Carl Johnson with Jon Beltram at Harmony, 1990

“Mr. Ohshima last visited Kansas City in 1978. This was our big opportunity to favor him with special treatment -a limousine to a fine hotel on the Country Club Plaza, a group dinner at the exclusive Kansas City Club, and contributions to the Shotokan Dojo Building Fund. But, as always, it seemed our best gift was what we prepared during the months and years before his visit: attitudes of honesty and determination about our practice”

–Jim Kaplajka, yodan, from Shotokan Newsletter, July/Aug 1988

“Mind and discipline are the most important aspects of karate, definitely, no doubt, it carries on in everything else you do in your life. You find yourself not settling for less. You do something around the house or straighten up a picture on a wall, some people would leave it crooked, but that’d drive me nuts, even if it was only slightly off It’s got to be straight. It is just that mental discipline which karate teaches that I think goes into your daily life.”

–Donnie Duncan, yodan

“Most people wouldn’t recognize me as the same person I was before I practiced martial arts. I was very introverted, weak in comparison. It makes you strong on so many levels ­physically of course, mentally, your character -it gives you direction in life and it just kind of becomes your life. It’s the things it points to that are implied. The formless all have form -you can only try to understand or taste that by your continual practice. Especially teaching -when I started teaching at Longview, it brought me out of myself I was introverted in the sense that I kind of always stayed inside. Karate let me kind of shine and express myself, or gave me the means to. We’re always like that, but through that vehicle, the practice, the form -without my actually doing anything. I just kind of grew, opened up, got strong on all kinds of levels. But I was only practicing, so everything else was just happening. Practice changes your outlook on life, people you want to see more of, the meaning and depth to everything, I think. That’s reflected in your seniors and Mr. Ohshima, the good kind of teacher you have. That’s a really big thing. You can’t always say all the particulars, but it’s kind of like the budo, the martial way, is just life, life itself; it’s a reflection of it, an expression of it, and there’s no other way at this point for me.”

–David A. Mills, sandan

“How has karate practice affected my life? Karate practice has helped me a lot to feel strong and feel pride in myself And I don’t need to feel to another person like, ‘Oh I’m not so good,’ or something. Just, ‘Oh, I’m very strong and very good!’ And I never feel so disappointed as a result of my karate practice, and I can be proud of myself So, I feel so strong.”

–Shoji Okabe, yodan