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Columbia's Favorite Summer Camp

Finally, Columbia Has A Summer Camp That Kids Love and Parents Trust.

Kids Get Awesome Summer Fun and Parents Get Safety, Structure and Learning.

Sensei Charles Harriday
Before I tell you about how much your child will love camp, I want to introduce you to my Summer Camp Counselors. I think it’s important you know who your child is spending time with! They’re dedicated, committed professionals (this is their career!) who care deeply about the families in our program, and it shows in their interaction with our summer campers and their families every day.

Harriday’s Karate & Fitness’s instructors are the absolute best summer camp counselors a kid (or parent) could ask for. They’ve seen ultra-shy kids burst out of their shell, ADD and ADHD kids learn how to control themselves, socially awkward kids learn how to make and keep friends, and even helped special needs children find a place to fit in and feel accepted.

They’re committed to ensuring that not only does your child have FUN this Summer, but that they leave our camp more confident, focused, and happy than when they enrolled. Take a look at what we do, and see if our philosophy on summer camp lines up with your goals as a parent. If what we teach would be beneficial in your child’s life, please reserve a space (before they fill up).

— Charles Harriday, Head Instructor of Harriday’s Karate & Fitness in Columbia, MD

Summer Boredom Blues?

Kids in Front Of TVKids learn self-defense, respect, and self-confidence

Parents get a place where their children are engaged, learning, and most importantly, safe

Kids look forward to summer, but this doesn’t always mean that they get what they want. Problems range from boredom to all-day-video-game-syndrome. Especially as kids get older, keeping them on the right track during the summer isn’t always easy. Parents know just how challenging it can be.

 

The Daycare Dilemma

If you’re a working parent, your child has to be somewhere, and daycares aren’t always the most supportive, caring environments. You need a place you trust to treat your child well.

Learning Just…Stops?

Just because your child isn’t in school doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be learning. They deserve to learn, engage, and expanding their minds during the Summer months.

No Motivation

It’s really hard to be a kid and have people telling you all day what to do. Some kids just shut down and lose their sense of personal motivation, especially in the Summer.

Lack of Variety

Your child deserves more than the same thing over and over. They need camps that offer a wide variety of activities so that they’re always excited and looking forward to each day.

Lack of Follow Through or Perseverance

It’s really hard for a child to see past the “now” and keep at something consistently. And when they think they’re in “Summer” mode, it’s like they don’t want to do anything they’re supposed to.

Low Fitness Levels

Childhood Obesity isn’t just a new buzzword. When iPads and Phones are a dime a dozen, getting kids to get off the couch and move is a real challenge. Just thinking about your child wasting away in front of a screen can keep a parent up at night.

But It Doesn't Have To Be This Way

Our summer camps are designed to help your child build the life skills they need to work through their challenges and become the confident, capable adolescents that we all know they can be.

Summer Can Be The Best Time In Your Child’s Life

Increased Confidence

Confidence, especially in the Martial Arts portion of our Summer Camps, is the difference between what a child can actually do versus what they think they can do. You’ll see them grow more and more confident, and confront new challenges both inside and outside of our school with a sense of drive and purpose.

The Ability to Defend Themselves Mentally, Emotionally AND Physically

If they ever need it, your child will certainly learn to defend themselves physically. But far more importantly, they’ll be able to fend off the mental onslaught of peer pressure and the emotional weight of bullying and unkind behavior. These are things they’ll desperately need as they grow older.

Soaring Self Esteem

The most important thing your child will get from Summer Camp with us is a tremendously positive sense of self. They’ll be able to objectively recognize things they need to improve (homework, family interaction, physical effort) without feeling hopeless, and they’ll take pride in the things they get right without discounting or minimizing their achievements. This will be invaluable for them as adults.

An Appreciation for Exercise

If you want kids to stay healthy, they have to enjoy their exercise. Our camps are fitness-oriented, but are so much fun your child will beg to come. They’ll actually love doing pushups, jumping jacks and crunches (Sounds crazy, but it’s true!). They’ll take pride in their improved flexibility and stamina, and they’ll leave class everyday sweating and smiling.

We Treat Children Like They Matter

What Does That Mean And Why Does It Help?

Kids don’t really go along with the whole “children should be seen, not heard” thing. They want to participate, contribute, and be accepted. But it’s not always a kid-friendly world. Even places that claim to be focused on children’s well being-like school, daycares, summer camps, etc. want kids to be quiet, not ask questions, and not make waves. Even most martial arts schools operate from this well-meaning (but really flawed) mentality.

Instead, we’ll treat your child like they matter and that they’re worthy of respect. We don’t treat them like adults or let them run free, but we do things like give them information and then the opportunity to make their own choices and decisions based on that information (so that when they succeed they know it was THEIR success, and if they fail, they’ll be able to take responsibility and try again).

We Give Respect To Get Respect

This kind of “Guided Respect” helps to show your child how THEY should treat OTHERS. If kids are always getting yelled at, told their ideas aren’t important and not allowed to make decisions for themselves, why would we expect them to treat others any differently?

The point is, we know deep down that every child is a really cool, really important person, and we’ll help empower them so that they believe it too. Over time, your child will learn to move through their lives with a level of confidence that will inspire others.

Your Child Will Strive For Excellence

They’ll become more focused, confident, and disciplined, and they’ll love every second of it

1

Schedule A Tour/Choose Your Weeks

If you’re a returning camper or you know our camp is right for you, you can schedule your camp today

2

Pay Your Deposit

Once they arrive at our school, your child will change into their official martial arts uniform and take a REAL karate class. They’ll focus on self-defense, balance, flexibility and character development skills they’ll use for life.

3

Prep for Camp

Depending on your child’s age and weeks selected, they may need certain items (closed-toed shoes, swimsuit, etc). When you enroll, we’ll be sure you have all of the information you need.

4

Come to Camp!

Come to the best summer camp your child has ever attended!

 

But it’s not just about WHAT your child does. It’s about HOW they do it.

In our summer camp, they’ll be confident, successful, and most importantly, happy

So take the first step, and schedule a tour today

Contact Us!

Frequently Asked Questions

My Child Needs Help Controlling His Actions. Will learning Martial Arts make it worse?

Actually, no. I know it seems counterintuitive, but the reality is that because our Martial Arts students like the physical portion of our classes (the kicking, punching, blocking, pushups and everything else) SO much, they’re willing to listen and apply the Character Development portions (patience, control, thinking before acting, etc). It really does work. Our students don’t WANT to use their Martial Arts moves outside of the class, because they don’t want to disappoint us as instructors. You really have to see it to believe it.

How many weeks of camp do you offer? Do we attend one or all of them?

We have multiple weeks of camp across the entire summer. Many families register for every week because they know their child will love it. We offer discounts for multiple weeks. Other families don’t need care all summer and just register for a few.

So what will my child actually do at camp?

Every minute of our day is meticulously planned by our veteran team members. Campers get a variety of fitness drills, arts & crafts, games, team-building exercises, leadership training, and real Martial Arts classes.

My Child is PAINFULLY Shy, I feel like there’s no way she’ll do a camp like this.

We see that day in and day out, and honestly, it can certainly be a challenge for all parties involved. However, it’s our job to help your child learn to overcome their fears. In other activities, shyness and hesitation is a real crutch; the coach or teacher is often frustrated, and the shy child holds the class back. But because of our focus on the individual, it doesn’t hurt our class at all. When your child starts to trust that we’re going to help her regardless of whether she’s shy or brave, she’ll open up and it’ll start a chain reaction of confidence building that’ll drop your jaw. We know because….we do it every day!

You talk about Character Development; How do you teach that in a Summer Camp?

Just like our physical curriculum works to improve your child’s fitness, flexibility and strength, our character development curriculum improves your child’s life skills. We have a summer character development curriculum that rotates through really important subjects like respect, discipline, focus, patience, acceptance, kindness, compassion and more. It’s really cool and all of our counselors feel lucky every day to be able to pass these skills on to a younger generation.

Will my child get hurt? Is it safe?

Safety is always our number one priority. Although you risk injury anytime you choose to get out of bed, in our experience, we see far fewer injuries in our camps than in other summer activities that kids do. It’s actually frustrating, because we occasionally get calls from parents that their child can’t come to camp because they hurt themselves in a different activity!

Do you have Partial Week Camps?

Yes! Students don’t need to attend the entire week or even the entire day of camp.

Will they learn any real Martial Arts?

Yes! That’s the defining, unique benefit that our camp offers. Your child will learn REAL Martial Arts, including Self Defense, Flexibility, Coordination, Confidence, Focus, and more.

Do you provide lunch/snacks?

During our Summer Camps, we have a lot of different children with a lot of different food allergies, which makes it impossible to plan meals for each week. So we do require families to pack their own lunch and snacks.

If we like it, how does the signing up work?

If you’re ready to sign up, a small deposit will save each week that you want. That deposit does apply toward the cost for the week. The balance for each week is paid at Monday drop off for that week.

Do you offer family discounts?

Yes. We offer $10 of each week for additional family members of the same household.

Are your counselors background checked?

Yes. All of our counselors are regular employees of our facility and are background checked.

Contact Us!

This Could Be Your Child’s Best Summer Ever

Our Summer Campers come back year after year for a reason! So don’t wait until all of our spaces are reserved and it’s too late.