Advantage of Traditional Karate & Kobudo

What gives a martial arts practitioner the advantage over many others including opponents who are larger?

It is the constant, weekly training in martial arts along with training in proven methods - methods that have allowed many karate-ka over the past centuries survive aggressive attacks often unscathed. One of the effects of practice leads to mushin - that karate state of mind that allows muscle memory to do the thinking for us. But in addition to learning to react to aggression without thinking, karate teaches us secrets on how to increase acceleration in blocks and strikes, how to strike with the maximum, possible striking force, how to focus strikes for maximum effect, where to strike to provide the most pain, or to knock out the attacker, and how to develop shitai kori or body hardening. Karate does not give anyone invincibility, but it does provide an upper edge along with physical fitness and muscle. 

The weekly practice of kata - or karate forms, helps build these characteristics as long as the practitioner trains properly. Personally, I practice kata ever other day - as this seems to give me maximum benefit. But I also add weight training, body hardening, kobudo, and teaching to this regimen on other days and some on the same day to balance out my exercise routine - my normal routine has me training 6 to 7 days a week (which I have done for much of the past 50+ years).

If done improperly, training in kata can also have negative effects - so it is very important for a student to train in kata under martial arts instructors who understand kata as there are many sport martial artists who practice kata improperly leading to harmful effects.

I taught martial arts and self-defense at the University of Wyoming for more than three decades and I tried to emphasize hitotsuki hitogeri philosophy and training - striking an attacker with focus at pressure points to end an attack in one strike - as you never know what the attacker intends or what is coming next. For those students who made it to yudansha (black belt) at our University of Wyoming hombu dojo as well as our affiliated dojos, I could see the power literally with every block, punch and kick.

While teaching karate and kobudo at the University of Wyoming, I was very proud of our students and after we affiliated with Juko Kai International, our power, technique and body hardening methods continued to improve. But then, one day, things changed.

One of my out-standing shihan, who had tremendous technique wanted my permission to attend a tournament. I had no problem, and I felt he did not need my permission - he was an individual with his own mind, but still it was nice of him to ask. I was proud when he and a couple of other students  returned with gold, silver and bronze medals in essentially every event they entered with the exception that they had all been disqualified in kumite for striking too hard - actually, this made me even more proud than the medals they had received in kata and kobudo.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize at the time what this was leading to. I thought this would be a one time event, but it continued and our students continued bringing home medals - and it was about this time I retired from the university and moved the Hombu dojo to Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa Arizona and left the University of Wyoming dojo to the same shihan who was into tournaments.

Later, I returned to the University of Wyoming for a series of clinics and then I discovered what tournaments do to a martial artist. It was sad. My shihan had good intentions, and his technique was nearly flawless when I left, but all of the tournament preparations left the students at UW without focus. Where had the focus gone? I believe the tournament preparations focused on no focus and more on performance. Tournament fighters were not allowed to strike with focus or power, and kata had to look more like a ballet than shadow boxing. I felt like I had been staved in the back and I lost my temper - but now I realize I just should have moved on and considered the UW dojo a loss.

So, when a person practices kata - they must focus every technique. Sometimes they need to do kata with as much power and focus that they can generate and other times they need to slow the kata down (but still with full or near full focus and power). Most good karate schools on Okinawa focus every single strike and block in kata. On Japan, they do the same, but they add ma - or timing, which can also cause some problems. On Okinawa (the source of karate), the students learn to visualize each self-defense (bunkai) technique while they practice kata.

University of Wyoming Campus Shorin-Ryu Karate Kobudo Kai 2003

So, as you train or 'shadow box' with your kata, and if you feel your technique lacks power and your imaginary opponent walks away laughing at you, you need to generate a lot more power and focus. And you need to do this each time you practice kata - the only thing you should ever change is acceleration of strikes and blocks - the focus must always be there and kata should never look like a tai chi form. One day fast, another day slow - in this way, your muscles learn to react fast with power, but also they learn to recognize each individual technique. And remember, how hard you train and how hard you strike will carry over to the street when you are attacked. If you train like tai chi, this is how you will defend yourself. If you punch like Bruce Lee, you will defend like Bruce Lee. This is also how you should train in kata bunkai (individual self-defense applications built in kata) - full focus and power. Unless your uke (partner) is well-trained in shitai kori, you don't want to hit him or her with full power during these exercises, but you can definitely strike the air adjacent to them with full force - just make sure it is off to their side and not directed at them - and don't wear gloves as these give your muscles improper feed back.

Now back to size. Karate can give you an advantage. Remember the story of David and Goliath in the Holy Bible? Think it was a fable? Recently archeologists discovered artifacts in Israel, including a Hebrew text about this battle. The 1993 and 1994 discoveries indicated a Philistine giant name Goliath, an 9 foot 8 inch man, was defeated by a small Shepard boy named David in the 10th century BC. Goliath was wearing armor, about 120 pounds in weight, along with his sword and other weapons, and likely was a frightening figure - but can you imagine how slow he moved? He would have had gigantism and not only would have had awkward movements, but also poor vision. David could have ran circles around Goliath until he took one of his chalcedony projectiles (flint, agate, jasper) about the size of a golf ball and accelerated this rock to about 80 miles per hour striking Goliath in the forehead with a kinetic energy of about 90 joules - enough to kill him. An example of BC kobudo.

In martial arts, one can develop extremely powerful and fast strikes. So fast are some that they can accelerate a strike faster than a snake. And rocks and bricks are no match for focused strikes. And there are examples of martial artists knocking off horns of bulls with shuto (karate chop) and puncturing fuel cans with their toes.

Traditional Okinawa Karate

There are differences between traditional Okinawa karate and traditional Japanese karate. So many differences that one could easily write a book about these - but to the uninitiated, they subtle differences are usually missed until they have years of experience in a variety of martial arts. Differences are present in kata, how a sensei (martial arts instructors) treats kata and how students (deshi) are treated by Okinawa sensei vs. Japanese sensei.

Japanese sensei focus on sport; thus kata in Japanese dojo must be done with exact and precise stances. Punches and kicks must be exact and there are no possibilities of variation in movement in any kata. To me, it's more like being a grunt in the Army. In Japanese schools, students are constantly stopped, held in position at certain points of kata while the sensei walks from student to student making minor adjustments. The 'ma' or timing and distancing are all important as focus is on winning kumite (sparring) contests and performing kata in front of an audience at competitions.

In Traditional Okinawa karate schools the focus on 'imi' or the meaning of the kata - something ignored by Japanese sensei. There is no concern for winning - contests are not part of traditional Okinawa karate and instructors recognize people have physical differences and abilities and try to concentrate on developing power and focus for self-defense training for each person. The meaning of kata is very important in Okinawa karate rather than the execution of the kata. In Okinawa karate, the student is taught what every move in every kata is used for and each kata is broken down into  self-defense applications that are practiced in insure the student can defend themselves. 

Just yesterday, I received a phone call from a representative from a coalition of martial artists who wanted me to join in competitions. I tried to explain to this person that traditional karate practitioners do not take part in competition as we consider karate to be a dangerous weapon and our focus is on self-defense and self-improvement. Apparently, he had never heard of this before - and said, "but I thought you were Shorin -Rye-U?" I simply said that most Shorin-Ryu (pronounced Roo) martial artists in particular, do not compete. Apparently this was too much for him to understand. But, we can not blame him, the blame falls on his sensei for not providing him with a history lesson.

Over the years, I trained in a variety of Japanese and Okinawan karate dojo, so here is my perspective about these two different systems of karate. While you read the following, keep in mind that karate is a unique martial art that evolved on Okinawa for hundreds of years and Okinawa is part of an island chain that lies between China and Japan that was an independent monarchy until 1879. Karate, an indigenous Okinawan art, was not introduced to Japan until 1917. It was later introduced to Hawaii in the 1930s and later to the US (Phoenix, Arizona) in 1946. Prior to its introduction on Japan, karate was not practiced as sport.

It is important to understand the circumstances of how karate was introduced on Japan. Karate was a secret for centuries, and then it was introduced in the Okinawa public school system by Anko Itosu in 1901, karate was unknown to the rest of the world, and it still took until the 1960s before people in the US began to recognize that karate was different than judo. When karate was introduced to Japan by Okinawan Gichin Funakoshi in 1919, and then again in 1922, it was touch and go as to whether or not it would ever be accepted by the Japanese. The Japanese thought of Okinawan people as country bumpkins - in other words - peasants with little social grace. Gichin Funakoshi had to modify karate, rename all of the kata giving them Japanese names; and, most importantly, establish a positive working relationship with Japanese judo founder, Dr. Jigoro Kano, before the Japanese would accept karate. The Japanese were so nationalistic that individuals like Mas Oyama had to change their names to receive recognition. Oyama was Korean by birth, and created a Japanese style of karate known as kyokushin in 1957. This type of backwards thinking by the Japanese still pervades, and is one of the primary reasons Japanese karate took a different path than Okinawan karate.

Last year, my wife's nephew was working in Hawaii transporting medical patients from their homes to various medical facilities, when he picked up one old Japanese man from his home (Hawaii has a very large community of Japanese and Okinawans). While driving him to a medical facility through a neighborhood known for high crime, Jeremy tried to strike up a conversation without realizing there was still strong nationalism with many Japanese people. Jeremy said, “Hey, you look like my Okinawan friend …” The Japanese man responded, “What a terrible thing to say that I look like an Okinawan” and demanded Jeremy stop the vehicle so he could get out and walk.

Most are unaware that there is a difference between Okinawa and Japanese karate, but there is a significant difference in how kata is practiced and perceived and the philosophical purpose of karate. In a Japanese dojo, kata must be exact with no room for variance in stances, there are distinct breaks in timing known as ma, and slow techniques are mixed with fast techniques. In Japanese dojo, students are constantly held in stances during both kihon (basics) and kata practice while the sensei walks around from student to student making minor adjustments to the position of feet, shoulders, knees, wrists, weight distribution, etc. There is also considerable emphasis on deep stances. 

I still remember an evening as a teenager too young to have a driver's licensee. On this particular evening, our karate class squatted, duck-walked around the dojo, did dozens of squat-kicks, squatted in kiba dachi (horse riding stance) with a partner standing on our thighs while placing their hands on our shoulders to add weight to our squats. We did a few hundred kicks - it was a tremendously hard workout for a young teenager with no previous experience in formal exercise prior to joining the Black Eagle Federation Karate dojo. Eight years later, I found basic training in the US Army to be a breeze after karate training. 

As the class ended, I had to walk home from the dojo through Fairmont Park (in 1964, the park was an unfriendly place often populated by older teens we called greasers who looked to harass younger teens. This was a much different time when bullying was condoned and practiced with impunity). The distance to my home was 1.5 miles - not much of a distance today, but for a 14 year old, it was a challenge. I had no strength left in my legs and had to walk stiff-legged all the way home. Periodically I would relax a knee and would collapse. Then I had to crawl to a tree, telephone pole, park bench, etc, to pull myself upright. I don’t remember being harassed while walking through the park on this night probably because the greasers felt pity on a handicapped teen.

At the time, I was training in kyokushin Japanese karate. Much emphasis was placed on kiba dachi as a fighting stance along with zenkutsu dachi (front stance). These were found in our kata. When I later trained in Wado-Ryu karate (Japanese) at the University of Utah, we focused on neko-ashi dachi (cat stance). In Shotokan karate (Japanese), the emphasis was on front and back stances (kokutsu dachi) with emphasis on deep and perfect stances. In Kempo Karate (Japanese) the emphasis was on kiba dachi.

Kata were performed more like a military drill team in the Japanese schools and were designed for tournaments and not practical. All of the Japanese systems taught kata with no explanation of application (known as bunkai). Thus, controversy developed as to the use and purpose of kata. In other words, there was no emphasis on bunkai. Sometimes (in Japanese dojo) we practiced kata with one person performing the kata surrounded by three to four attackers along embussen lines. The attackers were required to kick or punch as we moved from one technique to the next in the kata - it didn’t seem realistic and all techniques were designed for sparring.

Periodically my sensei in kyokushin karate taught some general self-defense, but the applications were never linked to kata. Much time was spent on sparring due to the sport karate emphasis and overall lack of understanding of kata. It didn't take long, but I was bored as we were not learning anything new. All of my Japanese sensei didn’t have much background in self-defense and none had any background in kobudo. Japanese karate focused on winning kumite (sparring) contests and all kata were performed for judges. In the final analysis, these Japanese martial arts were military like with little room for interpretation and an objective to win trophies. They were in direct conflict to philosophies of well-known Okinawan practitioners. Gichin Funakoshi, the father of modern karate, stated, “The purpose of Karate lies not in victory of defeat, but in the perfection of its participants”. Karate was all about improving the practitioner, not winning a competition. 

In Okinawan karate schools, kata were taught for muscle memory, balance, power and for self-defense. Bunkai (pragmatic self-defense) was the focus of kata and used to practice defending all kinds of attacks including grabs and also taught to help us develop power, focus, and an understanding of pressure points. This is the reason why those who study Japanese karate constantly ponder at the purpose of kata, but those who study traditional Okinawa karate continually practice kata along with self-defense and understand the importance of kata. In Japanese karate, kata has little purpose other than to please an audience. In Okinawa karate, kata and karate were considered to be the same, as stated by the late Grandmaster Shoshin Nagame.

In the past, there were no contests in traditional Okinawan karate systems, although through time, some Okinawan schools began to compete in the 20th century; but most kept in mind the purpose of bunkai (kata applications). Remember Mr Miyagi in the Karate Kid movie, he epitomized the purpose of Okinawa Karate.

The self-defense applications for each move in kata is very important in Okinawa karate rather than the execution of kata. Each kata is broken down into a group of self-defense applications that are practiced individually to insure the student can defend themselves. Individual applications can be referred to as mini-kata. These are sometimes referred to as Shinken Shobu no Kata also known as Kime no Kata.

Another difference in Okinawa verses Japanese karate is the execution of stances (dachi). In Okinawa karate, students start learning deep stances to build muscle strength, but as the student gains expertise, higher and more natural stances replace deeper stances. For example, zenkutsu-dachi (front stance) can be half the length of the Japanese stance. The Okinawan karate stances are meant to be practical for self-defense by being natural and quick. Whereas the deep Japanese stance is designed for competition.

In the past, Okinawa martial artists did not trust Japanese and would not teach the Japanese bunkai. Having a mindset that the Okinawan people were inferior, the Japanese martial artists never sought bunkai and instead borrowed some from well-established Japanese martial arts such as jujutsu, judo, aikido, etc.

Kime is very important in traditional karate - Kime is about power and focus in strikes and blocks. Every block should be as powerful as every strike. I remember attending clinics in the past when I had another soke send his students to train with me so they could experience power in blocks. These power blocks were taught to me in kyokushin kai karate. In addition to kime, all strikes and blocks need chinkuchi!

Chinkuchi is an Okinawa term that applies to explosive full-body power. Both Dai-Soke Sacharnoski and Bruce Lee have demonstrated this using a one-inch punch. Chinkuchi is an Okinawan technique not practiced in Japanese karate. It is similar to kime, which is a focused strike, but includes the entire body in striking and blocking - hip rotation, focused punch or block, last-second tensing of all muscles and joints followed by a quick relaxation of the muscles.

The philosophy of how to use kicks are different in Japanese vs Okinawa dojo. The Japanese karate schools kick low, medium and high (similar to taekwondo). High kicks are good in competition; however, Okinawan kicks are designed for knees, kidneys, stomach, groin, ribs - in other words - below the neck and mostly below the belt. In addition, the Okinawan kicks employ many kekomi geri (thrust kicks) as well as toe kicks. In Japanese karate, tsumasaki geri are unknown and never employed. To develop a good toe kick, one must train the big toe constantly to build toe strength. There are stories about Goju-Ryu’s Chojun Miyagi who periodically demonstrated his powerful tsumasaki geri by penetrating gas cans with his big toe! One of our martial art students, Dr. Bergkamp, traveled to Okinawa a few years ago on tour of some dojo and returned to Arizona with a very impressive bruise on his stomach outlining one big Okinawan toe with a couple of smaller toes. 

One must wonder how practical such kicks are in our culture. Unless you are a beach bum, it is unlikely you would ever use such a kick. So in our dojo, we will introduce this kick to our students, but it will not be a main focus until we all give up our shoes. 

Kobudo is a another example of differences between Japanese and Okinawan dojo. In all of the Japanese dojo I trained in, no weapons were introduced or practiced. This part of karate is completely ignored by Japanese karate schools. However, kobudo is a major part of Okinawa karate. It has been said that “Karate and Kobudo can be likened to the tires of a bicycle. Both are needed to make the bike move”.

In many Okinawa dojo, tools are available to build strength, endurance and callous. They are designed for the whole body, and include tools for strengthening wrists, fingers, toes and knuckles. In a book by Michael Clarke entitled The Art of Hojo Undo, many exercises are described with descriptions of traditional Okinawan strength training tools and how they are made. Hojo undo translates as supplementary exercises. For those who are serious traditional practitioners, these tools are a must, although there are many modern equivalents that can be used. Some tools used in hojo undo include: makiwara, chi-ishi (strength stones), nigiri game (sand-filled ceramic jars), ishisashi (stone lock), tan (bar bell), kongoken (sand-filled ring), tou (bamboo bundle), kakite bikei (blocking post), makiagi (wrist roller), ude kitae (blocking posts), and jari bako (sand jars).

Another difference between Okinawan karate and Japanese karate is the practice of toide in Okinawan schools. Toide is an Okinawan art that includes joint locks, throws, grappling, etc, similar to traditional jujutsu. Many toide techniques are hidden in Okinawan karate kata.

Japanese karate is tailored for large groups; whereas Okinawan karate is designed for small groups. This is one reason many Okinawan commercial dojo fail outside of Okinawa as they are not conducive to large groups needed to help finance a karate school. Most traditional Okinawan dojo rely on the generosity of their students and do not set high fees. Most are supported by donations. However, when Okinawan schools are attached to and supported by a university, they often draw large groups because of their educational value.

In Japanese dojo, the atmosphere is martial and there is often intimidation by senior students. However, Okinawan dojo are more family friendly and all members are encouraged to become friends.

Traditional Karate in Arizona - Looking Back at 2014

Karate kata training at the Arizona School of Traditional Karate in Mesa and Gilbert Arizona.  Kata (forms) when practiced correctly become a living encyclopedia of self-defense applications, meditation
and unmatched physical fitness. Here, students and black belts train together in
naifanchi shoran kata in 2014.

Hard to believe that 2014 is gone. Let's remember 2014 and then look forward to another year at the Arizona Hombu located in the Phoenix valley along Baseline Road at the border of Chandler, Gilbert and Mesa, Arizona.

2014 began at a snails pace following the holidays. When I ran the dojo at the University of Wyoming from 1977 to 2007, this was typical. There was a large influx of students beginning in the Fall semester that would decline around Thanksgiving. Students would sporadically wander into the university dojo following the New Year and then we would see another decline at Spring Break followed by a surge followed with a decline at summer semester.

Training at the Arizona Hombu, Mesa, Arizona

At the beginning of 2007, I decided to relocate our Hombu to Arizona. Over the past decades, I taught martial arts at four different universities, and all followed the same student population declines and surges - but by opening a private dojo, I thought these fluctuations would pass - not so - it appears the entire world follows this schedule. And as far as the students who are consistent in their training and appearance at the dojo, they are the few who move on to the level of yudansha.

In 2014, we had our surges and declines, but something else happened. We lost some to the poor economy. As far as I can tell, government continues to lie about how bad our economy really is. This is one of the primary reasons why we never see politicians in traditional martial arts - its because they cannot differentiate what is right from wrong and traditional martial arts are somewhat of an enigma to them because a person must be honest.

Training in kata, Sensei Harden practices oi-zuki

Overall, we have a high level of educated people training in martial arts at our dojo primarily because of our past association with four universities.

In 2014, we had students move out of state to find work: one long-time student finally gave up and moved near his family in Florida. We also had two long-time students (engineers) transferred out-of-state by their companies because downsizing. Only a few years ago, we lost another engineer for the same reason. I have not seen any improvement in the economy since 2008 in my martial arts, geology or writing professions, and I wonder how government can get away with such a poor record.mAnyway, let's look at 2014, now that it has passed.

Tuesday nights we trained in kihon and kata. During the year, we focused on the basic kata. Periodically, we split the class into groups while I taught more advanced students and other instructors - Dai-Shihan Adam, Sensei Borea, Sensei Harden and Sensei Scofield taught other groups of different levels. In the second, or more advanced class on Tuesday nights, we focused on advanced kata including Naihanchi Shodan, Rohai, Passai Dai, Unshu and Passai Sho.

Defending against an attacker with rifle.

Throughout 2014, Wednesday nights included advanced training in self-defense as well as shitai kori for a few high-ranking members of the dojo. Shitai kori is body hardening, and the most advanced form of this part of the art was created by Dai-Soke Sacharnoski of Juko Kai International in the 20th century. Wednesday evenings we work on defense against single attackers, multiple attackers, wrestlers, street fighters and karate and jujutsu practitioners. We include against armed assailants with knifes, guns, clubs, rifles, swords, hammers, etc. Much of the self-defense is part of the bunkai from kata and we emphasize the concept of hitotsuki or basically one-punch knockouts. This is one of the major differences between traditional karate and sport karate. Traditional karate teaches karate is a weapon and one must learn to finish an attacker with power and focus with just one or two strikes. In sport karate, focus is minor and students are taught point fighting for trophies. So we teach all of our students including various women's groups and seniors, to use power. If a person cannot finish an opponent in one or two strikes, there is something wrong with their technique.

Defending against an attacker with gun

Every so often, we'll add a new training exercise such as training in the park to give them the feel for defending on various surfaces. In the past, we've even turned out the lights in the dojo and strategically placed black belt muggers in the dojo allowing students to walk through one at a time.

On Wednesdays, we also teach use of belts, towels, ropes, coins, car keys etc, for self-defense. We'll even add in a few scenarios on how to defend in close quarters - such as on an airplane - we find this to be important as we have a group of students who are engineers and several who are pilots.

Thursday evenings, we focus on Shorin-Ryu kobudo, modern kobudo and samurai arts. These are all martial arts weapons including a variety of tools found around the house and garden. During 2014, our students trained in nunchaku and we focused on this weapon for much of the year learning to use nunchaku in basics, self-defense applications and also as kata. We learned six nunchaku kata over the year and also how to apply all moves in these kata as self-defense. After spending much of the year on Nunchaku, our class began training with nitanbo and now they are focusing on kama. Kama is a common garden tool used by both Okinawan and American farmers - it is sickle. In 2014, we training in self-defense application against an attacker with a sword, club, knife and also learned Gama shodan kata. In 2015, we continue to train with kama and will soon start learning gama nidan and then gama sandan kata.

using nunchaku to defend against knife attack

In the samurai arts class, we trained with hanbo and naginata much of the year and we then started with sojutsu. Our students learned to block, strike and throw opponents with the hanbo. We learned the long yari kata and then began training with bunkai. Later this year, our samurai arts class will start to focus on jujutsu and then katana.

Defending attack using nunchuks

During 2014, we also had the Arizona-Utah Shorin-Ryu karate and kobudo clinic as well as the Utah Gassuku. We plan to have the same two annual clinics in 2015 as well as attend the Juko Kai clinic in Texas. We are also expecting visits from some of our shihan and sensei from Colorado, Massachusetts, Utah and Wyoming in 2015. I should also point out that in 2014, my fondness of rocks led me to publish another book.

Shitai kori (body hardening). This aspect
of Shorin-Ryu karate is only taught to
our most advanced students. The
basics of the art are taught at the Arizona
Hombu and more advanced applications are
taught to a few students who are invited to
attend the annual Juko Kai International 
clinic in New Braunfels, Texas. Here Chase
Cassidy, 1st degree black belt from Gillette,
Wyoming learns to accept strikes to vital
parts of the body.

Arizona-Utah clinic at the Arizona Hombu in Gilbert - Mesa, Arizona

Self-Defense class at the Arizona Hombu

Gama (kama) training during kobudo class at the Arizona School of Traditional Karate.

Sojutsu samurai martial arts training with yari (okinawan spear)

Traditional Martial Arts

In 2014, I was contacted by nearly two dozen producers and associates searching for another hit reality TV program. They contacted me because of my expertise in rocks, minerals, gemstones and martial arts. Because of the great successes of some shows related to gold and gemstones - nearly all of the contacts have been interested in this part of my background. But I tried to create interest in traditional martial arts with the latest producer who was unfortunately more interested in another gemstone program. But this is what I proposed.

Summary. Traditional martial artists speak of ‘the Way’ or ‘path’. It is so embedded in traditional martial arts that the Japanese term for ‘way’ (do) shows up everywhere - in judo, iaido, aikido, kendo, kobudo and even karatedo. It is this ‘path’ (as well as other characteristics) that makes martial arts (budo) different from sport martial arts and MMA.

Traditional martial arts have redeeming and esoteric values. Thus, a trip to a Zen Buddhist temple and Shinto temple would be appropriate for a program or two.

Location. The Way would be a reality program centered in Arizona, and include periodic trips to the mountains of Utah and Wyoming, to international martial arts clinics in New Braunfels, Texas and include a trip to Okinawa and mainland Japan to educate the TV audience about martial arts and Zen. The program would follow select students and instructors as they train to become proficient in martial arts and include history, philosophy, martial arts training, and backgrounds of the martial artists in their chosen professional fields.

The people. Adult traditional martial artists would be the focus of this program and include a group of highly educated professionals. Some of the more interesting characters could include Neal (a PhD biologist, university faculty member, and 6^th degree black belt), Patrick (engineer for Boeing, pilot, and 2^nd degree black belt), Paula (2^nd degree black belt Japanese American of samurai lineage with a very interesting life story that alone could be made into a book or movie), Bill (3^rd degree black belt and retired air force pilot), Ryan (2nd degree black belt and nutritionist at a local hospital), Alexi (brown belt and school teacher), Dave and Megan (Dave is a  blue belt and chemist. His daughter Megan is a yellow belt and Japanese who attends public and Japanese schools in the Phoenix valley) and myself (grandmaster and geologist). 

Members of the Utah Shorin-Kai train at the Arizona Hombu in 2014 with
hanbo.

Guests. Some possible guests - my instructor (Grandmaster and world head of Juko Kai International), Kirby (10^th degree black belt), Ron (10^th degree black belt, friend, retired lawyer), my son Eric (5^th degree black belt, geologist, astrophysicist, physicist, astronomer and mathematician), my daughter Jessica (business manager and brown belt). 

Details. In the original Karate Kid movie, two types of karate were depicted: Miyagi-Ryu karate (traditional) and Cobra Kai Karate (sport). The movie best portrayed these differences in the personalities of instructors and their students, but was also subtly expressed in discussions by Mr. Miyagi concerning use and lethal potential of traditional karate vs. fighting for a trophy.

I visualize a traditional martial arts school (dojo) as a backdrop. The theme of the show would be about my students (a group of scientists, university faculty, teachers, librarians, engineers, accountants, lawyers, etc), their trial and tribulations in learning traditional martial arts and watching their progress over time.

Sensei Ryan defends attack by Dennis

The 'Way' would include history and philosophy of traditional martial arts. New students would learn how to put on their angry white pajamas (known as gi in Japanese), tie obi (belt), bow, speak Japanese, and walk, kick, punch and block the Okinawa way and include many moments of the lighter-side.

Students would learn and demonstrate karate, kobudo (weapons), jujutsu, samurai arts, and self-defense. Programs would focus on kata and bunkai (katas are forms in martial arts and bunkai are their practical applications), shitai kori, tameshiwari (breaking rocks), tamishigari (test cuts with samurai sword - around Halloween, I like to recycle pumpkins by teaching my students to cut with a sword), kobudo (the traditional martial arts weapons) and the successes as our new students learn to control their focus, lose weight, gain self-confidence and are promoted in rank.

Professor Billie Bob visits Arizona Hombu to
demonstrate how a farmer in Nebraska would
manufacture a kobudo weapon using corn cobs

We would include demonstrations of weapons, first as farming and fishing tools, and then convert them to combat weapons - nunchaku, bo, hanbo, kama, sai, tonfa, kuwa (garden hoe) and modern equivalents such as ropes and key chains we carry every day. Kobudo was created hundreds of years ago on Okinawa after bladed weapons were outlawed by Okinawa King Shoshin. The Okinawan people were not sold on this policy, so they began developing farming and fishing tools as weapons of self-defense. In past self-defense clinics that I taught to groups including college students, faculty and librarians, I’ve introduced them to their tools of self-defense including books, magazines, coins, purses, staplers, etc.

Some episodes, the audience would be introduced to common Samurai weapons such as naginata (pole arm), yari (spear), jujutsu (throws), katana (samurai sword), tanto (knife) and include cutting pumpkins and cactus with samurai swords. Because of my background, gemstone, gold and diamond prospecting could be introduced. When I taught martial arts at the University of Wyoming, each spring I would teach the martial artists what I called ‘Geology 101’, a class in breaking rocks.

Arizona Grandfather Breaks Rocks for Golden Anniversary

Can your grandfather break rocks with his hands and head? Ours can!

After training in traditional martial arts for 50 years, Grandmaster Hausel of Gilbert still practices 5 to 6 days a week and teaches 10 classes 3 days a week with periodic weekend clinics. The former professor of martial arts taught many hundreds of students karate, kobudo, jujutsu, samurai arts, self-defense, martial arts history, and women’s self-defense classes while at the University of Wyoming from 1977 to 2007. After retiring from the university, he moved to Gilbert and opened a martial arts school on the border of Chandler, Gilbert and Mesa and has students who travel from as far as Phoenix, Scottsdale, Queen Creek and Tempe three times a week and others who periodically travel from as far as Colorado, Massachusetts, Maryland, Nebraska, Utah, Wyoming, India and Vietnam to train at the Arizona Martial Arts center. He kicks and punches most every day except when he is searching for gemstones and gold and writing books.

In 1976, Soke Hausel broke roofing tiles with
his head for karate demos. While at the University of Wyoming, he actually
broke slabs of rock quarried north of Laramie at half-time demonstrations at
University of Wyoming basketball games.

Fifty years ago, Grandmaster Hausel played guitar in a rock n’ roll band when the band decided to take classes at a local karate school because long hair was not popular. In 1964, if one had long hair, people actually restrained the person to cut their hair. So the band learned self defense. Even his high school administration bullied and discriminated against kids with long hair, so he took matters in his own hands, so to speak.

It was a different time. In 1964, bullying was encouraged. “But I highly recommend it. One had to learn to stand for what they believed in; unlike today, where adults cry over anything that doesn’t go their way. Our society has really wimped out over the past few decades”.  The Hall-of-Fame martial artist began when karate training was brutal. Even so, he elected to continue martial arts for the rest of his life. Martial arts should be a lifelong commitment - not a fling.

Soke Hausel taught rock breaking to UW students every spring.

Traditional arts provide opportunities for people to earn rank and learn to defend themselves. Unfortunately, there are many schools in Arizona that require 6-month, very expensive contracts in order to receive a black belt at what is known as a McDojo or a diploma mill, whether you can defend yourself or not. Traditional martial arts are about earning everything and are inexpensive!

“I feel like a 30-year-old in a 60-year-old body. I have more power and acceleration in my punches, kicks and blocks than at any other time in my life. Martial arts have kept me healthy even though I have a few back problems – but those were all related to younger times when I tried to lift too much weight for a skinny guy.”

Soke Hausel teaches martial arts at the Arizona School of Traditional Karate (aka Arizona Hombu) on the border of Gilbert and Mesa. He has a few thousand students scattered worldwide: many are university professors, teachers, engineers, scientists, doctors, lawyers, social scientists, law enforcement agents and artists. His son, daughter and grandsons are proficient in martial arts.

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.