About Us

The JKA Karate Club of GWU in Washington, DC offers lessons in traditional shotokan karate for all levels of student, including total beginners, at District House and the University Student Center on the main campus of George Washington University. You do not need to be athletic or have any prior martial arts experience. You also do not need to be interested in competing in tournaments to join our club. We are a student organization with the George Washington University and we welcome all GW students, especially those with no prior martial arts experience.

About JKA

JKA (the Japan Karate Association) was founded in 1955 with Gichin Funakoshi as its chief instructor; Sensei Funakoshi is considered the father of modern karate, after having brought the art from Okinawa to Japan. JKA shotokan karate is distinguished from other martial arts by the linearity and strength of its punches, blocks, and kicks. Precise techniques, accompanied by mastery and focus of energy flows and a deep knowledge of the body's vital points, make this karate style a comprehensive system for self-defense and combat.

JKA Shotokan Karate is much more than just a way to defend and fight - it is a holistic system in which the training itself has far reaching effects on the trainee. It is an ideal way to become and stay fit, as it combines intense aerobic and anaerobic exercises. It is a way to gain self-discipline and the confidence to surmount everyday obstacles, whether tangible or not. Karate training encourages and helps in the exploration and understanding of both the physical and mental self.

Our Chief Instructor

Our Chief Instructor is Sensei Kenichi Haramoto, founder of the JKA of California, which is part of the Japan Karate Association (JKA). Sensei Haramoto is a 7th Dan (seventh degree black belt) and a certified JKA instructor. Sensei Haramoto established the JKA of California, headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1970s. He served as the Chief Instructor of the JKA of Stanford and taught karate at Stanford University and at other venues in the Bay Area for over thirty years. Several of Sensei Haramoto's former students continue to teach his way at three dojos in the Bay Area: JKA of USF (University of San Francisco) (Mark Morodomi), JKA of California at San Francisco (UCSF Mission Bay) (Mervyn Dixon), JKA of Stanford ( Takao Ishigaki, Bryan Choo and Hacene Bouadi) and JKA of Oracle (Raffi Manoukian). Additionally, Sempai Takao Ishigaki, who trained at the same dojo as Sensei Haramoto in Japan, teaches at the Stanford University dojo.

About This Site

The JKA Karate Club of GWU is a sister organization of JKA of Stanford. Haramoto Sensei is chief instructor for both organizations. Much of the content and organization of this site is borrowed directly from JKA of Stanford with permission from former JKA of Stanford Webmaster, George Candea. Many thanks to our fellow karateka at Stanford.

 

Articles

GW Undergraduate Researcher Finds Balance with Laboratory Work and Karate

Gunma bear driven away by karate punches after picking fight with wrong person

GW Martial Arts Club Teaches Self Defense, Self Awareness

The Kick of Karate

GW Karate club kicks it up a notch