Places to Go

I began studying karate at Anderson's Karate Dojo in Holt, Michigan, U.S.A. in September of 1996. I tested for my shodan (first degree black belt) on Saturday, March 25th, 2000 under John's sensei, Ernest Estrada. I received the official certificate for my shodan and membership in the Okinawa Karate-do Association on Tuesday, April 25. I began studying kobudo, ancient Okinawan weaponry, in June of 1997. Kobudo is actually an older art than karate (at least in their present-day forms), and has a fascinating history.

John Anderson obtained 6th dan in Shorinkan Chibana-ha Shorin-Ryu, (also mistakenly pronounced Kobayashi) karate on March 25, 2000, and also holds a 5th dan black belt in Iki Shin Do karate. When John Anderson was informed that he would be testing, he decided to shift the emphasis in the dojo from Iki Shin Do to Shorin-Ryu, feeling that he should teach the style in which he holds the higher rank.

John Anderson stopped teaching karate officially in 2002, and he directed his students to sensei Seikichi Iha's dojo, where I began attending classes in June of 2003. I studied there somewhat half-heartedly for a little over 4 years, and then decided to practice on my own for a while at the MAC (Michigan Athletic Club).

I've been doing that now for a bit over a year, and have made some very good progress in certain areas, but I'm looking out for a new place to study, preferably one with no ranks. Many traditional/classical Chinese schools still do it this way. Ranks were added to karate in the early twentieth century by Funakoshi Gichin to make it easier for adaptation to Japanese culture, an idea he got from judo. Personally, my feeling is that it's probably done more harm than good.

I've made a couple of trips down to the Columbus, OH, area to study at a Shaolin Temple Kung Fu school (Huiguang Martial Arts Association) where a friend of mine attends. I've done a class of Yeng style Tai Chi and a class of Shaolin Temple Kung Fu there. I really like the Shifu and the students there. In the classic Chinese style, there are no uniforms and no belts/ranks. It's more casual than most karate dojos (although John Anderson ran a more relaxed dojo than many, which I liked a great deal).

Please click on the links to the left to read more about karate, kobudo, and the styles of each that I practice.

Note that on my pages when the names of Okinawan individuals are used, I write their names in proper Japanese fashion: family name first, given name second. In my readings, I've seen it done both ways, but I here opt for the Japanese way to show respect.