Welcome to the Dojo

I started training martial arts in 1987 when I was stationed in Okinawa. A fellow Marine at my base was offering introductory courses in Karate so I decided to give it a try. I took a liking to it right from the start. My trainer at the time was studying Kenbu-Ryu under Sensei Maehara who had his Dojo right outside our base in the little village of Henoko. Although I didn't fully realize it at the time, this was an unbelievable stroke of luck for me. After my first kyu testing at Sensei Maehara's Dojo, he asked me if I would like to train under his tutelage.  To this day I have fond memories of the training there and still carry in my heart many of the things he imparted to me. I only regret that my time there wasn't longer. Upon moving to Germany I switched from the traditional Okinawan Karate to Shotokan, since this is the main style practiced there. This is the style I still train today. Once again I was lucky in the fact that around the area were I lived (Mannheim) there are some of the best trainers in all of Germany and I had the honor of training under a few of them. I have also cross-trained in other styles and disciplines such as Wado-Ryu, Viet Vo Dao, Arnis, and Iai-Do. No experience however has been as wonderful as the one I had in Okinawa. Because of this, I would like to use this opportunity to thank Sensei Brock for starting me on the path and Sensei Maehara for giving me a glimpse of what Karate-Do is all about. Domo Arrigato Gozaimasu!

I have designed these pages to give a general introduction to Karate. They should give you an overall idea of Karate's history, its philosophical underpinnings, as well as what the training actually encompasses. If you do not train in a martial art, maybe these pages will start you on a path that you to will always be thankful for having taken. If you are already a student of the martial arts I hope these pages will still be informative for you.