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