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Sabaki List Member Profiles

This page will feature profiles on members of the Sabaki Talk Discussion List.
Members are listed in alphabetical order. New members to be added in due course.

Ann Wain - England
My name is Ann Wain, I'm 24 and recently married. I was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio but my husband is English so I moved over here to the UK after the wedding. I have always been more of the
academic/intellectual type rather than the sporty type (read: BIG NERD!!) which unfortunately means I am now in rather bad shape. I could tell you a thing or two about art history though!

Due to complications with my visa I am currently unemployed, a situation I hope to remedy within the next month (anyone need a museum curator or French-English translator??) or so.

Except for my weight and having to wear glasses I am reasonably healthy, no big disabilities or problems with diabetes or asthma (I can't possibly have spelled that right) or anything so that's not a consideration for starting martial arts.

I'm basically a child at heart, terribly sensitive and hopelessly idealistic (I'm an INFP if you follow Keirsey test results.) Finally, I sheepishly admit that I am something of a feminist and a big fan of Mulan, which was part of the inspiration to take up martial arts for me. Ok you can all stop laughing now... ;)

Anyway, nice to meet you all, and have a lovely day!

Tim Watkins - USA
I live in Tallahassee, Florida, USA, where I teach musicology, music history, and ethnomusicology at the Florida State University. Because there is no one else in town who trains in my style, I train primarily by myself at home, though I do get together with a couple of other friends from other (related) styles occasionally to train. I began my karate training in what is now called Oyama karate, but eventually migrated to Wado-ryu. A final stylistic jump brought me to Shorin-ryu (kobayahshi), the style I now call home. My teacher is Doug Perry, Kyoshi, hachidan, of Hendersonville, North Carolina. His teacher is Shugoro Nakazato, Hanshi, judan, who trained under Chosin Chibana and is head of the Shorin-ryu Shorinkan organization in Okinawa.

Since I train mostly by myself, I do a lot of kata and I spend a lot of time with my makiwara, which has proved to be a faithful companion.

Since I already know a few folks on this list, I'm looking forward to a high level of interesting and informative discussions.

Just joined the Sabaki list so I better introduce myself.

Steve Will - USA
I study both Shorin ryu karate and Yamani-Chinen ryu kobudo in the United States. I dabbled in both judo and aikido in college. I started my study of karate in Washin ryu as a form of exercise in the winter. I changed to Shorin ryu when I relocated because of work. One of the first things I noticed when I changed was that there was a lot more movement and parry in Shorin ryu instead of the harder blocks of Washin ryu. While both were effective, I have come to appreciate the movement.

Steve Williams - USA
I started MA training in 1959 when my dad (who was in law enforcement) studied with Prof. Wally Jay's Jujitsu group. In '64 I began studying Goju/Gosoku Ryu, and Kenpo in '65. In '66 I left Goju and concentrated on Kenpo. I cross-trained for awhile, in '67, in Choy Lay Fut Kung Fu; but, Kenpo remained my main focus. I opened my 1st studio in '72. I've since cross-trained in Hung Gar & Wing Chun Gung Fu, and Shito Ryu Karate. My Te-Sao Ken-Po method was recognized by the late Prof. John Chow-Hoon (brother of the late Grandmaster Prof. William Kwai Sun Chow, of Kosho Ryu & Kara Ho Kempo).

My method's base is Kenpo-Jujitsu with compatible principles from all the other systems I've studied. I teach only 1 (medium-length) form -- the Te-Sao Kata-To (hand form). I use only 3 belt ranks (with no degrees): green, brown, & black. Each belt represents 1 of 3 cycles of kata bunkai/oyo/ura. When a student has acquired all the method's material, he/she receives a double-wide black belt. Everything is based on center & central lines, 180 degree pivot, & the strategic 8 directions. The highest level of performance involves "balance-points slapping", which results in off-balance/takedown in 1 move by slapping balance-points rather than striking pressure-points.

Brian Wright - USA
I have been training in Karate since I was 6 years old. I cannot remember a time not training. My first
days of training were with Isshin-Ryu but my dojo switched to Shotokan after 7 years of training. In
1989 I started training Muay Thai to get a feel for heavy contact and to learn to use knees and low kicks.
Then in 1990 I started training in Judo and Ju-Jitsu - after being pinned by a Judo player. Besides
Shotokan I started training under Masayuki Hisataka in Koshiki Karate-do in 1993.

Because of the intense politics I left my former instructor and resigned from the World Koshiki Karate-
do Federation to concentrate on my own students. I have since formed Koshinkai Karate-do. I am the
tournament director for the KD-1, US Open Knockdown Karate Championships.

Some past achievements:
Shodan Isshin-ryu ; Nidan Shotokan; Sandan Koshiki Karate-do; Sandan Koshinkai Karate-do; Nidan
Nanzen Ryu Ju-Jitsu
1994 US Team - Kaloudis Peace Cup, Venezuela
1995 US Team - Greek Open, Greece
1996 US Team - European Open Koshiki Karate-do Championships, Holland
US Open Koshiki Karate Championships, Baltimore, USA -Bronze medal, kata, Silver medal, Fighting
1997 US Team - World Koshiki Karate-do Championships, Australia -Silver medal ––80 kilos fighting
1998 US Team - All Japan Koshiki Karate-do Championships, Japan
1999 Sabaki Challenge - World Open Full-contact Karate Championships, Denver
USANKF-National Championships, West Virginia, USA - Bronze medal team fighting
2000 Great Northwest Sabaki Challenge - US Open Full Contact Karate
Championships, Seattle
Multi time State, Regional, National, and International Karate Champion
Official Muay Thai Record of 4 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss
I have been teaching Karate, Muay Thai, and Ju-Jitsu since 1998 in my own school - Eastern Sun
Academy of Martial Arts.

David Wong - USA
Ashihara Karate Shodan under Makoto Yoshida. Also trained in many other martial arts, boxed
competitively as an amateur. Once competed in an international competition on a golden gloves team that
fought against the Calgary Canada team. Bank manager and continuing education in pursuit of a Masters
degree in business.

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