About the Author

I started studying Shuto Society Karate with C.M. Bookwalter and Dave Salyards in 1979. The class was taught at the YMCA in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania on Sunday and Wednesday evenings. Classes were hard, and the teachers were serious.

In 1981 I added Tuesday nights in Williamsburg, and in the summers I added Thursday nights in Martinsburg. I also occasionally visited the classes in Huntington on Mondays and Bellwood on Fridays. Sometimes there were special classes on Saturday mornings in Hollidaysburg as well as many tournaments, seminars and dojo nights (I went to a lot of karate - I was a teenager).

In 1984 I started teaching my own class, which I continued to do for the next 40 years.

At the end of 2024, I retired from teaching. However, I continue to study and learn.

I regularly practice the following small set of exercises and techniques:

Exercise Sets:

Temple Qigong
Head to Toe Warm-Up

Kata:

Chonan
I-Hon
Kick Kata
Naihanchi
Sanchin
Pinan I-V
Bassai Dai

Special Techniques:

Stances
Block and Counters
Kicks
Naihanchi Striking Series (on the bag)
Go-ho-ate
Go-ho-geri
Un-Do (Stepping Pattern)
Live Side/Dead Side/Inside/Outside (Sixteen Directions Stepping)
5 Foot Staff
Wooden Sword
Cane

* * *

MY KARATE VALUES

RESPECT - Respect yourself and others. Be on time and ready to start.

SILENCE - Keep talking to a minimum. Avoid drawing attention to yourself.

FOCUS - Concentrate 100% on each activity. Avoid distraction.

DISCIPLINE - Take your practice seriously. Apply 100% of your energy to the effort.

KINDNESS - Intentional infliction of injury is prohibited. Take special care when working with a partner.

SIMPLICITY - If it's too complicated, there are more chances for failure. Keep it simple.

HUMILITY - Be humble about your triumphs and failures. No one of us is more important than another.

ENJOYMENT - Seek to enjoy your practice to make it a lifelong habit.