About Trad Am Karate
The name "Trad Am Karate" or the initials "TAK" are used as abbreviations for our system and style, Traditional American Karate. The school name TRAD AM KARATE personalizes this schools as there are other TAK schools owned and operated by officially authorized TAK instructors.
Traditional American Karate provides a good system of martial arts suitable for the American way of life and philosophy. TAK emphasizes the development of attitude as well as knowledge and skill.
In TAK, the objective is not to teach a certain defense for a certain attack, but rather to help students develop 'intuition' in which they are free from preconceived actions. To achieve this, Traditional American Karate is organized into formal kata, situational self-defense techniques, sparring techniques, and many hand, foot and body change techniques. We also include Oriental weaponry.
Traditional American Karate, along with it's sister schools, has been practiced for more than 30 years and has a strong following in southern California with over 1000 practitioners.
History
Excerpts from American Karate - Practical innovations for Modern Uses by John Bishop. Published July 1995 in Masters & Styles Magazine.
"Nowhere else in the world so many cultures peacefully co-exist as in America. Because of this cultural melting pot, Americans are exposed to hundreds of fighting systems from various cultures. This availability combined with American ingenuity and innovation, has led to the development of systems that can now be considered purely American martial arts.
Traditional American Karate (TAK) is a system that was developed in California in 1982 through the joint efforts of Floyd Burk, Bob Pavelsky, Dan Ramirez, Jim Sheuer, and Milio Salgado. Together these men combined their expertise in the arts of shorin-ryu karate, shotokan karate and kung-fu to develop a system that the first named the 'All-American System of Karate.'
Through the years, the founders modified the system by incorporating techniques from several styles, techniques that they felt would enhance the effectiveness of their existing system. By 1987, Floyd Burk was the only remaining active founder. He renamed the system 'Traditional American Karate.'
The new name signified the traditional concept of Japanese and Okinawan karate-do, combined with the American concept of an eclectic blend of techniques from various martial arts. Also used was the term karate, which has become generic for many self-defense systems with Asian roots.
In addition to shorin-ryu, shotokan, and kung-fu, TAK incorporates techniques from judo, ju-jitsu, aikido, kenpo, and kickboxing. TAK is like most traditional systems in that students practice basics, sparring, and kata. The aspect that makes it American is its open philosophy of accepting any technique that is useful. Included in the system are 11 empty-hand katas and 13 weapons katas.
In Conclusion, Americans have always examined things to see if they could improve them or make them better fir the needs of Americans. Even something as traditionally Asian as karate has not been exempt from this American eclecticism.
Techniques such as front snap kicks and reverse punches can't be reinvented, but the way they are organized into self-defense combinations and the philosophy that accompanies their teachings can sometimes be adapted to better fit the American people.
This may sound sacrilegious, until one realizes that Gichin Funakoshi modified Okinawan karate-jutsu into karate-do so that it would be more acceptable to the Japanese people.
The name "Trad Am Karate" or the initials "TAK" are used as abbreviations for our system and style, Traditional American Karate. The school name TRAD AM KARATE personalizes this schools as there are other TAK schools owned and operated by officially authorized TAK instructors.
Traditional American Karate provides a good system of martial arts suitable for the American way of life and philosophy. TAK emphasizes the development of attitude as well as knowledge and skill.
In TAK, the objective is not to teach a certain defense for a certain attack, but rather to help students develop 'intuition' in which they are free from preconceived actions. To achieve this, Traditional American Karate is organized into formal kata, situational self-defense techniques, sparring techniques, and many hand, foot and body change techniques. We also include Oriental weaponry.
Traditional American Karate, along with it's sister schools, has been practiced for more than 30 years and has a strong following in southern California with over 1000 practitioners.
History
Excerpts from American Karate - Practical innovations for Modern Uses by John Bishop. Published July 1995 in Masters & Styles Magazine.
"Nowhere else in the world so many cultures peacefully co-exist as in America. Because of this cultural melting pot, Americans are exposed to hundreds of fighting systems from various cultures. This availability combined with American ingenuity and innovation, has led to the development of systems that can now be considered purely American martial arts.
Traditional American Karate (TAK) is a system that was developed in California in 1982 through the joint efforts of Floyd Burk, Bob Pavelsky, Dan Ramirez, Jim Sheuer, and Milio Salgado. Together these men combined their expertise in the arts of shorin-ryu karate, shotokan karate and kung-fu to develop a system that the first named the 'All-American System of Karate.'
Through the years, the founders modified the system by incorporating techniques from several styles, techniques that they felt would enhance the effectiveness of their existing system. By 1987, Floyd Burk was the only remaining active founder. He renamed the system 'Traditional American Karate.'
The new name signified the traditional concept of Japanese and Okinawan karate-do, combined with the American concept of an eclectic blend of techniques from various martial arts. Also used was the term karate, which has become generic for many self-defense systems with Asian roots.
In addition to shorin-ryu, shotokan, and kung-fu, TAK incorporates techniques from judo, ju-jitsu, aikido, kenpo, and kickboxing. TAK is like most traditional systems in that students practice basics, sparring, and kata. The aspect that makes it American is its open philosophy of accepting any technique that is useful. Included in the system are 11 empty-hand katas and 13 weapons katas.
In Conclusion, Americans have always examined things to see if they could improve them or make them better fir the needs of Americans. Even something as traditionally Asian as karate has not been exempt from this American eclecticism.
Techniques such as front snap kicks and reverse punches can't be reinvented, but the way they are organized into self-defense combinations and the philosophy that accompanies their teachings can sometimes be adapted to better fit the American people.
This may sound sacrilegious, until one realizes that Gichin Funakoshi modified Okinawan karate-jutsu into karate-do so that it would be more acceptable to the Japanese people.
Santee Dojo
Trad Am Karate
8955 Carlton Hills Blvd.
Santee, CA 92071
GTM Shopping Center
(619) 596-7838
Trad Am Karate
8955 Carlton Hills Blvd.
Santee, CA 92071
GTM Shopping Center
(619) 596-7838