In 1978, as a young little kid, I was introduced to Karate. The first art I began was Goju Ryu and stuck with that for around three and half years. Sadly, the dojo then closed and because that Sensei moved away so I found myself looking for another school to train at that was affordable and was acceptable drive time since we lived way out in the boondocks. Back then there really weren’t Karate Dojos on every corner of every town like there are today. The closest school was a Tae Kwon Do school so we went and got me signed up. It was definitely a night and day difference in the arts as well as how classes were taught but at least I was still training because I loved Karate.
I went on to earning my 1st degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do on November 7, in 1987. Soon after I graduated from High School, went in the Army and also started college. While at college in Vincennes, Indiana I met a Japanese guy name Jun Takanami. We soon became friends because, like me, he loved Karate as well. Jun was raised in a Karate atmosphere and since his family had residences in Japan and Okinawa he had trained in both Okinawan Karate and Japanese Shotokan since he was 5. We began working out together and he brought me leaning back toward Okinawan Karate but it was the first trip I took with him to Okinawa in 1989 that hooked me on it.
The Okinawan people teach, as well as see, Karate much differently than we do here in the USA. In Okinawa it isn’t about who is toughest, who can win tournaments or anything of that nature at all. It is about training the art for the pure sake of becoming great at the art. There wasn’t any egos, just training in the dojo there in Okinawa and that, even though I was raised up competing in Karate tournaments, was exactly what I had been looking for. Over the years Jun and I trained together as often as his schedule would allow. He would stop by my house in Hicksville, Ohio and we would go out into my “garage” dojo and workout for hours. It was really insightful learning things from him and he loved to learn concepts from me as well. It was a true mixing of the cultures, so to say, in our different Karate paths. Sadly, in September of 2007, Jun passed away from cancer which left a huge whole in my heart as well as my Karate pathway. To be honest, I felt lost and just wasn’t sure where I would head on this journey teaching, as well as training Karate.
As the fates would have it, someone I had known since I was a little kid in Karate came back into my life and would soon become my Sensei. Eddie Bethea Kyoshi is an amazing martial artist and true Master of the Okinawan art of Shorin Ryu Shorinkan. Bethea Kyoshi took me under his wing and began sharing his art with me and, after about a year, I was hooked. So, that leads to my purpose for this blog post…Why Okinawan Karate?
Over the many years that I have trained my path has led me to study a wide variety of martial arts. I have been fortunate enough to attend many incredible seminars with some amazing experts as well. Martial arts such a Judo, Kenpo and Japanese Jujitsu were some of the systems I enjoyed training in..but Karate is my foundation and core so that would be my primary focus. I honestly think I took up those other martial arts to increase my understanding of Karate more so than to replace any deficiency that could be found with it. Studying them also gave me insight into how Karate could be used effectively against them and this was important since my work through my 20’s was that of a bouncer in bars as well as bodyguard. Even the Tae Kwon Do I studied was more, or less, Korean Shotokan but the instructor I had was a real brawler so we trained fighting more than we did anything else in his school. Those were some of the most brutal and intense workouts I can ever remember having and the skill set gained from his mixture of striking, grappling and kickboxing into our Kumite really gave me a wide array of skills for self defense.
One of the reasons I always leaned towards Okinawan Karate over other martial arts is they cover all facets in regards to self defense with an emphasis on finishing a fight quickly and soundly. This is accomplished with they mindset they train for every aspect of their art. For example, when I was training Jujitsu we threw people to the ground and then grappled with them seeking to gain an advantage for a tap out whereas, in Karate, our goal to throw a person was to make sure they couldn’t get back up due to severe injury from how we placed them into the pavement. The mindset in the two arts were interestingly different. Same was with Judo and Karate. The Karate training I received had many of the same throws and grappling methods in it but we didn’t look at it from the viewpoint of winning a competition against our training partner but rather gaining the skill set to survive a violent attack and go home safely.
One area I have found Okinawan Karate to lead on is the striking ability and purpose of striking in the art. While my experience in training Tae Kwon Do gave me some amazing kicking ability it wouldn’t be until I started pursuing Okinawan Karate that I would learn how to hit quick, effectively and exactly what I should be hitting in a fight. The application of science and physics used in Okinawan Karate makes it highly effective over anything else I have learned but I have not spent the same amount of time studying other arts to make this a claim exclusive to Okinawan Karate methods honestly. What I will say is the training methods such as Kata and Bunkai, Yakusoku Kumite and other aspects are definitely aimed at self defense over sport and that, to me, was one of the main reasons it became my foundational martial art. One thing that does bother me though is people don’t have the patience to train Okinawan Karate to high levels of proficiency these days. That is so sad too because the art isn’t just beautiful it is highly effective and can be deadly if learned to this state. Most people also join martial art schools that teach a hodgepodge of arts and mostly teach sport methods as self defense too. Years ago, as a recommendation from my bodyguard partner, I began to delve into Krav Maga which is an Israeli form of combat training. He would always tell me about how “effective” it was and how it was so much better than my “Karate”. I spent four years going to seminars for Krav Maga and never saw them teach anything that I hadn’t already learned in my studies of Karate…but their training methods were different and based on alive attacks which I really enjoyed and incorporated into how I teach self defense in my dojos.
Okinawan Karate covers the five ranges of combat and seeks to make them seamless in the approach to application against a violent attacker. The five ranges include: Safe Distance, Kicking Distance, Striking Distance, Elbows/Knee/Throwing Distance, Joint manipulation/gouging/biting/clawing range. The goal in Okinawan Karate is to be able to go into any range listed above and back out of the range using the each one. They should be seamless in the approach to how they are applied for self defense and, to date, I have yet to find another martial art that has this approach. Most other martial arts seem to favor certain distance levels over others. For example, in Judo the grappling/throwing range was favored highly above the striking range. In Tae Kwon Do the kicking distance was favored over any other range as well. Each art has its reasons for this I am sure but, to me, the approach needs to not favor one over the other. Each range needs to be practiced for effective self defense and this was exactly what I found in Okinawan Karate.
The other aspect was how the Okinawan Karate people approach the development of powerful striking methods. They apply torque, speed, proper use of body dynamics and a very deep understanding of Kinetics / Kinesiology. I have found some of the aspects listed above in other martial arts but not as a whole concept of study as they do in Okinawan Karate. It is amazing the difference in the training goals of the Okinawans over what I have also encountered in what I call “American” forms of Karate as well. The Okinawans approach training in Karate as part of their daily lives. It is not a hobby, not just a recreational activity. They train for the entire purpose of training with little regards to belt ranks and status unlike we find in other parts of the world. It would seem the goal of their Karate is to become masterful over time spent in the dojo versus over what belt color they can attain. To them, a black belt, is just another stepping stone and definitely doesn’t define someone as an “expert” in Karate like so many want people to believe in our country.
Then you have the culture of the dojo in Okinawa. Everyone helps everyone. No one is judged while in a Gi and all are there for one single purpose…to improve their Karate and their lives. I have spent years trying to cultivate this in my dojo and have been fairly successful but I have lost many students because I do not play favorites or give people special treatment since I expect the same from everyone, regardless of what rank they achieve. It often perplexes me that people can’t grasp this culture as I see it as being very simplistic in nature where everyone helps everyone to achieve, grow and get better each day in the dojo. Sadly I have watched people’s ego cost them their ability to learn, to train and to grow alongside their Karate family members in the dojo. I have also had to throw people out of my dojo as well for not fitting into the culture we train. As they say “One bad apple will ruin the bushel” and that has been my experience over the 30 years I have been running my dojos.
One thing that I have to include in this blog post is that most places that claim to teach Okinawan Karate honestly do not. They teach a version of Okinawan Karate Kata but have adapted a lot of American competitive aspects into what they teach. In my experience, if a dojo does not have a direct connection to Okinawa then they don’t truly teach Okinawan Karate. Also, if the Sensei of the dojo is not traveling to Okinawa to train, nor training under a Sensei that does, then chances are you are getting an “Americanized” version of it as well. The culture that I described above usually doesn’t exist in those type of dojos either. If you are truly wanting to learn Okinawan Karate then you will have to do some research and not just take the dojo’s about me info section or the name of the art they teach as factual. We, in my dojo, are very fortunate that we teach Shorin Ryu Shorinkan and I have been blessed to travel to Okinawa many times to train for two weeks each year. I also train with my own Sensei, Eddie Bethea Kyoshi, as often as I can to make sure I am teaching only the pure, authentic way of doing our art. That is important…to have a good Sensei to correct you, especially if you are Sensei your own self…regardless of what one’s rank might be. So, that being said, a potential student might have to be willing to drive a bit when they find a good, authentic Okinawan dojo to train at and a qualified Sensei to teach them. I, myself, drive two hours one way just to train with my own Sensei and I am happy to do so!
Why Okinawan Karate? Well this is just a small bit of the reasons why I love our art. There is so much more to it than what I could ever describe in a short blog post but I do need to mention one very important factor. Anyone regardless of age, physical ability or limitations can learn Okinawan Karate…and I do mean anyone! I have had students who were deaf, blind, missing limbs and many senior citizens training in my dojo. Okinawan Karate is truly adaptable to anyone and that is another key component of what I love with our art. Since Okinawan Karate is not competitive in nature it is the perfect environment for all ages, all physical abilities and more. The only person you are truly in competition with in the dojo is your own self. A good Sensei will not compare students with other students. They will focus on making your weakness become strengths and making your strengths stronger…all the while not expecting you to be like the other students on your journey. Yes, certain aspects are very detailed and technical but even those are adaptable to everyone regardless of what limitation they may be facing.
Steven Franz, Rokudan
Shorin Ryu Shorinkan
Franz Karate
http://www.FRANZKARATE.com
THE DOJO SHORINKAN 