Arizona Karate Instructor Awarded 'Best Instructor' in Phoenix

Soke with tonfa

Soke is the world head of Seiyo Kai Shorin-Ryu Karate and Kobudo and has been presented dozens of international, national and regional awards for excellence in martial arts and in science. Soke's martial arts interest began in 1964 at the Black Eagle Federation kyokushinkai dojo when a member of a teenage rock n' roll band. Since then, he has trained in martial arts nearly every day over the past 50+ years - even while working the outback of Alaska, Australia, Wyoming and elsewhere in the US, as a research geologist.

While at the University of Wyoming, he taught karate, kobudo, self-defense and samurai arts in various classes and clinics while searching for gold, gemstones and diamonds.

In 2017, Soke was selected to the AMAA Who's Who in Martial Arts Hall-of-Fame, presented the Who's Who Martial Arts Legend Award, the Albert Nelson Marquis Who's Who for Lifetime Achievements Award.  

The Hall-of-Fame martial artist taught at four universities prior to opening the Arizona Hombu dojo in Mesa. Inducted into 18 Halls-of-Fame since 1998 as well as 'Meijin wa jutsu' in 2013.

Arizona Self-Defense Training

Training children with parents in traditional
karate & self-defense.

I enjoy teaching martial arts. It is an incredible feeling of satisfaction to see the expressions on the faces of my students as they discover new techniques and how easily they can apply a technique in a self-defense situation. It is also an extraordinary feeling of discovery when exploring kata (forms) through visualization or by watching students perform applications, and all of a sudden see another application. Learning martial arts is an endless endeavor and I thank God I was led to the martial arts as a teen in 1964 and had so many fantastic opportunities to expand my martial arts experience.

In 1992, I applied for membership to Juko Kai International. One of the best decisions of my life. JKI opened so many new martial arts to me - it was an incredible opportunity - I am so thankful that my membership application was accepted. After I became a JKI member, I attended as many national and regional clinics that I could. It was rare I ever missed a National Clinic. I also attended some regional clinics including those related to Combat Ki and others related to samurai arts, kobudo, and kata - particularly Okinawan kempo, naginatajutsu, sojutsu, iaido, hanbo, etc. In Juko Kai, I've had the opportunity to branch out and train in dozens of martial arts - it has been the best investment of my life! If there is another traditional martial arts organization in the world with so much expertise, so many great martial artists, with opportunities to learn an endless number of martial arts and techniques, I would be very, very surprised. Most organizations take your money, provide you with a certificate and member card, and you never see them again until they want their annual dues in the following year. At JKI, you can learn so many martial arts at dozens of clinics each year. But to join, you must have legitimate credentials, or a sponsoring sensei.

Anyway, I love to teach, whether it is martial arts or geology. When I teach, I use to try to teach people to be tough and learn to take anything thrown at them. This is good for only a few, as most people give up long before earning a black belt. Over the years, I've mellowed and discovered an instructor must be entertaining - students want to be entertained, so I now try to make classes  enjoyable for all of my adults. At the same time, I teach them many powerful techniques that I wish I could get them to used excellent focus and power, but not all of students what to put in the sweat and blood, so I work with each person's personality to make sure people are satisfied, but can also learn to defend.

So, in my classes, a few students will work at an extreme level learning a self-defense technique while at the same time, learning to use the technique with great speed and applying body hardening (shitai kori) training such as punching and kicking each other with a fair amount of power - this is to help them learn to take a punch and how to deliver a punch - how most karate should be practiced. Most want to learn techniques without hurting someone or being hurt themselves.  

Training in self-defense evenings. Many would
crap their pants if this happened to them on the street
(and it does often in Phoenix). 

Self-defense nights, I often take one of our kata and take one or two parts out of the kata and apply them in a realistic self-defense situation - defending against an attack, a grab, a take down, choke, multiple attackers, an attacker armed with a gun, a rifle, a knife, a club, etc. As the students train with self-defense, they start out exploring modifications and slowly gain muscle memory until they can put things into overdrive after about 5 to 10 minutes. After they have learned a technique, I add a common weapon to the defense. The defender now arms themselves with a magazine, book, a kubotan (pencil like stick or key chain), handful of coins, a rock, lug nut, a knife (tanto), karambit, or some other handy weapon and try the same self-defense technique with a weapon.

How do you defend against a rifle?

Some students focus on hanbojutsu and other samurai arts.

Our students include many highly educated professionals, retirees, military, some young adults and many women.  The nice thing about this training is the students, no matter what age, learn  about martial arts, self-confidence and gain considerable physical exercise, flexibility and balance.  It is much better than attending any gym.

Sensei Ben Corley demonstrates knife defense technique at University of
Wyoming clinic

Shorin-Ryu Karate & Kobudo in Arizona

Traditional Shorin-Ryu Karate & Kobudo is taught year round to adults at the Arizona Hombu Dojo in Mesa. A couple of families train in karate and self-defense  group classes, and children (>8 years of age) in these families are mature, always train with their parents, and do not disturb others in class. Only adults (>16 years of age) train in kobudo at the Hombu. Kyoju (professor of Budo) taught karate, kobudo, iaido, sojutsu, hojojutsu, hanbojutsu, naginata, jujutsu, self-defense,  self-defense for women, self-defense for faculty and teachers, self-defense for ROTC cadets, and martial arts history at the University of Wyoming for more than 30 years. He taught martial arts at three other universities and several commercial gyms, and he is the head instructor at the Arizona Hombu dojo in Mesa, Arizona in the east valley of Phoenix.

Tuesday evening karate classes focus on basics known as kihon in Japanese. Learning stances, kicks, punches, blocks, and how to fall come in handy not only for self-defense, but also for self-confidence and physical fitness. By far, the most important aspect of karate, besides learning to respect others, is to learn kata. Kata are ingenious forms created centuries ago and are the heart of Okinawan karate and kobudo. When done properly, these teach karate practitioners muscle memory, good stances, balance, movement, power, accretion, and hundreds of self-defense applications. In traditional karate-do, there is nothing that compares to kata. And at the Arizona Hombu dojo, the student is always learning. Soke, recognized as a martial arts genius, knows more than 90 kata; thus students include beginners who don't even know how to tie their obi (karate belt), to the most advanced black belt master instructors.

Soke teaching black belt clinic at the Arizona Hombu dojo

When one learns kata, they not only learn a martial arts form designed to help them move correctly, but these forms incorporate the favorite self-defense applications from martial arts masters from the past. Its a form of living history. And most applications (bunkai) were tested in combat by various karate masters in Okinawa's martial arts history. And nearly every kata not only incorporates punches, kicks, and blocks, but they also include many throws, chokes, attacks, restraints, arm bars, etc. Many of these are obvious, others are somewhat obscured. Kata provide a means for learning many self-defense applications including many of the chokes and throws one usually relates to Japanese jujutsu. But to be effective, the student must not only practice kata correctly, but must also practice the bunkai often, both by shadow boxing and training with a partner.

While at the University of Wyoming, Soke classes ranged from 22 to 110 Today, he limits classes to a maximum of 25 to provide more individual attention. These classes include the beginner to the most advanced black belts.