Wisconsin Budokai Karate, Muay Thai & BJJ

History

U.S. Budokai Karate was founded in March of 1987 by William J. Reid. Prior to that Mr. Reid was the chief instructor of Albany Seido Karate, one of the largest branches of World Seido Karate. The World Seido Karate Organization, based in New York City, was founded in 1976 by Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura. Kaicho Nakamura, a ninth degree black belt, trained under Mas Oyama in Japan, and in 1969 he brought Kyokushinkai Karate to America. He taught many students in Kyokushinkai until he formed the World Seido Karate Organization. Over the past 30 years Mr. Reid has trained thousands of students in the Capital District, many of his students have gone on to ivy league colleges, become educators, and successful business leaders themselves.

In May of 2005 William Reid was honored with the rank of Eighth Degree Black Belt and the title Hanshi.

Philosophy

At US Budokai we believe martial arts education is a vehicle for self-discovery and positive change. Martial arts training helps teach respect, self-discipline and responsibility, as well as condition the body and teach self-defense. Budokai Karate helps to develop character, spirit, and strong positive attitudes. Using as much traditional Japanese theory as possible, we strive to build a strong mind, body and spirit, which leads to self-esteem.
Goals

People begin training for a wide variety of reasons. One of our goals is to bring people together from all different walks of life, help teach them to respect each other, themselves and to care for their fellow man. However, the overriding goal of our School is to help each person become a better-rounded person. We believe martial arts training can improve the world one person at a time.

What is Expected

Budokai Karate is a traditionally taught Japanese martial art and is founded on the principles of harmony, obedience, and respect. All students should realize this traditional approach and appreciate the fact that this type of training may be totally different from what you have experienced before. The class environment is very conducive to learning for those who are sincere in their efforts. Concentration and discipline are two key ingredients in the learning process, and these are constantly stressed throughout instruction. We encourage all prospective students to take advantage of 1 week free training to allow mutual appraisal on both parts to determine if Budokai Karate is suited for you. It also helps if you bring a friend; this makes it much easier to stick with it.

We encourage our students to strive to achieve their personal best both physically and mentally!

If it was easy… Everybody would do it!

Training
Training consists of three main elements: technique, forms, and sparring. These are sometimes referred to as the three "K's" after the Japanese words for them: kihon (basics), kata (forms), and kumite (sparring).
Kata
The basic goal of kata is to preserve and transmit proven techniques and to practice self-defense. By practicing in a repetitive manner the learner develops the ability to execute those techniques and movements in a natural, reflex-like manner. Systematic practice does not mean permanently rigid. The goal is to internalize the movements and techniques of a kata so they can be executed and adapted under different circumstances, without thought or hesitation. A novice’s actions will look uneven and difficult, while a master’s appear simple and smooth.
Sparring (kumite)
Sparring, also called kumite, is used to train the application of the various techniques within a fighting situation. Sparring is an important part of training. Hand and elbow strikes to the head or neck are prohibited. However, kicks to the head, knee strikes, punches to the upper body, and kicks to the inner and outer leg are permitted.
Basics
Consists of drilling: Stances, strikes, kicks, blocks, throws and other techniques online to perfect their application. This also entails conditioning the body to be able to perform karate specific techniques and sparring without injury.

Commitment
Time
Monday 6:30-8:00 Thursday 6:30-8:00 Friday 5:30-7:00 We also have informal training (open mat) for an hour after class every day. It is expected for you to make it 2 times a week to stay with what the class is doing. The movements that you learn are not common in your everyday life so it is important that you put in some time on your own going over moves outside of class time. If you don’t get the repetitions in you will never be able to advance. We stress basics since they are the building blocks for everything else.
Physical & Mental
You will be pushed physically and mentally, but will never be asked to do something that your instructor has not done themselves. It will be hard and not everyone will be able to do everything, all we ask is that you know your limits and try to push past them. The reward is great.
Financial
$95 per month for adults ($30 for children) and $25 for uniform