The Lighter Side of Martial Arts - Arizona Karate and Kobudo

'Bruce', pencil sketch by Soke Hausel

When we think of traditional martial arts, we think of near super humans who carry power in their fingers, hands and feet to break rocks, tear bark from trees, chop horns off bulls, smash blocks of ice, accept full force kicks in the groin with a smile and...  ...well there is another side that is hidden – that of the lighter side of the macho and mystic of martial arts.

 I remember one event that happened many years ago that was material for Hollywood. I was working at a planetarium while attending college and just finished working while I walked out of the door to see two of our female staff members begin accosted by a couple of goons driving down State Street, who saw the two attractive women and made a quick turn into our staff parking lot, jumped out of their car, and would not let the ladies close their car door unless they provided some personal information.

 

Being a martial artist, I stepped in and challenged them. I told them to get away from the car or else. They refused. Thus, I took a karate stance while facing them. In my mind, I visualized myself as Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon getting ready to do battle to the end. And it worked!

 These guys obviously saw the killing instinct in my eyes! All of a sudden, I saw the fear in their eyes explode with the diameter of their eyes suddenly growing to nearly twice their normal size as fear raged through their primitive minds. This was followed by a quick about face as they ran as fast as they could to their car. As I was mentally patting myself on my back for projecting my ki and scaring the daylights out of them, Louis, one of our other staff members who moved to SLC from Detroit, ran past me swinging a 2x4 over his head chasing the thugs out of our parking lot.  Well, maybe I projected my ki to Louis?

Kubi ashi waza - ankle lift defense using expandable police baton (ASP or kibo) performed by
Shihan-Dai Kyle Gewecke (4th dan) from Gillette against Sempai Brett Philbrick from
Laramie (2nd dan). The same technique can also be performed without a weapon must by
grabbing the attacker's ankle.
 

During my jujutsu classes at the University of Wyoming, two of my more entertaining students were often reinventing techniques (not on purpose, but by accident) and if only video cameras were as common then as they are today, maybe I could have caught this husband and wife team and made a few $hundred thousand on America's Funnies Home Videos.

During one class, I demonstrated a technique I will refer to as kubi ashi waza in which an attacker bear hugs his intended victim from behind. The defender quickly thrusts his or hers buttocks into the attacker while reaching down to grab one ankle of the attacker and lifts his leg to drop him on his back.  Sounds pretty straight forward - but not for my favorite married couple.  Imagine this, an attacker comes up from behind and grabs you in a bear hug. You reach down, thrusting your buttocks into him while reaching down for an ankle. You lift up the ankle and, surprise, you have your own ankle. Yes, my student Glenn actually did this.

 

Health and Arizona Martial Arts

People are surprised at how healthy many martial artists appear. One of my student sensei (instructors) from Mesa, Arizona, who practices karate in mesa, is a retired pilot in his late 60s who has suffered through many physical ailments. We are surprised to hear about his many past problems. Nowadays, when he visits the doctor for a checkup, his physician asks, "How old are you?" apparently impressed by his overall physical condition expressed by favorable blood pressure and heart rate that this Sensei directly attributes to his training in martial arts since retirement.

Another student was a professor of linguistics when I taught martial arts at the University of Wyoming. This student began training while in his 70s and told me that he looked forward to learning martial arts much of his life. However, when he was younger, he was a professor at a university ruled by communists in Estonia, who would not allow him to train in martial arts. This is something people should think about before they again elect a person with ties to a communist and socialist past. This was a common phenomenon behind the Iron Curtain where the government first took away all civilian guns, then eliminated perceived political opponents through mass genocide (as many as 100 million people have been murdered by communists), and restricted all freedom at every level. At least three of my students and one co-author suffered through communists regimes, and they still suffer though nightmares of those times. I suspect that many of my Vietnamese students also suffered. But back to this student. When he was in his 80s, he was in excellent health and had excellent memory and was actually the fastest of any of my students.

Sketch of Funakoshi by Soke Hausel

This is a common phenomenon in martial arts. The father of modern karate and a Shorin-Ryu Karate Master, Gichin Funakoshi, wrote in his book - Karate-Do - My Way of Life about health and martial arts training. He wrote, while in his 90s, "Thanks to my devotion to Karate-do that I have never once had to consult a physician. I have never in my life taken any medicine, no pills, no elixirs, not even a single injection. Karate-do is not merely an art that teaches how to strike and kick, it is also a defense against illness and disease".

Personally, when I see people who are out of shape, like those folks we see in Walmart who waddle into the store and immediately plop down on an electric scooter to usher themselves around the store, I have to feel for them. All it would take is for them to get out of those chairs and start training in martial arts to see a dramatic change in their health.

A few years ago, I tore a meniscus in my left knee due to a physical defect I was born with. I had to have surgery and they gave me crutches to walk out of the facility, which I did not use - I barely had a limp. I attended physical therapy where the therapist was amazed at my abilities the first day of therapy and progression over the next few weeks. I was told they only had one other person who was as far as long as me after similar surgery, a professional basketball player who was nearly 45 years younger. This was all due to my training in Shorin-Ryu Karate-do.

KARATE STUDENTS, INSTRUCTORS & TRADITIONAL MARTIAL ARTS

  FIFTY YEARS OF MARTIAL ARTS

Recently, I was asked to write a book about traditional martial arts. The first chapter and guts of this book would be about my martial arts students. My students best reflect my path in the martial arts. Our deshi is what makes any martial arts instructor who he or she is.

Never did I expect I would be looking at my 50th Anniversary in Martial Arts - but here it is staring me in the face. In 2014, I celebrate five decades of a budo path by telling stories of experiences, awards, events, instructors and life. Any path of a karate instructor should focus on the students and hopefully these students are outstanding contributors to society for they are the legacy of a martial arts instructor. So I will tell you about my students. Essentially everyone has been a perfect fit for my hombu dojo (school) and ryu. Misfits that stepped into the dojo in the past, either became enlightened or moved on to the Cobra Kai school down the road. And I only remember two.

Several years ago, I was invited to attend the University of Wyoming, College of Engineering Graduation. Only two students were selected to speak at the ceremony – Csaba Rozgonyi, 1^st dan who moved from  Czechoslovakia to the US and was the top graduating student in the entire college with a 4.0 GPA in chemical engineering, and Sandy Stahl, 5^th dan, from Montana who was selected by the student body to speak on their behalf and who was graduating in Civil Engineering. Both spoke about experiences in martial arts while at the University of Wyoming and how our program helped their focus all through college. It was a plus for our martial arts program. At about the same time, our school had been selected as the top-rated Juko Kai International School of the Year in 1999. And in the following year, I had been selected as the top Juko Kai International affiliated Soke of the Year. We had an excellent program and trained a few thousand students at UW. Juko Kai International is one of the largest traditional US/Okinawa/Japan martial arts associations in the world. After 30 years, I left the University of Wyoming.

In 2006, I decided to move the Seiyo Shorin-Ryu hombu to Arizona where I started building a new program. I initially tried to associate with Arizona State University, but it was apparent their bureaucracy was too entrenched so we moved the Hombu to the border of Gilbert and Mesa.

For some reason, engineers have especially been attracted to karate and kobudo. But our organization also includes many teachers, professors, scientists, social scientists, law enforcement agents, and some clergy, artists, firemen, electricians, computer techs, janitors and oil field workers. Here is a little information about some of our students.

Dr. Sumeet Aphale, Sensei/3rd dan. I am attaching my dissertation acknowledgement which also features you!! Thanks for all your patience and all that you have taught me.


Dr. Sumeet Aphale in the jungles of eastern Australia

Acknowledgment - A PhD is a huge undertaking and cannot be accomplished without inputs of all kinds by a great many people. The work with this dissertation has been extensive and trying, but in the first place exciting, instructive, and fun. Without help, support, and encouragement from several persons, I would never have been able to finish this work...

... I also give a special thanks to Dan Hausel, my martial arts instructor for the past four years, for his instruction and patience. His way of life is an ideal I will always try to follow. I thank Amit, my roommate and friend who patiently put up with me and all my whims throughout the years. I also thank my friends Gaurav, Senthil, Chinmay, Jignesh, Kevin, George, Kris, Katie, Cyrena, Brian and Sondra for giving me the much needed moments of joy without which I would never have finished this gigantic task. There definitely are more people who deserve my gratitude and I ask for their forgiveness for not being able to name everyone of them. Please note that I haven’t forgotten you. Finally, I thank my parents who were a constant source of inspiration and optimism through these trying years ...

My interest in martial arts began after watching a series of “old school” Shaw brothers and Jackie Chan movies, way back in 1990. In my home town (Pune, India) the several martial art schools in existence, only taught Judo, Karate or Tae Kwon Do (no Kung Fu). After about a month each in many of these schools, I made up my mind to pursue Karate. I began with Wado-Ryu and soon moved to Isshin Ryu in 1992. For about three and a half years, all I remember is knuckle push-ups, kata, body hardening and getting beaten up by other, more skilled martial artists!

My vagabond life (due to the study options I picked) started in 1996 and I was unable to continue as a full-time student of any single school. Sporadic training and discussion sessions with other martial artists (from different martial arts and styles), books and movies were my training aids for quite some time. It is during this period, that I began understanding martial arts as a Way of Life, rather than just being kata, sparring and knuckle push-ups.

My academic pursuits brought me to Laramie in 2000. It was a time when I was fed up by the stagnant nature of my martial arts training and I took about a year off from it all. I visited the Seiyo Shorin Ryu Karate dojo on the UW campus in 2001 and was quite impressed by the instructor (Soke Dan Hausel) and his senior students. The quality and zeal they all possessed in their technique was surprising to me, knowing that they hardly ever had sparring sessions and I just had to learn from them. The five years that I spent with this talented group of people were full of poignant learning experiences, a lot of self evaluation and fun. From here, I took lasting, fond memories and strong friendships with me, when I moved to Australia in the fall of 2005.

I continue to be a student of martial arts, though currently I can only practice what I have already learned rather than learn something new. Soke would have gone through millions of lower blocks (Gedan Barai) in his 40+ year martial arts career and I have yet failed to spot his focus or force waver by an iota. That is my motivation as well as my goal. To me, that is martial arts in its complete perfection.

Sensei Aphale graduated in 2005 and moved to Australia. He was awarded a B.E. in Electrical Engineering from Pune University, India in 1999, a M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wyoming in 2003, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering in 2005 from the University of Wyoming. He was a research professor at ARC Center for Complex Dynamic Systems and Control School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Universityof Newcastle, Australia with interests in smart structures, nano-positioning and control systems. Recently, Dr. Aphale accepted a position at the University of Aberdeen.

Sensei Patrick Scofield, Arizona, 1st dan, Shorin-Ryu Karate with additional certifications in Okinawan Sai and Okinawan Tonfa. Sensei Scofield began training under Soke Hausel in Mesa, Arizona at the beginning of 2011. On some hot evenings the sound of a Harley roaring down Baseline Road and turning onto MacDonald into the parking lot in front of the Arizona Hombu often carries Patrick with  big sticks (and katana, and bo, and sai, and tonfa) strapped to his back. Climbing off the Harley with his backpack filled with kobudo weapons that are oversized to match Patrick. Patrick trains rain or shine (actually it almost never rains in the Phoenix valley) and it is a rare day we do not see him at the dojo.

Photo of Craig Scofield, 3rd dan

Patrick is an Arizona native and was introduced to Shorin-Ryu karate at 7 years of age. His late father Craig was a Marine and while stationed in Okinawa with his father, Patrick was regularly left at a Judo dojo while Craig studied Shorin-Ryu. Patrick didn’t care too much for Judo, as each judo randori devolved into a scuffle on the ground with one individual sucking tatame mat until he had to tap-out from inability to breathe. To this day Patrick contends that judo is solely about suffocation. Craig achieved 2nd Dan at a traditional dojo in Okinawa; he attained 3rd Dan while serving a tour in Viet Nam.

Four generations of Scofields have lived in Arizona since even before it was a state. Related to confederate gunrunners and Mary Queen of Scotts, Scotch-Irish Scofields have always had a taste for a challenge.

An ASU (Arizona State University) grad, Patrick worked as an industrial designer, designing products for companies such as Rubbermaid, Whirlpool, Coke and FedEx. Patrick eventually launched his own firm employing 8 people at its peak and ran it for 17 years working with national and international clients. Patrick leveraged his life-long interest in flying and has become active in flying ‘warbirds’ - aircraft with military heritage and histories. He currently flies a Chinese ‘yak’, a restored Nanchang CJ-6, and for a period of time owned and operated imported military L-39 jets from Ukraine and Romania: he learned to fly them and performed in many airshows. Patrick is currently employed by Boeing as an Advanced Concepts Designer. Patrick says “Who knows what is next?”

Flying over Kingman, Arizona, Sensei Scofield followed his dream

Sharing a memory of his father’s strength Patrick relates a story from when he was 13 years of age: “My father had returned from Vietnam and had taken a job at Empire Machinery Company (near the Arizona Hombu) and wanted to put a side gate in the cinder block wall fence at our house. I watched him one morning walk out with a 16lb sledge hammer over his shoulder wearing sandals and short pants and his newly grown (post-military) beard. He was making ready to create an opening by bludgeoning some of the blocks in to powder with the sledge. He lifted the sledge and prepared to take a mighty swing, but then reconsidered; he had another idea. I watched as he formed a mokuso for calming, then took a stance, without further preamble he produced a kiai and the finest reverse thrust kick I have seen. His sandaled foot crashed through the cinder blocks and beyond, exploding 4 or five blocks out of the wall in various states of destruction! As he retracted his extended leg, one of the blocks cut his leg a bit. This didn’t phase him, he simply picked out the remainder of the weakened wall section with his sledge like you and I would pick our teeth with a toothpick. A satisfied Kareteka sat at the dinner table that evening, having vanquished his stony foe! I grew up with many examples of his strength”.



Patrick Scofield trains with naginata at the Arizona Hombu on Baseline and MacDonald

Patrick had two brief flirtations in karate many years ago, looking into Shotokan and Shito-Ryu dojo as there were no Shorin-Ryu dojo in the vicinity. About two years ago, Patrick went looking again for a Shorin-Ryu dojo, he wanted to study Karate and also honor his father by studying an Okinawan style. The fortuitous find of the Seiyo-Shorin Ryu Hombu had him on the phone that evening, within a week he started training and has re-launched his journey into a life that includes martial arts studies.

At 52 years of age Patrick says he has noted marked improvements in his musculature and his body tone and posture. ‘Kung-Fu Panda’ remarks attest to the fact that these improvements have yet to reach his mid-section. Patrick most recently achieved rank of shodan at the Arizona Hombu; he notes that it takes a whole dojo and all of the Sempai’s and Sensei’s there to grow a student. Patrick’s ultimate goal is to become a Shihan; he wants to frame his certificate in a shared frame with his father’s Karate Certificate.

Dr. Neal Adam, Dai-Shihan/6th dan, Phoenix, Arizona. I began karate practice in 1982 in Wheeling, Illinois in Shotokan. After several years of trying to find a dojo in the Nebraska/Kansas area, I finally met Soke Hausel while working at the University of Wyoming in about 1989. During PhD work at Kansas State University and subsequent post-doc research positions in Phoenix, my karate practice continued on a solo basis. Now that Soke has moved to Phoenix, I have the opportunity once again to have good instruction and coaching, and have really been enjoying the weapons training. I am now an Asst. Prof. of Biology at Grand Canyon University, and am trying to make sure that teaching duties do not prevent me from training. My daughters and I live across Phoenix from Soke Hausel, and Emily, my 9-yr-old, likes to follow along in karate practice.

An ancient photo at the University of Wyoming in about 1989. Reverend Dennon Minney stands to the far right
and Dr. Neal Adam sits to my left.

Reverend Dennon Minney, Laramie, Wyoming. I was a karate student of Soke Hausel in Laramie, Wyoming in 1983, 1984 and again in 1988-1993. I want to THANK YOU for being one of the Most Influential People in My Life. Your compassion and Discipline has helped me in ALL areas.

I met you as a shy, insecure, nerdy, out of shape, anti social young boy - your initial lessons taught me about life as well as martial arts. Then my family moved away. I kept practicing. When I moved back, It seemed like the lessons continued right where they left off and put me on the right track to become the man I am today. Much Appreciation Sensei. Thanks for Making a Difference with me.

The 1996 Juko Kai International Clinic at the University of Wyoming
with Dai Soke Sacharnoski (center front) and Sensei Ernst Arnold (far
right front).

Dr. Ernst Arnold, Sensei/1st dan, Hagerstown, MD. I can remember my first day of training with Soke. I had been training in Kempo karate for nearly 2 years and was looking for something different. I heard about Soke’s class on the University of Wyoming campus and decided to look into it. I introduced myself and observed a class. I was very impressed and invited to participate in the next class. I was full of nervousness and apprehension at the next class.  

Dr. Ernst Arnold practicing kata in the sand

After bowing in and stretching, the class began floor exercises. In one exercise, each person faced a partner. One person would step forward with an oi-zuki and the other person would step back with a block. This would proceed the length of the gymnasium and then back. As chance would have it, Soke was my partner. This event had a large impact on my philosophy towards training. As I punched at Soke, he would strike my wrists with great force. He explained that he liked to use full power in his training. Soke would strike and hit pressure points in my wrist and this caused a loss of feeling in my hands, which was a blessing in disguise. Although the pain was real, I was determined not to shy away and I survived. The lesson learned was an important one; train as you would fight. Lack of focus and intensity is a waste of time. Although battered and bruised I was eager for the next class.

Dr Wayne Jensen, Sensei/3rd Dan, University of Nebraska. Dr. Jensen was a professor of Army ROTC at UW, retired from the army as Lt. Colonel and entered in a PhD program in the Department of Engineering where he graduated in Civil Engineering and accepted a position on the faculty at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

I look forward to reading your newsletter each month. My department (Construction Management) at UNL is doing extremely well, with almost three hundred undergraduates but only seven faculty members. We will probably be forced to institute some type of enrollment limits next year, as UNL is now aggressively pursuing research in lieu of classroom instruction. Earlier this month I was promoted to associate professor and received tenure, so I am now attempting to realign my life’s priorities after accomplishing those goals.

I continue to work out one to three times each week on a regular basis but mostly alone. I try to leave one or two days between successive karate training sessions for my joints and muscles to recover. On my days without martial arts, I run, do yoga exercises, or work on strength training.

For me, the keys to successful and enjoyable karate have become balance and persistence. I attempt to follow a program I can maintain and train using a variety of techniques. Training times, places and techniques vary with the seasons. During the warmer months, I attempt to complete a significant percentage of my karate workouts outside, although that sometimes entails working out near dawn or twilight. I strive to maintain a beginner’s mind as I continue to practice the techniques and philosophy of karate.

I fondly remember training in Laramie and still remain in contact with some of the people I trained with there (Ernst Arnold in particular). I sincerely hope that your continuing practice of the martial arts allows you to express your individuality and creativity in a way that is uniquely yours.

SANDRA SINICKI, 1st kyu & BRIAN SINICKI, 1st dan - Nâves-Parmelan, France. Sandra is a native of the Haute Savoie region of France (not too far from Geneva, Switzerland) and Brian is from Riverton, Wyoming. They met as exchange students at the University of Wales, Swansea in 1997 and have been married for almost 8 years. After living in Laramie for six years Sandra and Brian moved back to France and are now situated in a small village in the French Alps very close to Sandra's home town.

Group photo with Sensei Wayne Jensen (center front) to my right and Brian Sinicki to his right.

Sandra currently works for the accounting firm DeLoitte and Touche in Geneva, Switzerland and Brian is an independent computer consultant and software developer.

Sandra Sinicki in France

The martial arts have played a very significant role in our lives and personal development since we started training with the UW Karate Club. I (Brian) began in 1995 when I was a sophomore at the University of Wyoming, and Sandra started several years later after moving to Laramie to be with me while I finished school. For now, the distractions of moving overseas, finding jobs and getting settled into life in a new country have left us with little or no time to train. However, with a little one on the way who will need training, there is no doubt we will be back at it soon.

Outside of the martial arts, we are both very active in mountain sports and love skiing, rock climbing and alpinism, and Sandra is also a very dedicated runner. Sandra finished her second marathon last summer in Stockholm, and the winter before we found ourselves climbing to altitudes over 22,000 feet on Aconcagua in Argentina.

We are also sending all of our friends at the UW dojo a big round of hellos and lots of congratulations at all of your accomplishments since we have left. We miss you guys!”

Prem Dubey, Kyoshi/8^th dan, India. Thanks for being my (Teacher) Guru! Walked through with the guidance of you, Succeeded my life with the teachings of you, You are the inspiration, Made me win with a spirit, It wouldn’t have been possible without you, Everyone in their life will have a Guru to lead them, I had you in my life as my Guru, You made me come out of my ignorance, I learnt to handle the problems all because of you, I always pay my tribute to you, You were a light for me in the dark, You were an inspiration and an aspiration, Support me always, I will succeed in all ways, Happy Guru Purnima! Bless me with all your heart, Let me become a successful person, I wish to be your disciple always, Let all your blessings comes to me, On this special occasion of Guru Purnima, Peace and prosperity be mine when your are wishes are with me, Happy Guru Purnima! (Happy teacher Day)

Sensei Paula Borea, 2nd dan (Shorin-Ryu), 1st dan (Taekwondo), Gilbert, Arizona. I started martial arts 30+ years ago after my daughter Julie was born in Kansas City, Missouri. It all started as a whim. I had gained so much weight during my pregnancy, and even after Julie was born, my weight had not gone down like I hoped it would. I decided I could not go to a jazzercise class and wear leotards and tights! I remembered seeing a martial arts class at a local shopping mall and they were wearing those white uniforms which I felt could hide my overweight body very nicely!!

The style of martial arts at this particular school was Moo Duk Kwan Su Bak Do. I was the only female in the classes for a very long time. The harder they pushed, the more determined I became to be the very best I could be. I wanted to prove to myself and the other students I could keep up with the rest of the class. The weight came off, my stamina and strength increased, and I gained a lot of self-confidence. I achieved the level of Red Belt and was to test for my first degree black belt when my husband got orders to move (he was in the U.S. Air Force at the time).



Sensei Paula Borea practices oi-tsuki

While my husband was stationed in Japan, I studied Shudokan (traditional Okinawan style). Studying martial arts had become a part of my life. I continued to study Shudokan when we returned to New Jersey and achieved the level of advanced brown belt. Again, I prepared myself to test for black belt; however, this time my Sensei left our school. Since I was working full time, being a full time wife and mom and going to night school for my Bachelor’s Degree, there were not enough hours in the day to also continue my martial arts training. So I reestablished my goals to achieve a Bachelor’s Degree first and then go back to my martial arts training. I graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University in May of 1990.

One of the main benefits I’ve found as a result of practicing martial arts is the constant self challenging aspect of the sport. Each level pushes you to a higher level of learning both physically and mentally. It also taught me discipline, total concentration and total focus which I used while going to night school. The ability of total concentration and focus on a subject helped me while my kids would be blasting stereos in their bedrooms, while I was sitting at my desk studying for exams or writing another paper. The discipline, the total concentration, and focus as a result of my training also helped me to achieve the honor of Summa Cum Laude when I graduated.

I went on to study Taekwondo after graduating and eventually achieved my black belt in 1995. However, the training was nothing like the traditional training I received when I studied Shudokan over in Japan and the Sensei I studied under in New Jersey. Now that we’ve moved to Arizona, I’ve tried a couple of different schools in search of my “Mr. Miyagi” and I finally found him in Soke Dan Hausel!! I feel very privileged to be studying under Soke and going back to the traditional way of learning. Granted it takes a little longer to warm up the body and the flexibility is not like it used to be, but if one has the fighting spirit and heart, practicing martial arts becomes a part of you and a way of life. Besides the fact it helps me keep up with my 4 grandchildren!!!

Note: Sensei Paula Borea and her husband, Sensei Bill Borea were recently promoted to nidan in Shorin-Ryu Karate and Kobudo and featured on Fox 10 News - Phoenix due to a married couple and grandparents, receiving nidan black belts at the same time. Additionally, Paula, who is Japanese, is of Samurai lineage. We are all proud of Paula and Bill!

KYLE J. GEWECKE; 4th dan/Shihan-Dai, Gillette, Wyoming.  Favorite Quote: “Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.” - Bruce Lee

When people ask me about what I did in college, I like to tell them that I double majored at the University of Wyoming. One was in Physical Education with Coaching and Health endorsements, and the other was in Karate. But the truth is, if it wasn’t for all of the positive experiences with the karate program in Laramie and its members, I never would have finished my degree in education. Fighting the endless politics and bowing to every tedious demand put forth by professors and administrators at a large university is something in which someone like me has a hard time finding their place. The funny thing is, if it wasn’t for a political quirk that forced me to change my class schedule, I probably never would have taken karate for my college P.E. credit, which means I never would have met Soke nor joined Seiyo Shorin-Ryu in Laramie.

Group photo at Juko Kai International Clinic in 2013. L-R (front) Ryan Nemec (Mesa, Arizona), Nick Jarvis (Gillette, Wyoming), Brandon Brown (Gillette, Wyoming). L-R (back) Chase Cassidy (Gillette, Wyoming), Victoria Davis (Chandler, Arizona), Hanshi Ron Smith (Virginia), Soke Hausel (Gilbert, Arizona), Shihan-Dai Kyle Gewecke (Gillette, Wyoming) and Dai-Shihan Neal Adam (Phoenix, Arizona).

Before I started karate, I grew up in Gillette, Wyoming and was a state champion swimmer from about the age of 11 through high school and spent my summers playing baseball and working various odd jobs such as life guarding and construction. My true passion though, was, and still is, music. I got my first guitar when I was 9 and began playing the violin at 10. When I got to Jr. High, I started singing and performing in choirs, plays, and musicals. In high school, I decided that I would also start teaching myself how to play the piano. I still love to play and have been spending a lot of time recently working on recording and creating original music.

Now that I am out of college, when I am not teaching karate, I am working as a Building Fitness Coordinator at the Rozet Elementary School in Rozet, Wyoming. Mostly my job involves creating and organizing physical activities for elementary school kids. During the summer, I work for the behavior health department in dealing with at risk and emotionally disturbed youth. Hopefully, I will be able to get hired into a full time teaching position within the next year.

Karate has not only opened many doors for me, it has empowered me to seek out and open doors for myself. It has given me the opportunity to practice the skills of patients and self control, which are two very important tools for all teachers. I could go on and on about all of the things that karate has done for me. But of all of these things, the one I am most thankful for is that karate has introduced me to a family of some of the most fascinating, unique, and respectable individuals that one could ever hope to be a part of.

Body hardening in Martial Arts - Kote Kitae



Photo of Soke Hausel taking full force kick at
half time (University of Wyoming photo).

One part of martial arts neglected by most martial arts groups, particularly sport karate, is kote kitae - or body hardening. In the traditional forms of karate, the body is trained to accept hard punches and kicks by training with a makiwara board. The board produces harden knuckle bone and callus over a period of time. Other types of training may include kicking and punching bags, and still other forms may require use weights or train on rock in bare feet.  But nothing is as extreme as combat ki - a martial art of Juko Kai International created by its grandmaster - Dai Soke Sacharnoski.  

The first time (and second, third, forth, and so on) martial arts students and instructors sees this, they are in denial as well as in complete awe. We all try to figure out how a person can take a full-force kick to the groin and not flinch, let alone not collapse in a heap singing soprano. But all of the ki masters I've communicated with, all sing in a normal voice.

 

There are suggestions these extreme individuals must some how suck up their testicles into their stomach, or some other ridiculous theory that is physically impossible. And of course, none of the combat ki people wear any protection what-so-ever. So how do they do it? It is done like any other martial art - they train hard and long and learn to use this art properly.

Another form of body hardening - weight training.
Soke Hausel squatting 400 pounds at a body
weight of 165 pounds. He use to squat as much as
600 lbs at this body weight and one of his students
witnessed him squatting 800 lbs while at UW.

One of the more incredible people to master this art is a jujitsu stylist from Louisiana by the name of Kirby Roy. After watching him get kicked in the groin, punched in the neck, knife hand in the neck, punched in the sternum, upper cut in the liver, etc, he just stands looking at the attacker as if he is thinking - "is that all you have?"  Talk about a humbling experience for the attacker.

Believe me, this art is many magnitudes beyond any other. And so how do you learn this?  The only way to learn it is to join Juko Kai International. However, a great majority of applicants are refused entrance because of lack of proof of lineage in martial arts. This organization includes the best traditional martial artists in North America. And in the case of body hardening, there is no second best.

 

In the summer of 2013, I took a group of my students - traditional Shorin-Ryu martial artists from the Phoenix Arizona and Gillette Wyoming to the Juko Kai National clinic in New Braunfels, Texas on June 15^th to train in this incredible art known as Combat Ki – a martial art of extreme body hardening that allows JKI martial artists to accept full-force strikes to vital parts of the body with little effect. The art, created by Dai-Soke Sacharnoski in 1960, is so advanced it has been featured on several programs in recent years including Stan Lee’s Superhumans, Sports Science, Discovery Channel and others.

Dr. Jesse Bergkamp from the Arizona School of Karate trains with vases
 filled with sand while on vacation in Okinawa in 2013.

While at the clinic, we trained in Okinawan Kempo and Tode. At the close of the clinic, martial artists from around North America including those from Arizona and Wyoming tested for rank and some of our students were awarded Menkyo Okuden (a combat martial art rank essentially equivalent to 1^st dan black belt). Those from Gillette Wyoming who attended the clinic included Kyle Gewecke (4^th dan), Chase Cassidy (1^st dan), Brandon Brown (3^rd kyu) and Nick Jarvis (4^th kyu). Those from Arizona included Dr. Neal Adam (6^th dan), Victoria Davis (1st dan) and Ryan Nemec (4^th kyu).  Menkyo Okuden ranks were awarded to Neal Adam, Kyle Gewecke, Brandon Brown and Nick Jarvis. Chase Cassidy was awarded the rank of Menkyo Kyoshi (essentially equalivaent to 3rd dan).

Awards were also presented to two martial artists from Arizona. Ryan Nemec was awarded “Outstanding male martial arts student of the year”, an award presented by the JKI Hombu for students who have shown exceptional dedication in the martial arts.

Soke Hausel was awarded Meijin Wa Jutsu’ for lifelong contributions to martial arts as an instructor. Only a few martial artists have been presented this award.

In 2012, Soke Hausel was also awarded junidan and became one of a handful of to be awarded this rank since the 18^th century. Soke Hausel began training in martial arts five decades ago and taught at four major universities prior to opening the Arizona Hombu (world headquarters) in Mesa in 2006. Recently, he was also inducted into Who’s Who in America 2013 and 2014 and has been selected as a Who’s Who honoree more the past 25 years and inducted into 16 Halls of Fame since 1998. He was also inducted into Whos Who in the World, 2013 and 2014.



Andy Finley of Casper, Wyoming accepts kick from Kyle Gewecke from
Gillette, Wyoming.

So, if you would like to learn the traditional martial arts, please come join our martial arts family on Baseline and MacDonald on the border of Mesa and Gilbert. We have a wonderful group of individuals (about 25% women) who are learning martial arts the way it has been taught for centuries. Our students are from Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Phoenix and Tempe.

In traditional martial arts you only compete with one person - yourself.


In 1996, Shihan Hausel takes strikes to vital parts of the body at halftime at a University of Wyomnig basketball game.
Here, sensei Donnette Gillespie, 3rd dan, kicks Hausel in the ribs with all of her power. Incredible, but
nothing compared to what others in the JKI have done over the years.

Training on 1.4 billion year old granite - circa 1992.

A makiwara in Gilbert Arizona. This is used for striking
with the hand, elbows and feet.






 

 

 

 

Martial Arts Students from Arizona Learn to Use Farming Tools

Kobudo, the ancient Okinawan martial art of farming and fishing tools for self-defense has been so effective, that many law enforcement agencies around the globe adopted many of these tools for their line of work. One notable tool was the tonfa, a side handle baton that replaced the common ‘Billy club’ for a few decades until the expandable baton was introduced. But even the expandable baton, known as a kibo and referred to as ASP, has a Japanese martial arts association. For instance, the hanbo, a 3-foot baton, is used in many styles of traditional jujutsu and ninjutsu and is even used in some styles of Shorin-Ryu Karate. Other similar tools include nitanbo and kobuton.

 Other kobudo tools, or weapons, include an unusual fork-like weapon known as sai. The sai is a classical kobudo martial art weapon and one of the hardest to learn. Even so, members of Seiyo No Shorin-Ryu Karate Kobudo Kai at the Arizona Hombu in Mesa tested for certification with this weapon. To certify, the group was required to demonstrate four separate advanced kata (forms), bunkai (self-defense applications) and ippon kumite (sparing). Six martial artists from the martial arts school successfully passed exams and were awarded certification in this complicated weapon. The six included Adam Bialek, Sensei Bill Borea, Amanda Nemec, Ryan Nemec, Alexis Pillow and Sempai Patrick Scofield.

Utah Black Belts train in Arizona

Shihan Kim Schroeder and Sensei Jeff Schroeder train with hanbo

Each year, the Seiyo No Shorin-Ryu Karate Hombu welcomes members of the Utah Shorin-Kai for advanced training in karate, kobudo, samurai arts, etc. When the hombu was located at the University of Wyoming, members from the Utah martial arts association would travel to Laramie to train at the university. Now that I'm no longer at the university, the Utah martial artists jump aboard a plane in Salt Lake City and travel to Phoenix's Sky Harbor airport, rent a van or two, and drive to Mesa to stay at Days Inn while training at the Arizona Hombu dojo.

Explaining a technique for locking an attackers wrist to two Utah brown belts

Sensei Paula from Gilbert and Shihan Neal from Phoenix work
on restraints at the Arizona-Utah Karate Clinic.

Ryan from Mesa works on advanced martial arts technique with Jesse from Tempe.

This year, we welcomed some of the Utah yudansha (black belt rank) and sempai (senior brown belts) from the Utah Shorin-Kai who came to train in advanced martial arts techniques and hanbo on May 3rd and May 4th, 2013. The group arrived at Sky Harbor on Friday morning and checked into their motel near the Arizona martial arts training center on the border of Gilbert and Mesa near Baseline and MacDonald. On Friday evening, the Utah group led by Kyoshi Rob Watson, 8th dan, arrived at the martial arts facility and exchanged hugs, handshakes and greetings with a few members of the Arizona School of Traditional Karate.

After exchanging greetings and renewing friendships, we bowed in, warmed up, and started our training with hanbo. The hanbo is a 3-foot bo (stick) often seen with ninja or jujutsuka. I was introduced to this very practical art by my instructor several years ago. Weapons similar to hanbo include tonfa, nitanbo and kioga. The kioga, also referred to as kibo, is a common tool of law enforcement that is referred to as ASP or expandable baton. The difference between the use of the hanbo and kioga is that the hanbo is always the same length, but many techniques are similar. The difference between law enforcement officials and martial artists is that law enforcement training is limited in use of this tool. True traditional martial artists never end training and use the hanbo to activate pressure points and use it for blocks, strikes, restraints and throws. Following two hours of training with the hanbo, the Arizona-Utah group retired until the next morning.

On Saturday morning, training began in advanced empty hand (karate) techniques. These included blocks, strikes, chokes, throws and restraints. The group trained for five hours before the clinic ended. At the end of the clinic, Kyoshi Rob Watson, 8th dan and Renshi Todd Stoneking, 6th dan, and members of both Arizona and Utah said their goodbyes and it was the consensus that the time went by too fast. But many had bruises to remember. I will travel to Utah in the fall for the Utah gassuku (adverse training) at the East Canyon resort near Park City.

Professional photographs during the training were taken by Amanda and Ryan Nemec of NemecPhotos. We are very thankful and appreciated by the excellent quality of the photography at this year’s clinic.

The 2013 Arizona-Utah clinic ends with bows to one another.

Bunkai (application) from Meikyo kata