Welcome to the official website for the "Bronx Traditional Shotokan Karate-Do". ATTENTION: Our dojo has moved! Effective March 1st 2010, we are re-locating from our original location, and joining our sister dojo in Mt Vernon: www.mt-vernonshotokankarate.com Please click on the "Location / Contact Us" button on the left for more information. WHAT IS KARATE-DO? Karate is a martial art used to develop an individual’s character through training. Karate-Do means “empty handed way’” and is accomplished with spiritual and physical discipline. Deciding who is the winner is not the predominate objective of Karate. The goal of Karate is to enable the karate-ka (Karate student) to surmount any obstacle: concrete or abstract. The emphasis is on an individual’s integrity, achieved by the balance of body, mind and soul. “The ultimate aim of the art of karate lies not in the victory or defeat, but in the perfection of the characters of its participants.” – Gichin Funakoshi Sensei Gichin Funakoshi is world famous as the father of modern Karate. Born in Okinawa in 1868, he studied Karate-Do from childhood. Sensei Funakoshi organized the first public presentation of Karate and was chosen to demonstrate Karate at the First National Athletic Exhibition in Tokyo in 1922. Sensei Funakoshi overcame many prejudices and finally gained formal recognition of Karate as a Japanese martial art in 1941. He placed no emphasis on competition, record breaking or championships; rather, he stressed individual self-perfection. He believed in the common decency and respect that one human being owed another. He was the master of masters. In 1957 he died at the age of 89, after humbly making the largest contribution to the art of Karate-Do.
SENSEI TERRY NICHIPORUK Sensei Terry Nichiporuk is Chief Instructor for Bronx Traditional Shotokan Karate, as well as Mt Vernon Shotokan Karate Dojo. She has studied Karate for over 30 years. Sensei Nichporuk’s credentials are as follows: She has won over 140 Championship competitions U.S. wide; is a graduate of L.I. University Karate Instructor Program; is a certified instructor, referee, and examiner both Internationally and by Japan, as well as a United States Karate Federation Key Referee. Sensei Nichiporuk is under the direction of Shihan Fujishima and a good standing member with several national, as well as international organizations. Sensei Nichiporuk does not believe in retaining her students with contracts; rather with her commitment to the students in the true teachings of Traditional Karate.   Bronx Traditional Shotokan Karate-Do, is a proud member of Shotokan Karate-Do International Federation - USA	SHOTOKAN KARATE-DO INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION (www.skifworld.com) Sensei Hirokazu Kanazawa founded the SKIF in 1977. With over two million active members, representing 99 countries, SKIF is one of the world’s largest and finest Karate organizations. SKIF continues to grow worldwide, fostering the highest ideals and standards of Shotokan Karate-Do. Our traditional values are passed down from Sensei to student as we grow into the 21st century. Sensei Hirokazu Kanazawa is one of the last direct students of Master Funakoshi, founder of Shotokan Karate-Do. He achieved the All-Japan Karate Championship for three consecutive years and began as a Master Instructor in 1960. Since that time, Kancho Kanazawa has earned worldwide respect as one of the highest level and most popular Karate practitioners. He continues to travel the world, bringing with him values, and the highest-level Karate knowledge to be found. Sensei Kanazawa is truly one of the few who have earned the title of Shihan (Master). His rank is 10th Dan. Shihan Hiroyasu Fujishima studied Karate at Takushoku University, Japan’s leading collegiate Karate training center. In addition to being a professor at California State University at Northridge (CSUN), where he teaches Karate as part of the university curriculum, he is the Chief Instructor in the US for SKIF. His Karate qualifications include: International recognition as a certified instructor, examiner and referee; technical advisor to the motion picture industry and a self-defense instructor for the Los Angeles Police Department. His rank is 8th Dan, the highest classified black belt in the Americas within the Shotokan Karate-Do International Federation.
SENSEI PAUL ZEGARRA Sensei Zegarra is a Chief instructor at Bronx Traditional Shotokan Karate-Do , and Mt Vernon Traditional Shotokan Karate-Do. He has studied karate for more than 30 years.Sensei Zegarra’s training was founded with the Japanese Karate Association of Peru. He moved to the United States, settled in the Bronx, and has been training and working with Sensei Nichiporuk for more than a decade. Sensei Zegarra’s credentials are as follows: 2nd Dan certification with JKA of Peru, 3rd Dan certification with SKIF Japan, internationally certified and licensed by SKIF Japan as an instructor and examiner, and a graduate of Long Island University’s Karate Instructor Program.