2022-10-21

This weekend I travelled back to Illinois - my old stomping grounds - to attend my organization’s fall clinic at my old dojo, the Central Illinois Shotokan Karate Association, in Bloomington, IL. The schedule for Friday night included a bit of training (mostly a preview of the following day’s dan grading) and an announcement from our founding instructors, Carl Hartter and Rick Brewer.

That announcement was the rebranding of the Central States Shotokan as “American Shotokan Karate.” The change makes a lot of sense given the growth and geographic spread of our students over the decades. What started as two small karate clubs in Bloomington and Peoria, Illinois, is now a network of dojos and instructors across the country. Indeed, “Central States” is no longer an accurate description of the organization, but “American Shotokan Karate” fits quite well.

So what is “American Shotokan Karate”? To a large extent, that’s still being worked out, but it’s being founded on the premise that there are student-focused Shotokan dojos out there that can benefit from an inclusive, hands-off network of support from other like-minded instructors. All Shotokan stylists are welcome, without the need to leave any other organizations to which they may belong. It’s an addition to rather than a substitute for any organizational ties you may have. Anyone interested can reach out to me and I’ll forward more information when it becomes available. Suffice it to say that Desert Valley Shotokan will be affiliated.