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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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. |
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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). |
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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. |
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Visitors from a Karate Team from India at the Arizona Hombu |