Shintani Wado Kai Karate Organization Instructs US Army Special Forces in Stand Up, Shindo and Jiu Jitsu

Members of The Shintani Wado Kai Karate Organization had the distinct honor of training the US Army Special forces on Saturday, October 1, 2011 in our style of karate, Shindo, and Jiu Jitsu by the private invitation of First Sergeant Mike Hammond.

Senseis Neil Prime from St. Catharines, Peter Avino and Mark Flaherty from Buffalo NY, Toby Wolf, Bill Sorvelli and Dan Moore from Pennsylvania traveled to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, one of the largest military bases in the United States.

We met Sergeant First Class, Mark Rodgers the night before to show us the training facilities. It was hard to tell who was more excited about the opportunity, our instructors or the Military personnel. The dojo they had was state of the art. Walls and floors completely padded, workout gear and pads that would completely cover the body. Just about anything a workout body would want

Many of the people that attended the training were combat personnel that were back in the US between tours of service. These individuals are profiled to be true alphas, strong willed individuals. A special note - once Sensei Neil Introduced himself as a citizen of Canada, the crowd let out a unanimous eh!

Much of the day was filled with two classes running at once. The morning schedule consisted of Sensei Peter Avino dong two hours of tai sebaki, combos and introducing Shindo, Sensei Dan Moore doing Gun Control and takeaways, Sensei Peter doing an hour of grappling and Bill Sorvelli training Shindo, (which was adapted to their rifle).

The afternoon was Sensei Toby Wolf instructing in strikes/block/shifting, Mark Flaherty showing ground control, and stand up combinations, Dan Moore on Rifle and more gun control, and Neil Prime training in how to stay up against the ground and of course… teaching them a new world of kicks. We wrapped up with combos from Sensei Mark and two person stretching/massage with Sensei Peter.

With all of the various techniques, different instructors and even different subject matter everything flowed together quite well. Each class related in some way because the core was Wado Ryu. The thing that was prevalent throughout the day in all of the techniques was the use of hips and body and the explosive timing. This aspect of our training through Sensei Shintani is why our training was more applicable and valuable to these military elite.

The Special Forces personnel truly lived up to their legend. These individuals are in extraordinary physical condition and competitive drive. Their pain level was extremely high; their desire to learn at any cost was truly a new experience as an instructor.

At the end of the day our group was honored with a certificate of appreciation hats, mugs, and something that took us completely by surprise. Each of us was given a commemorative coin that represents the squadron. This token of appreciation carries with it a high honor as only the Sergeant Major can hand this out. This person is the leader of the Special Forces squadron. He is the alpha above all alphas who has survived and lead many field combat situations.

On a personal note, for us it was an honor to be able to do this event. We worked with hard working, respectful people of outstanding character. Everyone welcomed us with open arms and was eager to challenge us to be better.

It was like going to a Shintani Tournament.

I‘ll leave you with the motto of their organization: "De Oppresso liber" - "To liberate the Oppressed"