All-American Karate Academy celebrates 10-year anniversary

Thursday, July 18, 2013
Banner Graphic/ LAUREN BOUCHER
Niki and Steve St. Pierre opened the doors to the All-American Karate Academy 10 years ago.

It's been 10 years since Steve and Niki St. Pierre started their journey to becoming owners of their own karate school.

The two had originally met through a small kickboxing school, which Steve had owned in Greencastle prior to the start of the All-American Karate Academy.

"I had a kickboxing school in a two-car garage," Steve explained. "I wanted to teach sort of when I wanted to teach, on a smaller scale because of my music. However, I ended up with 50 students in a two-car garage."

The kickboxing school came after Steve had run three larger schools in Indianapolis. He decided to scale back and begin the kickboxing school in Greencastle in hopes of being able to balance both music and his love of karate and kickboxing.

Four years after starting the kickboxing school in Greencastle, the couple then traveled to Chicago to work for Steve's teacher, Grand Master Tsai, for a year-and-a-half.

"We went to Chicago in 2002," Niki said. "He became the national director of Tsai's Kung Fu International."

Although, the couple enjoyed working in Chicago on a much larger scale, Greencastle was always in the back of their minds.

"We decided after a year-and-a-half living in Chicago that living in Greencastle was much more fun for us," Steve explained.

In a way, the couple found it was more cost-effective to move back to Greencastle. They welcomed the challenge of coming into a community that hadn't quite embraced the art of karate as much as those in the big city had.

"We thought, if we could do a school up there, we could do a school here," said Niki. "At least we hoped."

The first school that the couple opened together in Greencastle following their brief stint in Chicago, was located on Mill Pond Lane, and offered just karate and kickboxing.

The original school started out with just five students and has since progressed up to more than 200.

"When people said that we couldn't have a full-time karate school in Greencastle, that was sort of funny," said Steve. "We were teaching six to eight classes a day. This is what I've done the majority of my life."

In the beginning, the couple was forced to offer several classes throughout the day due to the small space at Mill Pond Lane.

"When we started that school the only thing that was in the room was a desk and a phone," Steve said laughing. "When you walked in there was no bags or anything. Shortly after that, we got a phone call from someone that just moved into the area and wanted his kids to study karate. Those two students are both black belts now."

Although both had reflected on the feeling of not knowing if the school was going to work, the school eventually took off. Within the first month, there were 20 students in the class and the couple had broken even.

It was from this success that the St. Pierre's were able to double their school in size by purchasing their existing location in the old Marsh center.

"The space is great. It's comfortable, we're able to do a lot," Niki explained. "When we moved over here was when the economy started going down. That was not necessarily a great decision, but it turned out OK. It's allowed us to add these other programs as well."

Over the years, the karate school has come a long way from just kickboxing and karate classes. Close to 1,000 students have gone through their school and today they offer Pilates personal training, a fitness boot camp and mixed martial arts fighting along with their kickboxing and karate.

Several of their original students have stayed with them throughout their journey, Tanner Snider, Craig Pare, Alex Pare, Phil Kass and Joey Kass.

Sensi Dennis Thompson had also been with the couple from the beginning until his recent passing.

"There's just a ton of success," said Steve. "Karate has given these kids an extended family and they just keep coming back. It's just a really big family."

In the future, the St. Pierres sees themselves expanding within their own space in ways such as expanding the mat area and putting in more weight machines.

"It wasn't exactly what I foresaw myself doing 18 years ago when I started training, but it's the way my life has gone," said Niki, reflecting back. "It's worked out pretty well. I have to say I enjoy doing what I do."

Although both have chosen to scale back their involvement within the past four years after the expansion, they're still actively involved teaching classes.

Grand Master Steve has been refining his karate skills for more than 40 years, earning numerous awards and recognition, most recently earning the Grand Master title from his mentor, Grand Master Tsai. He is a ninth degree black belt.

"It's bittersweet," said Steve of the 10-year anniversary. "My teacher had a really big influence on me."

Sensi Niki also teaches karate, kickboxing and the boot camp classes. She's a third degree black belt and also works as a massage therapist. She has won several state, national, international and world titles in karate and self-defense.

"It just seems like it's been a whirlwind. It is 10 years this month, which is frightening," Niki said. "I'm not sure where all the time went."

The academy features classes for all ages and walks of life.

"A lot of people don't even know that there's a karate school in town let alone that we offer other things," Niki said.

The All-American Karate Academy offers a 'Little Ninjas' karate class, for ages three to seven, on Monday and Wednesday evenings at 4:15 and offer 'Karate Kids,' for ages seven-14, Monday through Thursday at 5 p.m.

Adult karate takes place on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. The cost is $99, which includes uniforms.

Niki's boot camp is offered Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Participants can attend two to three days for a cost of $99-$129. Her kickboxing class is also offered Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 6 p.m. for $69 per month.

Pilates, instructed by Erin Gibbons, is offered Sunday, Wednesday and Friday evenings. Participants can attend two to three times a week for a cost of $79-$99.

Zumba, instructed by Nikki Gilbert, is offered Saturday mornings at 9 a.m. at a cost of $5 per class. Gilbert is also a personal trainer at AAKA available Monday-Sunday.

The mixed martial arts classes are instructed by Kyle Gibbons, the new schedule and pricing is expected to be announced soon.

The All-American Karate Academy is located at 1021 Indianapolis Road, Suite D.

For more information call Steve or Niki at 655-1300.

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  • Great story about two great people! Congrats on 10 years!

    -- Posted by localman on Thu, Jul 18, 2013, at 5:32 AM
  • Ahh, grass hopper, try to take this pebble from my open hand.

    -- Posted by donantonioelsabio on Thu, Jul 18, 2013, at 9:39 AM
  • Congratulations guys...special people!

    -- Posted by foxtrotter on Thu, Jul 18, 2013, at 10:13 AM
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