Sensei Ben Otake's extensive experience in the martial arts stems back to the early 1950's, beginning with Judo. He was one of the late Ed Parker's first students and responsible for originating the American Kempo creed. He then moved on to study with Sensei Tak Kubota of the International Karate Association, earning the rank of 6th Dan - some 20 plus years ago. Otake Sensei was sent to Puerto Rico in 1967 to 1972 to teach the Gosoku Ryu system of the IKA. As an instructor for the IKA, he trained Pan American champion Manuel Gonzales and world class champion Tony Tulleners who represented the U.S on several world tournaments(to name just a couple).
Today Sensei Otake teaches martial arts the way he feels it was taught originally - for self preservation rather than trophies. In order to better achieve this goal, he began a new association with co-founder Sensei John Sells; they named it Shindokai. The focus of this association is to concentrate on those movements and techniques that are the most efficient and effective. As Otake Sensei says, "A sword that doesn't cut is just a symbol. A martial art must be grounded in reality to be effective." We welcome Sensei and his teachings to our dojo on Saturdays.
