Traditional Martial Arts

In Traditional Martial Arts we absorb the philosophy of those great masters and grandmasters who are our teachers, both living and those who lived before us. We have roots in the Western US, but we have ties in Okinawa/Japan. The sokeshodai (first generation grandmaster) of our martial art known as Seiyo No Shorin-Ryu Karate Kobudo Kai is Soke Hausel, who was provided the privileged and honor of developing his his own system of karate by Dai-Soke Sacharnoski, a martial artist considered by many to be the greatest living martial artist in the world.

The quick and the dead provide us guidelines for being better martial artists and better people. If our politicians were required to learn traditional martial arts, we would have a better society as honor, respect and honesty are required in traditional karate.

Here are some of our guides and thoughts.

• “You Don’t quit karate because of age, You age because you quit karate” - Soke Hausel
• "I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." ~Thomas Jefferson 
• You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves." ~ Abraham Lincoln 
• A quick temper makes a quick fool
• “Do not worship great men of the past – seek instead to follow in their accomplishments” – Soke Hausel
• "Nunchaku is like a snake - mistreat it & it will bite” - Soke Hausel
• “With kama, you can cut weeds or cut those who plant weeds” – Soke Hausel.
• “Karate begins and ends with courtesy” - Gichin Funakoshi
• "There is no end to learning martial arts - only a beginning".
• "If there is no kata, there is no karate, just kicking & punching"Shoshin Nagamine (1907-1997)
• "One who fishes with spear can get fish & defend his meal at same time" - Soke Hausel
• There is a significant difference between softness and weakness
• "The purpose of Karate Lies not in defeat or victory, but in the perfection of its participants" Gichin Funakoshi.
• "My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!” - Harry Truman
• There are many paths to the top of Mt Fuji, but it only has one summit.
• Fear is a darkness. Traditional karate brings one to light overcoming darkness by teaching self-confidence and respect for mankind.
• "How does an adult defend against a child? With a lollipop. At the Arizona School of Traditional Karate we teach one to defend against adults"- Soke Hausel
• "If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed.  If you read the newspaper, you're misinformed." -  Mark Twain
• "Each kick, each block, each punch should be practiced as if they are your very last – this is how one achieves mastery of karate". Soke Hausel
• "Everytime you punch or block without power & focus, you greatly diminish your potential to be a great martial artist. Think about it! You are teaching yourself to defend without power and focus". "Punch as if you are being attacked". - Soke Hausel
• “If God wanted man to run, he would not have invented karate” – Soke Hausel
• "Twirling is for marching bands & cheerleaders not for kobudo" - Soke Hausel
• 'Karate is like the boiling water'- If you remove the fire, it will cool.
• "For the beginner of Karate, everything is important. For the master, ‘nothing’ is important." Soke Hausel 
• Search the eyes of all who pass by for their intentions.
• Hitotsuki hitogeri “one punch, one kick”
• “In daily life, one’s mind & body should be trained & developed in a spirit of humility and at critical times, be devoted to the cause of justice – this is true karatedo” Gichin Funakoshi
  
  

  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

Top-Rated School of Martial Arts in Gilbert and Mesa

Welcome to the Top-Rated Martial Arts School in Mesa, Gilbert and Chandler in the east valley of Phoenix. We look forward to meeting you when you stop in and visit our unique, traditional dojo (martial arts school). You should see a difference in the training and teaching methods and attitudes of all of our students and instructors. If you are a peaceful and honest person, you are most welcome to join our club. As stated by the great master of Shorin-Ryu Karate and Kobudo, Gichin Funakoshi (1868-1957) ''The Ultimate Aim of Karate Lies Not in Victory or Defeat, but in Perfection of Its Participants".

Compare our club with any other school in the valley, let alone the nation. You should see the following differences: (1) First, we focus on adults and families, but go much further. We are a traditional style of karate and kobudo that accepts members as friends.

(2) We teach a very powerful form of Okinawan Shorin-Ryu Karate that includes Kobudo, Self-Defense, Jujutsu, Body Hardening, and Samurai Arts. No other school in the valley that we've seen offers as much. Many people do not realize, but karate was created on Okinawa hundreds of years ago as a method of self-defense and self-improvement. It was never intended to be a sport.

(3) Our head instructor has been awarded many honors that include regional, national and international awards for teaching. These translate into much better and competent students.

(4) Our head instructor is a grandmaster of Shorin-Ryu Karate. Before moving the Seiyo Kai International Hombu to Arizona, he was a Kyoju (Professor of Budo) at the University of Wyoming. Soke Hausel taught a few thousand students in the arts of karate, kobudo, jujutsu, self-defense, iaido, kenjutsu, sojutsu, naginatajutsu, hanbojutsu and other samurai arts, nearly all of his classes were filled to capacity - some with more than 100 students. He found these large classes made it very difficult to communicate to all of his students, thus today, he keeps his classes to a minimum of students - typically less than 25, following the philosophy of most Okinawan schools. This way he can focus on all of his students techniques.

(5) We have a group of very high-quality instructors and seniors in our dojo who, in total, have more than a century of experience.

(6) We do not compete in tournaments and instead follow the philosophy of all of the great Okinawan masters - we focus on basics, kata, kobudo, bunkai (applications), traditions and philosophy. Nearly all of the great Okinawan masters have stated that kata is more pragmatic (realistic) than kumite.

(7) Finally, we offer some of the lowest prices for classes in Arizona - and NO contracts.

Traditional Shorin-Ryu Karate & Kobudo In Mesa and Gilbert, Arizona

Traditional Martial Arts are quite different from sport karate or sport taekwondo. Traditional martial arts focus on the progress of the martial artist as a person rather than accumulation of trophies.  As stated by the great Okinawan Shorin-Ryu Karate Master, Gichin Funakoshi,

“Karate begins and ends with courtesy”. 

Traditional karate also focuses on self-defense rather than points. Who could forget the wonderful conversations between Mr. Miyagi and Daniel San in the classic movie the Karate Kid? 


Daniel San “All right, so what are the rules here?”
Miyagi “Don't know. First time you, first time me”.
Daniel San “Well, I figured you knew about this stuff. I figured you went to these before. Oh great, I'm dead. I am dead. You told me you fought a lot”.
Miyagi “For life, not for points”.

It is these kind of philosophies that we teach our students to ensure that they progress as positive members of society.

Okinawan Scholar Teijunsoku wrote:

‘No matter how you excel in the art of te (karate) and in your scholastic endeavors, nothing is more important than your behavior and your humanity as observed in daily life’.

 

Shoshin Nagamine (1907-1997), Grandmaster of Matsubayashi Shorin-Ryu wrote,

"if there is no kata, there is no karate, just kicking & punching"

And possibly nothing more succinctly describes the purpose of karate than another statement by Gichin Funakoshi,
 

"The purpose of Karate Lies not in defeat or victory, but in the perfection of its participants"

Yokosu - 'Welcome' to the Arizona Hombu - the world headquarters of Seiyo No Shorin-Ryu Karate Kobudo Kai. We focus on training adults and some families and we look forward to introducing you to traditional martial arts.

Join us on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings as we train in the traditions of Shorin-Ryu Karate, Kobudo (weapons), Samurai arts and Self-Defense at 60 W. Baseline Road at the border of Mesa with Gilbert. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sensei Paula restrains Shihan Adam at a May 2013 traditional martial arts clinic at the Arizona School of Traditional Karate on the border of Gilbert with Mesa and Chandler (Photo courtesy of NemecPhotos).

Respect is a very important part of the traditional martial arts (photo courtesy of Nemec Photography, May, 2013)

ARIZONA TRADITIONAL MARTIAL ARTS

Come train in our Seiyo No Shorin-Ryu Karate Renmei classes and learn about traditions, history, self-defense, martial arts weapons & friendship. The world headquarters (hombu) is located at the Arizona School of Traditional Karate in Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler at 60 W. Baseline Road (NE corner of MacDonald).

We've provided just a few of the photos of a few of our students. Do you see your neighbor?