Martial Art Style or "What We Teach" in Less Than 100 Words

We teach punching, kicking, blocking, wrestling, grappling & every aspect of the arts of self-defense that we ourselves have studied. It's good stuff & not only are we good at what we do, but every teacher of our team is working to improve his or her skills, daily.  Speaking of who is teaching, Sensei Dan Rominski, the Master Teacher & Owner of TheDOJO, can be found teaching most every class assisted by instructors.  We teach children of all ages how to manifest the qualities of the martial arts outside of the martial arts school and outside the realm of a punch, kick or throw. We teach them to make a difference. Project Based Leadership Training is experiential learning allowing students to practice taking the qualities of the martial arts we teach in our unique classes of focus, discipline, respect, confidence, leadership & communication skills out of the classroom & into the world & their everyday life!

 Discipline & Self-Control

Our martial arts education teaches discipline & self-control.  We have a wonderful patient staff who have helped many children improve their behavior at home & at school.  It’s one of the things parents like best about our program.    

Self-Defense

Our martial arts education teaches practical proven self defense techniques that children get better & better at with practice.  Children protect themselves with their knowledge.  We give them the tools they need to protect themselves in any situation they may encounter.  

Focus & Concentration

Our martial arts education teaches children the ability to focus.  They learn HOW to learn while having fun & learning proper eye contact, how to concentrate ones mind & an attentive posture.  We give them a safe outlet for all their energy.  

Confidence & Self-Esteem

Our martial arts education teaches confidence & raises self-esteem.  The key to building confidence is our belt ranking system.  Martial arts is different from team sports because each time a child earns their new belt it raises their self-esteem.  We have confidence building drills in every class that improves the way children really feel about themselves.

Fitness

Our martial arts education is a great way to get in shape.  Students trim down while improving muscle tone & coordination.  We teach healthy eating such as having more fruits & vegetables at meals & snacks, drinking water to stay well hydrated & the discipline to not overindulge in junk food.

Unleashing Human Potential

Our Martial Arts Education of Intelligent Curriculum. That’s Smart.

Peace Education

Alexandra age 7,  for her Blue Belt Project & as part of our Peace Education, was tasked to perform 50 Acts of Kindness herself.  By the way, our Peace Education involves Random Acts of Kindness, Art & Anger Management. Upon completing this experiential learning of peace education & RESPECT she was next tasked to inspire & lead her entire elementary school to perform Acts of Kindness. Through her Project Based Leadership Training Washington School of Rutherford performed over 1,200 Acts of Kindness in one week. Her elementary school continues Random Acts of Kindness Week each year. Alex chose this project as a response to help do something about bullying, a common challenge all children are faced with.  At TheDOJO we have logged & performed over 52,000 Random Acts of Kindness during the year of 2006.

The Green Project

Dylan, age 10, for his Green Belt Project was tasked to perform 25 Acts of Environmental Self Defense, we call this The Green Project. He did simple acts such as not letting the water run while brushing his teeth, checked the air pressure in his dad’s car tires & participated in an environmental cleanup project for Earth Day. For his Project Based Leadership Training he tasked 403 children of his elementary school to each perform 5 things to help improve the Environment for Earth Day. They totaled 2,025 conservation acts to help the environment in one week at McKenzie School in East Rutherford.

Practical Martial Art Techniques

Of course our children students at The DOJO learn the practical self defense skills of the martial arts. They study such martial arts such as Karate, Judo and Jujutsu (aka-Jiujitsu). They learn how to confidently defend themselves with the punches, kicks, grappling & throws of the martial arts but also they learn how to defend themselves against things that really hurt children everyday like an unhealthy diet, unhealthy peer pressure, mediocrity & low self esteem.

It’s no wonder that we are so effective at inspiring & teaching children. I always say that when you want to teach children “just behave how you want the children to behave”.  

Our Project Portfolio

These example represent some of the work in our Project Portfolio

Acts of Kindness

We teamed up with The Rutherford Downtown Partnership and inspired the Village of Rutherford to participate in a Random Acts of Kindness Week. All of the Elementary Schools got involved along with the citizens of Rutherford & we performed 52,853 Random Acts of Kindness in a year! One of our 4 year old students performed 100 Acts of Kindness herself. Simple acts such as saying please & thank you, holding the door open for someone & sending a thank you note are some examples of the acts performed.  

TheDOJO Food Drive

Upon learning that the Rutherford Food Pantry was low on supplies we performed a food drive that raised over 1,000 cans of food in 3 weeks. A 5 year old went to his neighbors with his little red wagon and raised 15 cans of food. A 93 year old grandmother participated by donating a few cans of food. The Rutherford Food Panty helps citizens of Rutherford who need food for various reasons such as domestic violence, being disabled or those who are elderly.  In 13 years we have raised over 31,000 cans of food personal hygiene products & school supplies for The Rutherford Food Pantry by repeating this project each summer when their donations are the low.

Heathy Eating Education and Diabetes Prevention

St Mary’s Elementary School of Rutherford asked myself, Sensei Dan of The DOJO, to teach Healthy Eating to it’s students of kindergarten to 8th graders. The students participated in our Healthy Eating Education called 5 A Day.  In the 5 A Day program children are inspired to eat 5 different colors of fruits & vegetables for 5 Days. In three weeks the children ate over 3,000 fruits & vegetables!

My name is Sensei Dan Rominski. I am the Chief Instructor & owner of The DOJO. I operate this martial arts school with my wife Kim & our team. Together we enjoy making a difference in our world through our creative efforts. Our school is unique because we are unique human beings. It is fun & we don’t just teach it…we live it.  Please read below for more information.

CLICK HERE to see our Project Portfolio Page

Welcome to The DOJO.

Sensei Dan Rominski

6th Degree Black Belt
Chief Instructor
TheDOJO

 I want my child to take martial arts…but WHERE do I begin?

Most people who want to begin studying the martial arts with us have little or no experience with martial arts.  They usually have lot’s of questions such as “What do I do?  Do I need a uniform?  What is the first step?”, “Is it safe?”, “Is it worth the investment of my money?"  We specialize at introducing beginners to the martial arts.  We also have advanced programs for those who have studied the martial arts before and are interested in getting to high levels of ability and long-term growth.

That is why your first experience with us is an introductory process called our New Student Orientation Introductory Program.  It involves a Tour of our school, a few Semi-Private Introductory Lessons that might be with other beginners starting off just like yourself or you are welcome to bring someone to get started with you, you receive your new martial arts Student Uniform, and a conference to review our schedule, tuition and answer any questions that you have.

Whether you are an experienced martial artist or a pure novice everyone who enrolls starts out with the New Student Orientation to help introduce you to our school and answer ANY questions you might have while making you feel at ease.  This process will allow you to evaluate our martial arts school, our staff, and our instructors.  You’ll want to look for a feeling of comfort in areas of professionalism, safety, and if you think we can inspire you and help you accomplish your goals and receive the benefits you are looking for in studying the martial arts with us.

HOW do I Choose a Martial Art School?

Choosing a martial arts school is no different than choosing anything else in life.  You must “listen to your gut”, use common sense and make sure you have a good feeling about the school you are “trying out”.  We are confident that you will be satisfied and if you are not we are happy to recommend a school that might better suit your needs.  It also allows us to evaluate you, the new student applying for membership, to see if you qualify to be a part of our school.  Afterwards you get to make the choice whether to enroll or not.  There are no “Hard Sales” or “Pressure” to enroll.  There are also no “Hidden Expenses” either.  It will also give you peace of mind to know that should you need to cancel your membership with our school at any time you may do so. 

WHAT Happens WHEN I First Come In? WHO will help ME?

When you first enter The Dojo you will be warmly greeted by our best new student instructor who will help you throughout your New Student Orientation Introductory Program.  First after introducing themselves they will give you a quick tour of our school, introduce you to some of the other members and parents and answer any questions you have.  Your new student instructor will take the time to discuss your goals and find out what benefits you are looking to receive from studying the martial arts with us.  They will also take the time to find out any physical or other limitations you might have and be concerned with.  For instance some parents of students who want to enroll their children might ask “What if I my child doesn’t focus very well or is not that disciplined or confident?”  Your new student instructor will be able to inspire your child to unleash their human potential so that they may participate in our program to the best of THEIR ability.

Next your child will receive their high quality New Student Martial Arts Uniform compliments of us.  New students perform 10 Acts of Kindness, log them on a piece of paper and hand this in to qualify for membership and their complimentary uniform that is theirs to keep whether they enroll or not.  New students may then change into their new uniform in our private individual changing rooms such as what one would find in a department store.

WHAT Happens in My First Class?  Is it safe?

You’ll have fun!  As all along, your child’s New Student Instructor will teach them what to do in their first class.  Their first class is one on one with your instructor and there may be a few new students getting started with them.  Parents are required to stay and watch the new student orientation and with plenty of seating we encourage parents to stay and watch classes once their child enrolls.   Your child may also bring a friend or sibling to get started with you as well.  First some of the protocol and customs of the martial arts will be explained such as HOW and WHEN to bow and WHY.  The bow does not have any religious significance it is merely a customary display of respect for one another or towards training tools that help us as we practice the martial arts. Everything we do is with safety in mind.  The martial art lesson will begin with a warm up involving loosening up, light stretching and your child will be coached on HOW to do each exercise correctly and safely.

The rest of the lesson will consist of learning some simple yet effective martial art techniques.  During this first lesson your child will experience the qualities of the martial arts.  The Discipline of staying Focused while executing each technique as they perform each move to the count lead by their New Student Instructor.  Their Confidence will grow as they get better at each skill the more they practice it during the class.  They’ll gain a fundamental understanding of Self Defense Techniques that really work for personal protection, and they’ll get a light workout and break a sweat which is a good stress relief and channels aggression in a positive outlet.  They’ll feel like they are on a mini-vacation and the days problems will seem a million miles away as they have fun and enjoy your first martial arts class!

At the end of class they’ll review the skills they just learned as a part of their first test and earn their white belt!  They’ll do great!  Be sure to bring your camera and video camera to capture many exciting moments!

WHAT happens in my child’s Second Martial Arts Class?

Their second martial arts class will be scheduled before you leave from their first class.  You will already have your child’s martial arts uniform so you’ll want to bring that in with you.  Once again you & your child will be greeted by your New Student Instructor who will introduce you to the other new students, the other members and parents involved in our school and the new student instructors.  This second class is a group class where your child will be working with other new students just like them.  They might have only up to a few months experience and your class will mostly be separate from the members who have been studying longer and will at times work with more senior students to lead your child to your families goals.  This second class once again is taught at a beginners pace.  It will again start with warm up exercises, a review of the techniques and skills they learned in the first class and they’ll be introduced to some new basic martial art techniques.  Again they’ll break a sweat and have a FUN class!  They’ll finish with some character development skills such as peace education, anger management, healthy eating, environmental self defense, good manners and etiquette training, safety lessons such as stranger danger, bully protection skills and what to do during accidents and emergencies.



WHAT happens next? I want my child to Enroll!

An enrollment conference will be scheduled either after their second class or at a time that is convenient for you to discuss HOW your child performed with their classes, you’ll find out if your child qualifies for membership, you’ll receive feedback on their performance and recommendations are made for any improvements they might need, you will also have plenty of time to ask lots of questions. During this conference various areas of membership will be explained such as our class schedule, home practice, registration & tuition and everything you will need to know when becoming a new student of The DOJO!  Again there are no “Hard Sales” or “Pressure” to enroll.  There are also no “Hidden Expenses” either.  At this point you may choose to enroll or not.  One thing to ask when enrolling in a martial art school is what happens if for some reason you are unable to continue.  What makes our school unique is that we have a trust agreement that simply says “We trust you, and if for some reason you are unable to continue classes you may cancel your membership and tuition by giving us 30 days written notice for free cancellation or immediate cancellation may be opted for a small fee”.  Another good question is to ask about hidden expenses (Which our school does NOT have) such as testing fees when advancing to new belt ranks of the martial arts such as gold belt, brown belt or outrageously high Black Belt Test fees.  We have no test fees at our school.  We charge only a nominal fee for the black belt test which includes a beautiful customized Japanese Certificate for Black Belt. At our school you find enrolling will be easy.

WHAT Happens After my Child Enrolls?

After your child enrolls New Students continue working in the Beginners Class as coordination, experience, know how & confidence in their abilities are built up and it will be sooner than you think!  When the New Student is ready they will be invited for gradually getting involved more and more with the other beginner students who moved up from the Basic Class.  The intermediate and more advance students are always happy to help and encourage beginners from their first class.  Since we are a private school we limit our enrollment to only qualified students.  This has created a positive atmosphere of like minded individuals who are motivating, encouraging, safe, inspiring, and makes it the type of place we and our students enjoy returning to for each class.

HOW do I start my New Student Orientation and Introductory Program?

Complete the application by clicking on the link below and we will call you within 24 hours to get you started!  You may also call us at (201) 933-3050 and speak with our Program Director or Sensei Dan who introduces all of the new students to our school.  See you in class!

Sensei Dan Rominski
Owner & Chief Instructor of TheDOJO
6th Degree Black Belt