We are a family run school. Alan Kessler and his wife Maggie are the owners. Alan's nephew, Jeremy Goulder, is the Head Instructor. Alan's sister, Wendy is the Director of our Little Ninjas program. Alan's sister, Diane, is the Director of our Kickboxing program. In 2001 she won the Arnold Swarzenegger kickboxing competition held in Columbus, Ohio! At Alan Kessler's Karate Center, our goal is to have our students use the virtues of the martial arts in all aspects of their lives. To this end, we use a character education curriculum called STAR in the Martial Arts, which Mr. Kessler helped develop and promote. STAR in the Martial Arts is a language-based program for helping children better understand the relationship between acts and consequences. STAR stands for Stop, Think, Act and Review or Success Through Accepting ResponsibilityMonthly themes and activities form the basis of STAR. For example, with September's theme: "How can I be kind and courteous?" students are asked to keep a log book of kind and courteous acts done during the month. Instructors discuss what it means to be kind and courteous, then ask the children for examples of these characteristics. This questioning and answering is free flowing, an integrated part of the class; while the children are learning the kicks, blocks, punches and traditional forms of Uechi Ryu karate, they are also learning how to become better citizens. We proudly support the Aspen Declaration.