Okinawan Shorin-Ryu Karate (Seiyo Kai)

Imagine – you’re in-between bookshelves at the public library just before closing – someone sneaks up behind and grabs you. What do you do with that book in your hand?

Several librarians of the Chandler Public Library were confronted with this and other scenarios at a recent seminar taught by Hall of Fame martial artist and grandmaster, Soke Hausel of the Arizona School of Traditional Karate in Mesa (60 W. Baseline Road, Mesa). Hausel is an expert in kobudo, a martial art that teaches use of Okinawan farming and fishing implements, as well as modern garden and construction tools, as weapons of self-defense.

During the seminar, attendees learned how to escape from wrist grabs, lapel grabs and bear-hugs using their elbows, knees, feet and hands and how to use books, magazines, coins, pens, belts, and car keys for self-defense tools against aggressive attacks. The attendees were surprised to find they were working with potential weapons every day and even checking them out to the public. Who would have thought that a book or rolled up magazine could be so effective in self-defense.

Soke Hausel has been a martial arts instructor for more than 40 years and taught similar self-defense clinics and seminars to local political groups, EMT, university faculty and staff, military, scouts, teachers, women’s clubs, sororities, religious groups, martial arts instructors, etc. He is a professor of martial arts who taught at four universities in past years and currently teaches karate, kobudo and self-defense in the East Valley

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Soke Hausel of Mesa, Arizona, was inducted into Action Martial Arts Hall of Honors at the Tropicana Resort in New Jersey on January 20th of 2012. Touted as the world’s largest gathering of martial arts superstars, film & combat celebrities & renowned masters in the world, the event has become known as the Academy of Awards of Martial Arts. Inducted for Outstanding Contributions to Martial Arts as a Grandmaster, Professor Hausel taught martial arts at 4 universities prior to teaching at the Arizona School of Traditional Karate at 60 W. Baseline in Mesa. (Soke Hausel at the Arizona School of Traditional Karate in Mesa, Chandler and Gilbert, Arizona, Photo by Kenrick Davis).

It’s Halloween; the season of ninja, the season of pumpkins, the season of samurai? It’s all of these at the Arizona School of Traditional Karate at the border of Mesa and Gilbert on Baseline where things are always a little different. Different because the school stresses ‘traditional’ curriculum (remember Mr. Myagi in the Karate Kid?), and because classes are taught by Hall of Famer, Soke Hausel, 10th dan, a kojyu of budo (professor of martial arts) and world head of Shorin-Ryu Karate & Kobudo (Seiyo Kai) a traditional style of Okinawan martial arts. Classes are also taught by Shihan Neal Adam, 5th dan, a master of karate and kobudo and also an active professor at one of the local universities. But where does Halloween fit into traditional arts?

Soke Hausel with Traditional martial art gi and hakama

Students of the Arizona School of Traditional Karate and Seiyo Shorin-Ryu Karate and Kobudo not only train in traditional karate and kobudo, they also train in samurai and other arts, so they get a better, all-around martial arts and self-defense education. For example, Soke Hausel has certifications in 23 martial arts and takes advantage of this by teaching a diversified curriculum to his adult classes. Some of the arts taught by the hall of fame grandmaster include Okinawan karate, nunchaku, tonfa, kama, bo, hanbo, nitanbo (two sticks), sai, tanto (knife), yari (spear), naginata, manrikigusari (chain), gusarigama (sickle and chain), katana (samurai sword), kuwa (garden hoe), eku (okinawan oar), shuriken (star darts), jujutsu and other arts.

Soke Hausel carves pumpkin with traditional side cut

But imagine smashing pumpkins – not the famous alternative rock band, but rather smashing pumpkins with a karate punch, kick, or just slicing them with kama (Okinawan sickles) or katana, better known as a samurai sword. Why would anyone do this? Because it is Halloween, it gives the students an opportunity to see how well their technique has developed, and most of all, it brings members together in friendship and works towards the ultimate goal of becoming more self-confident and better all-around members of society at 60 W. Baseline Road.

Soke Hausel of Mesa cuts pumpkin with traditional top cut.

Few ever master martial arts – it takes years of dedication & training.

Dr. Neal Adam, Associate Professor of Biology at Grand Canyon University, receives certification as Shihan (Master Instructor of Martial Arts) and Godan (5th degree black belt) from Soke (Grandmaster) Hausel, Judan, at the Hombu dojo in Mesa Arizona.

When most people think of a master of martial arts, they visualize an old, wise, Oriental monk; or a faster than life karate master who is almost indestructible. Hollywood exaggerates many elements of a martial arts master. To be a true master of martial arts, one must learn considerable oriental philosophy, history, traditions and of course, martial arts.

It is rare for a PhD to earn a Master Degree: not a master’s degree from college but a master degree in Shorin-Ryu Karate. Reaching the level of a PhD and Professor requires dedication to a particular field of study and research leaving little time for anything else. And to do the same in martial arts is rare.

Dr Neal Adam, associate professor of biology at Grand Canyon University, has dedicated the past 30 years to learning karate while pursuing a career in science. His love for karate reached a level of nearly complete comprehension of Okinawan Shorin-Ryu Seiyo Kai Karate and Kobudo. To reach such a level of expertise, one must understand the mechanics and physics of karate, they must comprehend the philosophy of the art, they must learn dozens of complex forms and be able to demonstrate the forms without thinking and with extraordinary power and focus, they must master several ancient weapons, and they must learn to defend themselves effectively.

The Master degree is a measure of one’s expertise and translates in Japanese as Shihan. Dr. Neal Adam reached this level and was presented certifications of Shihan and Godan (5th degree black belt) after testing in front of Soke Hausel, world head of Seiyo Shorin-Ryu Karate and Kobudo at the Hombu (world headquarters) in Mesa.

In addition to demonstrating an understanding of karate and kobudo, Dr. Adam was also required to develop new forms of kobudo. He created a new form of hanbo (3-foot staff) and applications for self defense, and also developed a new form using common tools of his trade for self-defense: eye glasses, rulers, pens, belt, etc.

Soke Hausel poses in kokutsu dachi - photo by Kenrick Davis.

Thumbtack.com rated the Arizona School of Traditional Karate in Mesa and Seiyo Kai International Hombu as having the #1 and #2 Top-Rated Karate Classes in Phoenix. How does one receive such a favorable rating? The answer lies in quality of instruction & appearance of the school.

Students attending the Arizona School of Traditional Karate and the Seiyo Kai Hombu in Mesa are treated to traditional Okinawan décor in the Mesa martial arts center. As one walks into the dojo, the school is similar to what one would see in some training halls in Okinawa. The school also focuses on adults and families. Thus adults learn to defend against one another instead of getting kicked in shins by 5 year olds. In this way, adults can learn basics of karate and much more complex advanced techniques (>150 black belts have trained under Soke Hausel along with hundreds of other students).

Kids are not neglected, but to participate in the Kids’ Karate Class, children must attend family classes with their parents and later be invited to attend the Kids’ Karate class. Parents who have their kids in this class are impressed by the training – the children are actually taught karate and kobudo rather than games, and they are also required to learn respect and Japanese. Unlike many other schools in the valley where adults may be taught by teenagers, nearly all of the classes at the dojo are taught by the Soke. Many self-defense classes and clinics are taught to martial arts students and to the general public by Soke.

Soke is a term meaning world head, president or grandmaster; thus Soke is the highest ranked martial artist in the world in Shorin-Ryu Karate (Seiyo-Kai). He has 8 different black belt ranks and is a certified 10th degree (judan) black belt in Okinawan Shorin-Ryu Karate and Kobudo. As a result, the students (deshi) get access to Soke’s 46 years of experience in martial arts. Furthermore, Soke has certifications in nearly 2 dozen martial arts – so one will not get bored while training at his schools because there is lifetime of martial arts experience to draw from. The over-achiever has been inducted into 15 Halls of Fame for his accomplishments and is a member of dozens of Who’s Who.

Hausel was awarded the title of kyoju (Professor of Martial Arts) due to 40 years of teaching at four Division 1 universities. He was also awarded the 2001 International Instructor of the Year, the 2004 Instructor of the Year and the 2000, 2002-2005 Soke of the Year by several major international martial arts associations. He was awarded the President’s Certificate in 1992, the 1994 Distinguished Speaker and 1998 Distinguished Lecturer awards.

On Wednesday, February 23rd, following a private class and our unique traditional kids karate class, we were visited by a group of girl scouts from Troup 4102 in Mesa who started Self-Defense training. The 2-hour class focused on simple blocking and strikes along with a variety of escapes designed to teach them how to react if attacked by an adult. Next Wednesday, the class continues and the scouts will bring their backpack from school and learn how to use the contents of the backpacks as self-defense weapons.

Our Karate students at the Seiyo Shorin-Ryu Hombu, also known as the Arizona School of Traditional Karate finished a few months in training in the Kuwa (garden Hoe) and several were certified in the use of a hoe. Now these people can not only grow tomatoes in their gardens, they can also use the hoe to sweep your feet out from under you, remove your toes, and much more.

"I'm always looking for ways to help market my Traditional Okinawan Karate and Kobudo training services. Thumbtack is a good way for me to help me show off my expertise in traditional Okinawan Shorin-Ryu Karate, Kobudo, Samurai arts and self-defense. Check out my listing to learn even more about what I do!"

International Shorin-Ryu Karate Association

by Seiyo Kai International

Seiyo Kai International is the governing organization for Seiyo No Shorin-Ryu Karate Kobudo Kai & its practitioners. Our organization accepts members & dojos (schools) from other Shorin-Ryu Karate...

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The University of Wyoming Campus Shorin-Ryu Karate and Kobudo Club sponsored a group of three self-defense clinics for the general public and the University community (staff, faculty, students). The clinics were supported by grants from ASUW and University of Wyoming Housing and Food Services.

The attendees trained in a variety of simple self-defense techniques against a variety of grabs including chokes. Everyone in attendenced appeared to enjoy themselves and also found this to be a great way to build friendships as seen in the following photos. The clinic was taught by Hall of Fame Karate instructor and Grandmaster of Seiyo Shorin-Ryu Karate - Soke Hausel. Soke Hausel has taught a variety of similar clinics to various university groups at the University of Wyoming and Arizona State University including some Air force, Army ROTC, EMT, Martial Arts, Senior, Church and other groups and social clubs over the past 4 decades.

Members of Seiyo Kai International traveled to Laramie to train in Knife Defense at a clinic sponsored by the University of Wyoming Campus Shorin-Ryu Karate Club. The clinic was taught by Hall of Fame Grandmaster Soke Hausel from the Mesa Arizona Hombu. Members learned how to defend and disarm attackers with knives.