Starting in May 2012: New Location, New Classes

The Japan Karate Association of San Francisco will be moving to a new location starting in May. We will be having classes twice a week at the Genesis DanceSport Academy, 404 Clement Street, 2nd floor, between 5th and 6th Avenues in San Francisco. The fee schedule will change, too: $100 per month, or $50 per month for beginners. Cash or check only.

All ranks above beginner are encouraged to train in all classes, until further notice.

Class schedule:

Thursday:
7:30 to 8:30 PM: Intermediate
8:30 to 9:30 PM: Advanced

Saturday:
11:00 AM to 12:00 Noon: Beginners
12:00 Noon to 1:00 PM: Combination

Please note that this website is updated infrequently. Consult our main website or Facebook page:
http://jkasanfrancisco.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/JKA-of-San-Francisco/274168072627736

The JKA of San Francisco is a traditional Japanese Shotokan karate-do dojo, affiliated with the Japan Karate Association World Federation and JKA Shotokan Karate-do International, led by Mr. Masataka Mori, 9th dan, New York. (There are other dojo affiliated with or descended from the JKA in San Francisco and the Bay Area; the JKA of San Francisco makes no claim to superior position within the JKA system.)

Chief Instructor T.J. Stiles, 5th dan, holds the following licenses from JKA headquarters in Japan: Class B Instructor, Class B Tournament Judge, Class C Rank Examiner. He is also a graduate of the JKA Shotokan Karate-do International's intermediate and advanced instructor-training courses, taught by Mori Sensei. It exists to teach karate-do according to the technical standards of the Japan Karate Association, and within its institutional parameters, and also to further the spirit of traditional karate-do taught by Mori Sensei.

Notice the New Name

First, a reminder of a reminder: The first class will be on Sunday, September 29, at 1:00 PM at the Richmond District YMCA in San Francisco. Location: 360 18th Avenue, San Francisco. Near the 38 and 38L bus stops, direct from downtown, and with free street parking and a parking lot across the street. Fee: $15. Arrive early to change and be ready by 1:00 PM. For people with karate experience above the beginner level.

Second, note that we are now using the name JKA of San Francisco, in place of the original name, JKA of the Golden Gate.  It is my understanding that JKA of San Francisco is not being used by any other organization, and I was specifically asked to use it by Mori Sensei, chief instructor of JKA SKDI and a standing director of the JKA World Federation (our parent organizations). If I am mistaken, please let me know.

As I've mentioned, there are other Japan Karate Association-affiliated or related clubs in San Francisco and the Bay Area. We claim to superior standing. As a student of Mori Sensei for more than 25 years, I wish to establish a dojo directly under his supervision, and I wish to teach again, without disrupting an established dojo by entering as an outsider. I don't wish to poach anyone's students, but classes are open to all who wish to train with us. 

New Date for First Class

Apologies for the change of schedule, but the first class will be held Sunday, January 29, at 1:00 PM (until 2:30 PM). Same location: Richmond District YMCA in San Francisco, Studio 1. Same fee: $15.

Karate for Grown-Ups: First Class

The JKA of the Golden Gate will be holding its very first class. This is an initial session, and will be along the lines of a clinic or seminar. In February, we'll be starting a regular class schedule.

Time: 1:30 to 3:00 PM, Saturday, January 21

Location: Richmond District YMCA in San Francisco, Studio 1

360 18th Avenue, between Geary and Clement (near the 38L and 38 bus line)

Parking available across the street

Fee: $15

Eligibility: For this initial session, any Shotokan or similar karate experience above the beginner level. Must be 12 years old or older.

Clothing and Facilities: Bring a traditional white karate gi (uniform), or sweats or other work-out clothes. You may use the locker rooms to change and shower.

 Instructor T.J. Stiles, 5th Dan, teaching at the JKA of New York in 2006

Starting in January

Initial classes of the JKA of the Golden Gate will begin in January. Previously announced plans for a December start-up proved to be too ambitious, given the holidays. Details will be posted here shortly. Insurance, a critical issue for any martial-arts instructor, has been settled, and the search is narrowing for a space that is appropriate, affordable, and convenient for students in the East Bay as well as in San Francisco and the Peninsula.

One of the reasons why December proved difficult is that I was away in New York for a week. Most of the work involved my writiting career, but I also attended the December instructor training and dan exam held by Mori Sensei, chief instructor of JKA Shotokan Karate-Do International. Recently JKA headquarters in Tokyo elevated Mori Sensei to 9th dan, and we had a party to celebrate.

From Left: Oleg (Brooklyn), Doug Luft (Albany), Bob Esquerre (New York, retired), Tony DeCaprio (New York), T.J. Stiles (New York 1986-2006, now San Francisco), Jacob Levitt (New York), Mori Sensei, Mano Dallas (Stony Brook), Alex (New York, retired). Photo by Ed Nau; all rights reserved.

This photo was taken of some of the longest-surviving of Mori Sensei's students. Bob Esquerre was training in New York even before Mori Sensei took over the dojo in 1968; he was a mentor to me when I showed up as a raw shodan in 1986. By mentor, I mean not only technically, but in terms of etiquette and expectations; he taught me a great deal about the spirit of Mori Sensei's dojo.

Karate-do is a serious thing. I think it's unfortunate that many today think of it as merely an activity for children. It is difficult, exacting, and dangerous if not practiced with discipline, respect, and close supervision. It is a life path, as captured in the word "do," or "way." This is the essence of what I have learned under Mori Sensei, above and beyond technical instruction, and it's why I wish to keep teaching. 

Organizing the JKA of the Golden Gate

Since moving to San Francisco from New York five years ago, it has been my goal to establish a dojo affiliated with the Japan Karate Association and JKA Shotokan Karate-Do International, the New York-based regional organization led by Sensei Masataka Mori, 9th Dan, my teacher for the past twenty-five years. We're now finally moving ahead.

In December, I intend to hold a few seminars for established karate-ka who study JKA-style Shotokan karate-do. In January, we hope to establish regular classes. We're currently arranging for space and settling other practical matters. Once confirmed, I'll be posting the class schedule here.

T.J. Stiles training for his 5th Dan examination under Mori Sensei's eye, July 2010

I will be instructing. My name is T.J. Stiles. I have a 5th Dan from the Japan Karate Association, and am licensed by the JKA as a class B instructor, class C rank examiner, and class B tournament judge. I have practiced karate-do with the JKA since 1980, for more than thirty-one years, and have been a student of Mori Sensei since 1986. I am a graduate of both the B (intermediate) and A (advanced) two-year instructor training courses taught by Mori Sensei.  I organized the JKA at Columbia University in 1986, and taught there until 2006, when I moved to California. For many years I was an active and successful tournament competitor, taught an after-school karate program in a private elementary school in Manhattan, and served for many years as an assistant instructor in Mori Sensei's dojo in New York.


The Japan Karate Association (homepage here) is the oldest Japanese karate organization, and the only one recognized by the Japanese Ministry of Education. Though there have been many splinter organizations formed over the years, it remains the flagship school of traditional Shotokan karate-do, the most widely practiced form of traditional Japanese karate.

Class at JKA Shotokan Karate-Do International's 2010 Summer Training Camp

In organizing the JKA of the Golden Gate, I have no desire to poach students from other Shotokan dojos. I do not assert any superior standing to any other JKA-affiliated dojos in the Bay Area, let alone Northern California. I have taught for many years, and wish to again. I believe in the high value of practicing karate-do. I also am acting out of a sense of deep loyalty to my teacher, Mori Sensei. In Mori Sensei's dojo, I learned the importance of the connection between teacher and student, as well as something of the spirit of traditional Japanese martial arts. I hope to impart not only technical skill, but as much of that spirit as I've managed to absorb.

from left: Adel Ismail, 5th Dan, JKA England; Mori Sensei, 9th Dan; T.J. Stiles, 5th Dan

Foreword to "Fundamentals of Karate-Do"

I was honored to be asked to write a brief foreword to a book by my teacher, Mr. Masataka Mori, Fundamentals of Karate-Do. In it, I tried to express the feeling about his instruction that I believe all his students share. Here it is.

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FOREWORD

“Not Just Moving Your Arms and Legs”

T.J. Stiles

In 1988, I attended a dinner held in honor of the twentieth anniversary of Mr. Masataka Mori’s teaching in New York. I was not one of Mori Sensei’s senior students—far from it—but I was invited because I managed the club at Columbia University, which I had restarted on my arrival in New York two years earlier. Over the course of the evening, one instructor after another told stories about training in the New York dojo. Many of the tales were hilarious, and Mori Sensei joined in the laughter. Finally he stood up to bring the dinner to a close. “Tonight,” he said, “we are drinking and laughing.” Then his face grew stern. “But tomorrow, no more friendship!” All the instructors around the table shouted, “Osu!”

For Mori Sensei, karate-do is a serious endeavor—and endeavor is always the crucial word. Generations of students have learned that, when they line up at the start of his class, they must be prepared to practice with earnestness. He teaches with a rare intensity, as he drives his students to give more than they thought they could give, to make a greater effort than they imagined they could make.

T.J. Stiles with Mori Sensei in New York, May 2006

Perhaps the most frightening thing Mori Sensei ever says to a student is not any criticism, but an offer to stop criticizing. To paraphrase his words, he says: If you want, I won’t “push” you. It’s frightening because it suggests that the student might not want to rise above his or her limitations, to reach inside and find the mental strength to endure a difficult, demanding class. In twenty years in Mori Sensei’s dojo, not once did I hear a student accept the offer. We come to be pushed.

In the dojo, “mental strength” is one of Mori Sensei’s favorite expressions. He teaches that the most important growth is on the inside. As he often says, “Karate-do is not just moving your arms and legs.” He teaches it as a discipline that prepares us for life. Practiced with the right spirit, it imparts courage, perseverance, dignity, seriousness, and strength of purpose, as well as that self-control and respect for others that Mori Sensei often expresses with the word “manners.”

Karate-do instills confidence, as we overcome our personal barriers, but Mori Sensei also stresses that pride destroys both inner qualities and proper technique. He often corrects students by saying, “Don’t swagger.” To swagger is to walk in a muscular, top-heavy way that reflects cockiness; it’s a physical boastfulness. The word captures both the type of movement and the mental outlook that must be avoided in order to excel technically and to grasp the meaning of karate-do. The higher one rises, Mori Sensei teaches his instructors, the more humility and dedication one must have.

That spirit is reflected in Mori Sensei’s emphasis on fundamentals. Kihon—basic technique—is the bedrock of karate-do. As he has taught his students for decades, no matter how many tournaments one wins, no matter who high one rises in rank, one must come into the dojo every day with the purpose of improving one’s basics. One is never done practicing the simplest techniques—especially the simplest techniques.

Mori Sensei has been a leading karate-ka since the early years of the Japan Karate Association, teaching everywhere from Japan’s military academy to Latin America and London, not to mention more than forty years in New York. Always his spirit and lessons have been the same. This book reflects his approach, stressing the necessity of dedication to basic technique and, for instructors, to teaching beginners.

Of course, a book can only provide general directions. It is up to each karate-ka to keep alive the seriousness of purpose, the mental strength, that Mori Sensei teaches.