Current 9,000 sf Facility

Chief Instructor and Owner, Barry Barker (aka Mr. B), opened what was then known as Aaction Kenpo Karate on October 1, 1984 in a cozy 600 square foot space on Poway Road in Poway California.  In 1985 the school was moved into a fabulous 900 square foot space, also on Poway Road.  In 1986 the school was moved again, this time into an incredible 1,900 square foot space in the Lively Center shopping mall, also on Poway Road.

By 1991 Poway Kenpo Karate had grown again so Mr. B and his wife Rosie (aka Mrs. B) moved into our spectacular 3,000 square foot training facility, also in the Lively Center, to accommodate a few hundred students.  In 1998 the school expanded again into a humongous (bigger than spectacular) 5,000 square foot space to which a complete Boxing/Kickboxing Gym with a regulation ring was added.

In 2003 the martial arts facility expanded once again into a gigantic (bigger than humongous) 7,000 sf facility that included a complete weight room.  In 2008 the gym was super-sized into the current 9,000 sf mega gym adding a floor of Zebra mats for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and a full cage for MMA Training.  The Kenpo Karate and Boxing programs continue to be very popular with the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Mixed Martial Arts & Muay Thai programs only enhancing the appeal to people who are bored with ‘the gym’ where they are on their own to work out or have to pay high fees for often inexperienced personal trainers.  At our facility you always have an experienced trainer, instructor or coach everytime you train and that is included with your membership fees.

Many people are looking for a more complete exercise environment where they are challenged physically and mentally or they are possibly interested in competing in one of the many “fight games” offered to members.  This is a place where regular people can learn real skill in a professional, positive, friendly environment with the highest level of instruction while getting an awesome workout and where fighter’s can develop fight careers.

In addition many more women are now enrolled than ever before.  The combination of fitness and skill training is beneficial for everyone but women have definitely discovered this fact over the past several years as our female enrollment is quite high.  Since women are the primary victims of physical abuse in our society it is gratifying to see so many women gaining the power inherent in martial art training.  Poway Martial Arts also offers Free Women’s Self-Defense Classes on an ongoing basis as our gift to the community where Chelsea King and Amber Dubois were so tragically taken.

The combination of a well-rounded exercise program that also develops a skill level has proven to be a more positive, pro-active, and encouraging alternative to weight watching, dieting, and calorie counting.  Plus our classes are extremely fun and can be more rewarding than many of the mundane exercise classes found at health clubs.  We offer a fun, focused environment with a great staff that enjoy their jobs.  In addition, our facility is still small enough for personal attention where the owners are always accessible and even teach a lot of the classes.

Poway Kenpo Karate is bigger and more awesome than ever with great programs for all ages but especially kids.  We all have kids, we like kids and we enjoy working with them and helping them grow.  Since this is a large karate school we are able to offer 5 different age ranges at our facility.  They are: 4-5 year olds (Tiny Tiger’s); 6-7 year olds (Little Ninja’s); 8-12 year olds (Kool Kids); 13-16 year olds (Kenpo Teens) and, of course, we also offer adult Kenpo classes (17-50+) in addition to our Boxing, Kickboxing, Jiu Jitsu & Mixed Martial Arts classes.

You may have seen our Poway Kenpo Karate students marching in the local Poway Days Parade every year or our demo team performing one of the numerous times at the Poway Street Fair, the RB Alive Street Fair, Poway Community Day’s and at every Elementary, Middle, and High School in the area.  We have also performed at the Del Mar Fair, several Chinese New Year Celebrations, local Libraries, for the Deputy Sheriff’s Association, at Qualcomm, Hewlett-Packard, Sony, and at several of our own weddings and parties.  Come check us out next time you hear we are performing.