They may not be far past knee height, but at the call they jump sharply and answer with confidence.

Dressed smartly in their white kit, the Little Ninja Dragons do their best to follow their teacher's instructions. There's no chattering or wavering of attention, just grins on lots of faces as they practice their skills.

Aged as young as three, these children are already learning the basic karate skills that can take them to the ultimate: a black belt. "We focus a lot on attitude more than ability," says master instructor, Everton Smith as he watches the lesson. "Here you are not judged on anyone else's standards but your own. It's all about self improvement, fitness, confidence and self esteem."

This class for mini warriors is taking place on a sunny afternoon in the new premises of Karate World.

Just off Caerleon Road, the club boasts freshly refurbished facilities and more than 160 members. After experiencing temporary homelessness when its original premises at the Rising Sun pub became untenable, the club reopened on January 9, 2006. Inspiration for the school came from master Smith's 20 years of marital arts experience. "I used to teach all over the country, and I was European Champion in 1994 and European Team Champion in 1996."

His vision for the school is to impact and empower as many people as possible, through both physical and mental discipline. The six qualities of a champion, which include intensity, speed, and focus are achievable by anyone on their own personal level, master Smith believes.

Families are actively encouraged to motivate each other and take up the art as a group. "We're trying to specialise in this," says master Smith, "as the family that trains together stays together. A lot of parents have told us it's the best thing they have ever done, because it's something all the family can do."

He adds that mental, as well as physical stamina is key to achieving. "If the person has set his goal, then having the ambition to always do his best is more important, because then it can flow into their normal life, whether they're in school, or in a job as an adult."

The school teaches that this character building is crucial when practising karate. Before they can earn their belts, children must complete a weekly checklist of tasks.

Accomplishments might be making their bed or behaving well in school, but they take karate discipline out of the school and put it to work.

The school also encourages students to foster high aspirations right from the start. as master Smith explains. "We're a black belt school. This means that we instill the mentality of what a black belt would be like if they stood up to attention. Would they be sloppy? Before they do their first belt we adopt that thought straight away with the child. If they continue that thought all the way through, by the time they get their black belt they'll be awesome."

Anyone put off by the brutal aspect of martial arts shouldn't be, says school administrator, Emma O'Donoghue. "People's preconceptions are totally different. It's not as violent as seen on TV!"

Master Smith adds: "We offer an intangible service - it's about your experience. Once they've learnt their art, they find it's not all about that. Our intentions are to use common sense before self defence."

Plans for the future include a grand opening, master Smith reveals. "It's going to involve raising money for charity, in memory of a childhood friend who died a couple of years ago. I want to raise money for the high dependency unit where he was for a while. We are going to try to do half a million kicks, so that's every member doing whatever contribution they can do."

At the end of the day, it's all part of his dream for the school, master Smith confides, "Making them believe they can achieve".