Welcome to GCC's Shotokan Karate Club web site
We are a Karate Club at GCC that meets on campus every Friday in room fw-01 at 5:00pm. We would like to invite you to train with us whether or not you have experience in the martial arts. Our instructor is Mr John Clayton (3rd Dan) is affiliated with Arizona Shotokan Karate under Sensei Tom Hyder. Sensei Tom Hyder dojo is a part of Karatenomichi World Federation (KWF) under the leadership Sensei Mikio Yahara.
Our Instructor
John Clayton began to study Shotokan Karate-Do, with Hyder sensei in 1985. In 1998 John passed to the rank of Shodan. John has been able to participate in several international training camps. For several years John had to move back east to help his family. While back east, John began the Greenville South Carolina Shotokan Karate Club. He taught the club for several years. Then in 2009 John returned to Arizona and to his home dojo. After returning John enrolled in the Instructor Training Program. During the 2010 Summer Training John passed to the rank of Nidan. Away from the dojo John is a professional educator. John began his teaching career in 1987. He has taught school at the elementary and middle school levels. John has graduate degrees in both Elementary and Special Education.
Shotokan Karate History
Gichin Funakoshi, known as the founder of modern karate, was a professor at the Okinawan Teacher's College and president of the Okinawan Association of Martial Arts. In 1922, he was invited to lecture and demonstrate the new art of karate at the First National Athletic Exhibitionin Tokyo. The demonstration turned out to be a great success due to the inspiring personality of Master Funakoshi, and he was flooded with requests to teach. He was able to establish the Shotokan in 1936, a great landmark in the history of karate. Funakoshi Sensei was not only a genius in martial arts, but also was known as a literary talent. He signed his work with the pen name, "Shoto." Hence, the school where he taught came to be known as Shoto's school, or Shotokan. He combined the techniques and katas of the two major Okinawan styles to form his own style of karate. As a result, modern day Shotokan includes the powerful techniques of the Shorei school and the lighter, more flexible movements of the Shorin school. When the Japan Karate Association was established in 1949, Gichin Funakoshi was appointed asthe chief instructor due to his advanced skills and leadership capabilities. Although Funakoshi sensei was famous as a great karate master, he always emphasized that the most important benefit from karate training is the development of spiritual values and the perfection of the character of it’s participants. After training and teaching karate for more than 75 years, master Funakoshi died in 1957 at the age of 88.
Summer Schedule
Friday night Club training will be at the dojo starting 5/11/12
5815 W Glendale Ave Glendale, AZ 85301
Training will begin at the usual time of 5:00 pm
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