What started out as a small karate club has since become a booming business, teaching youth, adults, and athletes of all levels confidence, discipline, and a sense of community. 

“Avalon Karate started around 1993 as a part-time recreational club,” says owner and chief instructor Sensei Derek Ryan. “In 2018 we decided to open a full-time commercial training centre (in the east end of St. John’s). With great success in St. John’s, there were calls from members in the Paradise area to open closer to their home.” 
In the fall of 2023, Derek purchased a building in Paradise and spent a year renovating it into the dojo of his dreams before opening to the public. Now with two locations, the Avalon Karate team is teaching everyone from “Little Dragons” at the age of three to adult, and elite athletes who travel the world to compete on behalf of the province.  

“Avalon Karate provides fitness, sport, and self-defense training through traditional karate and sport karate training,” Derek says of his classes, which he’s been teaching for more than 30 years. “(We offer) fitness, health, recreation, self-reliance and personal development.” 

Kick Off  

But running the business isn’t all punching, kicking, and teaching, he admits.  

“The challenge of building a quality service and product for the community, and the self-reliance of supporting yourself through your own means and hard work (is what I love about business ownership),” he says. “(It’s about) the independence of designing and delivering your own program and full facilities available to us.”  

But running a business teaching the next generation of athletes requires also building a community - just like what Derek was doing when he started a small recreational karate group in 1993. The group was was about bringing together people with shared goals and creating something larger than themselves, exactly why CBDC Cabot was excited to support Derek’s dream of opening a second Avalon Karate location in Paradise 

Tag Team 

“CBDC has financially enabled us to complete the costly renovations required to complete our Paradise facility,” Derek says. “CBDC helped us make our dream a reality. We now have a first-class training facility for all our programs in the Town of Paradise.” 

CBDC Cabot and CBDC offices around the province offer support to all kinds of businesses looking to start or grow like Avalon Karate. For Derek the right solution was a General Business Loan, which offers more flexibility than traditional loans.  

When you’re ready to expand, get in touch with your local CBDC office and speak to a business advisor about the right solution for you.