Our Style

Our style of Karate is called Sho-Kushin Karate, which is a combination of two styles; Shotokan and Kyokushin.   David "Chip" Prather received black belts in both styles, and created the hybrid style "Sho-Kushin."  Both of our instructors received their black belts from  Mr. Prather.

Shotokan:
Shotokan is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868-1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906-1945). The Shotokan style is a simple style that does not apply a wide variety of motions or stances. Shotokan works only a few techniques many, many times. However, the few techniques designed for both self-defense and self-development are to be mastered to such a high degree of precision and mastery that they "truly" become extraordinarily efficient weapons of self defense. Shotokan training is rigorous, requiring a lot of both mental determination and physical exertion as the student is expected to perform using strictly defined basic techniques even under harsh conditions. The style is recognizable by its linear, direct punching, striking, blocking, and kicking techniques from low stances. Above all, Shotokan emphasizes correct posture, correct joint alignment, and formality of basic technique. 

Kyokushin:
· Kyokushin is a style of stand-up, full contact karate, founded in 1964 by Korean-Japanese Masutatsu Oyama. "Kyokushin" is Japanese for "the ultimate truth." It is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline and hard training. This is known as a “Hard Style” karate. We practice the application of intense fighting and practical application that translates into real world scenario defense in life and death situations. In 2015’s Black Belt Magazine, Dr. Jerry Beasley, a world renown martial artist and direct descendent of Bruce Lee’s lineage, stated that Kyokushin Karate was named in the Top 5 Martial Arts that are best for real world self defense. Many other sources have Kyokushin ranked as one of the top martial arts for real world self defense.
· SPECIAL NOTE:  In class, we practice these techniques in a controlled and safe manner. We require safety equipment to be worn during sparring and all techniques are performed with light contact.