ADULT Martial Arts Classes - Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler, Tempe, Phoenix

Yokoso!

Welcome to the Arizona Hombu dojo on the border of Gilbert and Mesa, just a mile from Chandler, 15 minutes from Arizona State University and 5 minutes from Mesa Community College.

This School of Traditional Martial Arts in Mesa is an adult and family martial arts school and international training center for members of Seiyo Kai International.

Traditional Karate is the same martial art taught for hundreds of years on Okinawa and different from the sport karate that evolved in the past 60 years and MMA that recently followed the footsteps of sport martial arts in the last decade. The difference? If you saw the Karate Kid movie in 1984, you should know the difference. Traditional Shorin-Ryu Karate is similar to the Miyagi-Ryu Karate portrayed in the movie; and the Cobra Kai - well, that's similar to MMA and many sport karate groups. In traditional karate, we consider tradition, lineage and proper certification to be very significant - something that is lacking in sport.

Adult Karate Classes at the Arizona School of Traditional Karate, Gilbert, Mesa

At the East Valley dojo, students learn kihon (basics) and training will focus on stances, movement, blocks, kicks, punches. In Okinawan karate, about 95% of techniques use hands rather than kicks. Often techniques are practiced as shadow boxing to teach muscle memory, and other times the students train a partner. This is where an adult martial arts school is important. You don't have to worry about some 3-year old kicking you in the shins (or other inappropriate places). Families are seen training at the dojo in the adult classes and all parents train with their own children. This provides very good bonding for parents and their children.

Heather  trains with Charles using nunchaku for self-defens

At the school, considerable kata known as forms are taught. Kata is the heart of karate. These are like Oriental dances that self-teach and provide a living encyclopedia of martial arts techniques. As students learn kata (more than 70 kata are taught in Seiyo-Shorin-Ryu), they also learn bunkai (pragmatic self-defense applications) to the kata. Only three people know all of the kata in the Seiyo Shorin-Ryu system: Soke Hausel, Hanshi Andy Finley and Dai Shihan Neal Adam. 

Students also learn samurai arts including the use of a samurai sword, a naginata (polearm), hanbo, samurai bo, Okinawan spear, restraints, and jujutsu. Then there is the martial arts weapons known as kobudo. Dozens of weapons are taught to students which is considered to be part of Okinawan Karate. So, when one signs up for karate, not only do they learn karate, but they are also taught a variety of other martial arts.

Married couples train at the Arizona School
of Traditional Karate. Sensei Paula Borea (of Japanese
samurai lineage) works her husband over, Sensei Bill
Borea during class. These classes taught by Soke Hausel
have brought many couples together over the years.

2003 Shorin-Ryu Clinic at the University of Wyoming with Professor Hausel (front, 6th from the left) and Tadashi Yamashita (front, 8th from the left).

1996 International Martial Arts clinic at the University of Wyoming - Dai Soke Sacharnoski sits in front, center. Sensei
Hausel is standing in the far left back.

Visitors from a Karate Team from India at the Arizona Hombu