• Location: 3719 Grand Ave. Oakland, 94610

• Phone: 510-839-1814

• Website: http://www.bamaoakland.com/

• Pricing: $$$

• Hours: Varies by class, check the online schedule

Description: When trying to choose from the myriad of extracurricular activities out there available for children, the one we chose and have been very happy with is Bay Area Martial Arts- Little Ninja classes. Perhaps through our own doing and life style our daughter really liked to rough house from a young age. Does my husband love martial arts and watch UFC matches with her-yes! Have we both rough housed and tussled her around since she was a little girl- yes! Did she grow up around boys who wanted to play fight with her- yes! Since the answer to all these questions is yes, then it may not be any wonder that my daughter has instilled in her a tendency towards fighting. So we decided to give her not only the proper physical outlet for it but the resources to protect herself as she gets older. We found Bay Area Martial Arts classes online and took her to their free trial class. They tried her out in the older class even though they were not sure she was ready for it because she was on the edge of the age curve. One class and they said she was perfectly fitted skill wise to the older class and we fell in love and signed her right up! Our daughter has been attending her Little Ninjas class for over a year now and she still loves it and so do we! The classes even though only attending once a week have given her confidence, discipline, and challenge her at her skill level. Sensei CiCi and Adrian are the nicest and most encouraging teachers you will ever meet! They set the bar high for their classes and all the children rise to that level! My daughter loves going there and as she rises through the different belt ranks you can tell that she is really proud of herself and so are we!

Highlights: They have weekday as well as weekend classes. The Sensei's all talk to the children about putting the concepts that they learn in class in to practice in their daily lives. They have a weekly chore chart to take home, if the child brings back the chart they earn "kung-fu bucks" that they can use to buy stuff. They also offer summer camps and camps on days that Oakland schools are off. BAMA is located on Grand right near Lake Merritt, if you take a Saturday class the Grand Lake Farmers Market is happening and you can easily walk down there and get some food and organic produce after the lessons (it has become our Saturday ritual).

Tips: If you can make it on a weekday afternoon, there are a lot less children and your child can get more turns and one-on-one attention.