Okinawan Karate & Kobudo at the University of Wyoming

Two general categories of karate evolved from Okinawa after it was introduced to mainland Japan in 1922: (1) Sport and (2) Traditional Karate. Most are familiar with sport - fighting for trophies in an arena and winning at all costs. But then there is the more peaceful side of karate - the original Okinawan karate developed as a way for self-improvement, designed as a weapon only to be used when there is no other option. We've all seen this concept before - Cobra Kai karate vs. Miyagi-Ryu in the movie classic the 'Karate Kid'. It is ironic, that sport karate developed from traditional Shorin-Ryu Karate which was introduced to Japan by Gichin Funakoshi who stated "the purpose of karate lies not in victory or defeat, but in the perfection of its participants". 

Karate had been part of the University of Wyoming curriculum for years. In the early 1970s, Okinawa Te became part of the University environment - then disappeared. Then, Professor Hausel stepped onto the University of Wyoming grounds in 1977, when hired as a research geologist. Over the next 3 decades, he changed our understanding of Wyoming's geology. Mapping more than 1,000 square kilometers of complex Precambrian geology in old mining districts and mapping the largest known kimberlite and lamproite districts in the US, his work brought Wyoming to the forefront of economic geology and hundreds of mining companies started to visit Wyoming to search for mineral deposits based on the work of Dr. David Love of the US Geological Survey and on the work by Professor Hausel.

Inducted into more than a dozen Halls-of-Fame worldwide,
Hausel was inducted into 2 halls of fame one year while at the
 University of Wyoming.

When Hausel focused on gemstones in the Cowboy State, he discovered all kinds of gemstones previously ignored or unrecognized by other geologists including iolite, chromian diopside, pyrope garnet, spessartine garnet, almandine garnet, opal, ruby, sapphire, helidor, peridot and many more. He found so many gemstone deposits that it was proposed that Wyoming be renamed the 'Gemstone State' and wrote about gemstones in many professional papers and several books. He found dozens of gold, diamond and colored gemstone deposits while at the Wyoming Geological Survey at the University of Wyoming. A few of the major mineral deposits he found included gold in the Rattlesnake Hills, the largest iolite gemstones known on earth. As a member of a 7-man geology team that included two other Wyomingites, the group found one of the largest gold deposits in history, at Donlin Creek, Alaska. 

Professor Hausel taught many groups self-defense
over the years including Air Force ROTC cadets,
religious groups, sororities, scouts, professional
associates, women's groups, other martial arts
associations and clubs (photo courtesy of the
University of Wyoming Air Force ROTC). 

In 1977, when he joined the Wyoming Geological Survey, he was a certified sensei in karate and had previously taught karate at the University of Utah and University of New Mexico. To follow his interest of martial arts while researching Precambrian geology, mineral deposits and mining districts, he taught karate, kobudo, samurai arts, self-defense and jujutsu at the University of Wyoming in the Department of Continuing Education, Department of Physical Education, Department of Kinesiology, and University Club Sports. It wasn't long until the university began receiving applications from some students to attend college because of their academic excellence and also because of the martial arts program.

Hausel continued his own martial arts education and became an active member of Juko Kai International and a personal student of the great Dai-Soke Sacharnoski. He continued to advance in martial arts until promoted to 9th dan and certified as the Soke (grandmaster) of Seiyo no Shorin-Ryu Karate Kobudo Kai in 1999. He affiliated with Zen Kokusai Soke Budo Bugei Renmei. In 2004, he was promoted to 10th dan in Shorin-Ryu Karate and Kobudo.

Soke Hausel taught martial arts to hundreds of students, faculty, and staff. Over several years, he operated the largest, active club in the university Club Sports system, often teaching martial arts to a few hundred students each year. The club was considered the top club in the university because of student attendance and extra circular activities by the students. This was a very impressive record for the only member of club sports that did not compete. Being a traditional martial art, martial arts were taught for self-improvement rather than competition. The other benefit of the martial arts club was that it also provided a vehicle for Soke Hausel to teach his own daughter and son. Both Jessica and Eric trained with the club over the years making this not only a karate family, but also a family affair for Professor Hausel. Many students who took part in the group, were promoted to black belt prior to finishing their college degrees, and now are scattered across the globe. Some became professors, teachers, engineers, scientists, soldiers, law enforcement, clergy, and more.

Soke Hausel teaching jujutsu at UW.
Photo courtesy of UW Photo Service.

Soke Hausel retired from Wyoming and moved to Gilbert Arizona in 2006, where he continues to teach martial arts, write, and search for mineral deposits.

Soke Hausel at the Arizona Hombu in Mesa, Arizona in 2017

Kyoju (Professor) Hausel with Sensei
Donnette Gillespie at the University
basketball area presenting half-time
entertainment (Photo courtesy of UW
photo service).

Soke Hausel answering questions about the origins of
traditional martial arts at a international students karate
demonstration (UW photo). 

Soke Hausel with Sensei Gillespie at
another of many demonstrations
presented at the Mens and Women's
basketball games (courtesy of UW
photo service)

Soke Hausel performs rare white
crane kata that came from China at
Chinese New Year celebration at UW.

 

A legacy of martial arts at the University of Wyoming

The University of Wyoming Campus Shorin-Ryu Karate & Kobudo Club is one of the longest active university-affiliated martial arts clubs in North America. The karate club was established in 1977 by Sensei Hausel & students were introduced to traditional karate, kobudo, self-defense, samurai arts, jujutsu & body hardening (shitai kori) through the karate club activities. Sensei Hausel, assisted by members of the club also provide training for University of Wyoming students in Introduction to Karate, Introduction to Jujutsu, Introduction to Kobudo, Self-Defense, and Women's Self-Defense classes in the Department of Physical Education, Department of Kinesiology & School of Extended Studies. The karate club has been affiliated with two martial arts associations: Juko Kai International and Seiyo Kai International.

For years, the club sponsored free self-defense clinics for University students, staff, faculty and members of the Laramie Community. The club activities included water training in the UW pool, and numerous clinics and seminars on advanced martial arts. Members of the club traveled to martial arts clinics in Casper and Saratoga Wyoming, Murray Utah, Kentucky, Maine, Dallas, Florida Missouri and North Carolina. Due to Hausel's connections in the martial arts, he also brought two world-famous martial artists to the University of Wyoming to teach special clinics - Dai Soke Sacharnoski, 12th dan and O Sensei Tadashi Yamashita, 9th dan.

In 1999, Sensei Hausel reached one of the highest levels in martial arts when he was promoted to grandmaster of Shorin-Ryu karate, which brought prestige to the university karate club.



Grandmaster Hausel uses his expertise in geology and martial arts to teach University of Wyoming students how to break rocks without a rock hammer.

Many students and faculty trained under Soke Hausel at the UW Karate Club and several dozen ended up with degrees in their chosen fields as well as yudansha (black belt) certifications at the University. This could never have happened except for the fact that Hausel had been a Soke (Grandmaster) and one of the highest ranked martial artists in the world. There were many honor students who graduated from UW who high-lighted their time and training at the UW karate club in commencement speeches and provided highlights in the acknowledgements in their thesis and dissertations. Many students chose UW over other universities because of the martial arts program. There were even some students who claimed that the martial arts training was what got them through the university.  One student, who owned and operated a taekwondo school, attended a self-defense clinic by Soke Hausel. Following the clinic, he closed his school and moved to Laramie to train at the UW club. It is hard to know how many people participated in the UW club and Department Martial Arts Classes, but after 35+ years, one estimate suggests the number was 3,000 to 6,000 students. Not bad for a university that had a student body of less than 10,000. In particular, the club attracted large numbers of students each fall, and the 7 am Introduction to Karate classes were so popular, that a waiting list was established each year that it was taught by Sensei Hausel. The cut off was 110 students, making it one of the larger classes on campus and the largest in the PE department.

The Karate students were a favorite and many Mens and Womens basketball half-times and also provided exciting demonstrations at Chinese New Year celebrations and International Week celebrations.

Karate Club members provide entertainment for International Week at the University of Wyoming. Here the members demonstrate Shorin-Ryu Karate along with Nunchaku.

The Laramie Boomerang

The University of Wyoming Branding Iron noted accomplishments
of the UW Karate club and its head instructor, Soke Hausel.

Soke Hausel, inducted into the American Karate Association Hall of Fame
posed at University of Wyoming - an internationally recognized
martial artist and geologist

The University of Wyoming Faculty news notes Soke
Hausel's induction into the World
Martial Arts Hall of Fame in Malaysia.

Letter from the Governor

The University of Wyoming President wrote
to Soke Hausel noting his inductions for martial arts,
science, and education.

University of Wyoming's Martial Arts Legacy migrates to Arizona

Soke Hausel at Grizzly Creek where he
discovered a world-class gemstone deposit in 2004. 

In 1977, Sensei Hausel was hired by the Geological Survey of Wyoming on the University of Wyoming Campus in Laramie to search for base metals, precious metals, gemstones, radioactive minerals and industrial minerals along with developing publications and maps to provide information to the public, state and mining industry on these deposits. He was also charged with researching both Precambrian geology and Igneous Petrology, both which had been neglected up till 1977.

Teaching jujutsu at UW with assistance of 
Sensei Jason Gies.

As a polymath, this was a perfect job for the geoscientist: over the years, he more than fulfilled these obligations finding hundreds of mineral anomalies, major mineral deposits and even some world-class mineral deposits - both gold and gemstones and finding new mining districts. Never in the history of the Geological Survey had one person accomplished so much. 

In addition to finding mineral deposits, he published nearly 1,000 documents including books, magazine articles, professional papers, geological maps and abstracts, mapped more than 1,000 square kilometers of complex Precambrian geological terrain, and mapped kimberlite and lamproite fields, investigated mineral deposits associated with porphyry gold-copper deposits, mapped and investigated gold deposits associated with alkaline volcanics, discovered major gold deposits in Wyoming and Alaska, and presented nearly 500 talks around the country about the geology of Wyoming. He was presented many awards and inducted into two Halls-of-Fame for his work in geological sciences and public education.

At the same time, Sensei Hausel taught martial arts at the University of Wyoming for 30 years as part of University Clubs, Club Sports, Department of Physical Education, Department of Kinesiology and University of Wyoming Extended Studies. Five thousand or more students, staff, faculty and members of Wyoming community attended these martial arts classes, karate clinics and self-defense short courses. These include Karate, Jujutsu, Kobudo, Self-Defense and Samurai Arts. He also taught martial arts clinics to the public on self-defense, rape prevention, jujutsu, karate, and kobudo (martial arts weapons).

Another Hall-of-Fame
induction for
grandmaster Hausel.

Special martial arts classes and clinics were also taught to Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Nebraska, and Montana martial artists and communities and included hanbo, hojojutsu, tonfa, nunchaku, kama, sai, manrikigusari, naginata, yari, shitai kori, bo, kuwa, eiku, tanto, kibo, katana, nitanbo, kobuton, and others. Most of the clinics were taught at the University of Wyoming, but others were taught in Afton, Alpine, Cheyenne, Casper, Gillette, Riverton and Saratoga. To further educate people in martial arts history and benefits, he spoke to many groups about traditional martial arts. 

And like the geological sciences, this fit well with a polymath. Sensei Hausel was inducted into Halls-of-Fame and several Who's Who for his teaching martial arts, influence on students, and developing a hybrid traditional martial art. From 1998 to 2012, he had been inducted into 14 Halls-of-Fame recognizing his accomplishments in the martial arts and became one of the better martial arts instructors in the world. Few other karate instructors had accomplished as much. 

In 1999, he was awarded the rank of kudan (9th dan) in Shorin-Ryu Karate and Kobudo and certified as Sokeshodai of Seiyo No Shorin-Ryu Karate Renmei. In 2004, Soke Hausel was awarded the highest rank in Shorin-Ryu Karate (Judan). As a 10th dan Soke, he continued to develop his martial arts. 

In 2006, Soke Hausel ran into a dilemma. He had to chose between his love of his profession at the University and continue to work at the Geological Survey, or to take early retirement because of ethical conflict of working for a corrupt director. Three people died at the Geological Survey and nearly half of the staff resigned, transferred or retired. Even though it was his original intent to stay at the Wyoming Geological Survey until they carried him out in a box, he retired and moved to Arizona in protest of treatment of employees.

Since leaving Wyoming, Soke Hausel continued his geology career as a consultant for several mining companies, VP of US Exploration for and Australian diamond company, offered several book contracts, and has even been contacted by a half-dozen companies about doing reality shows related to gemstones and diamonds. In the past, Soke Hausel found several diamond deposits and identified nearly 300 anomalies that likely include additional diamond deposits. He also found dozens of gemstone deposits and hundreds of gold anomalies.

Along with geological consulting, Hausel continues to teach martial arts in Arizona. He also operates an international martial arts association (Seiyo No Shorin-Ryu Karate Kobudo Kai) with martial artists in more than a dozen countries and teaches several times a week at the Arizona School of Traditional Karate in Mesa and Gilbert, Arizona. 

Soke Hausel's classes were always filled at the University of Wyoming. His Beginning Karate PE Classes filled to 110 students with waiting lists.

So, the martial arts legacy continues in Arizona, where he operates a martial arts hombu (hombu is a world martial arts center or karate school) and continues teaching adults and families about traditional martial arts, but misses the university environment.

In the past he taught not only at the University of Wyoming, but also at the University of New Mexico, University of Utah and Arizona State University (ASU). ASU could have been a good fit, but the "bureaucracy was impressive" and after a year, Soke decided to leave ASU. Hopefully, one day, ASU, Grand Canyon University, Mesa Community College or a similar school will recognize they need a traditional martial arts program and a top martial arts instructor. Martial arts are not just about breaking rocks, they are mostly about improving a person mentally and physically. If all members of our society were receiving traditional martial arts training in the public schools and universities as they do in Japan, violence related to drug drivers, drugs, etc. would almost go away.

Since leaving Wyoming, the Campus Shorin-Ryu Karate & Kobudo Club invited Grandmaster Hausel back to teach some martial art and self-defense clinics. The club has also experienced a group of different instructors and faculty advisors starting with Shihan Froidevoix (5th dan), Sensei Martin (1st dan), Shihan Larson (5th dan) and Sensei Nicole Maxwell (2nd dan). Faculty advisors included Dr. Florence Teule followed by Professor Mark Bittner (both black belts). 

Soke Hausel left a legacy at UW that included 2,000 to 3,000 students who participated in the club's activities. This program was one of the top martial arts educational programs in North America for many years.

30th Anniversary Clinic at Corbett Gym at the University of Wyoming. Soke Hausel kneeling (center). 



UW students learn self-defense at Soke Hausel's clinics

Self-defense classes for women, students, faculty, ROTC, sororities, etc
were always very popular with attendees filling the University of Wyoming
gymnasiums.

Shorin-Ryu Karate & Kobudo Clinic at University of Wyoming

Preparations for the annual Seiyo No Shorin-Ryu Karate & Kobudo clinic were scheduled along with a free Public Self-Defense clinic sponsored by ASUW, University Housing, UWCampus Shorin-Ryu Karate and Kobudo Club and UW Club Sports at the University of Wyoming. In past years, UW invited Hall-of-Fame Grandmaster Hausel to teach clinics to karate enthusiasts. Some UW alumni traveled from around Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Utah and Arizona to attend this clinic.

UW Campus Shorin-Ryu Karate Club about 1999. Shown in the front center
wearing the traditional red belt of a grandmaster, is Soke Hausel, 10th dan. 

The Friday evening clinic for the general public and university faculty and staff was the high-light of the anniversary celebration. This anniversary was special, as it celebrated the 30th anniversary of the martial arts group.

UW Campus Shorin-Ryu Karate and Kobudo Club around 2000, with Soke Hausel kneeling in front with traditional red belt of a grandmaster of Shorin-Ryu Karate. Many of the students graduated with bachelors, masters and doctors degrees at the University and the membership also included some faculty members.

Grandmaster Hausel traveled from Phoenix Arizona to teach the clinic in Laramie. 
 

1996 University of Wyoming Kijutsu clinic. World famous grandmaster Soke Sacharnoski sits in
front center. This clinic for UW martial artists and JKI members around the world, was taught at
Corbet Gym - one of many special clinics brought to UW by UW Shorin-Ryu Karate, and UW Club
Sports.

2003 Yamashita Shorin-Ryu Karate Clinic. World famous Okinawa martial artist, movie star and 
stunt man, O'Sensei Tadashi Yamashita sits in front, 8th from photo left. Another special clinic
brought to UW by UW Shorin-Ryu Karate and UW Club Sports.

SEIYO SHORIN RYU KARATE ANNIVERSARY

Where did the time go? 

Soke-Dai Eric Hausel and Soke Hausel

In 2010, Soke found himself in Phoenix's East Valley. People around here call this area Mesa and Gilbert. In 2006, he was living in the remote village of Laramie, Wyoming, not quite the North Pole, but cold enough in the winter that its climate is often compared to Fairbanks, Alaska and Yellowknife, Canada. If you ever experienced -50 degrees Fahrenheit, you will understand: the grease in your truck gets close to freezing making it difficult to turn a steering wheel, while tires freeze with the flat surface that had been in contact with the road all night, and the oil in the crankcase doesn't want to wake up and complains if you try to turn the engine over, and then there's the problem of turning the engine over. Sometimes you give up and ski to work - bad idea.

Soke Hausel teaching jujutsu in PE
classes at the UW with Jason Gies.

With the wind blowing at non-stop 30 to 50 mph with gusts up to 80 mph (at nearby Arlington, they recorded gusts of more than 120 mph in the winter) (other places call this a hurricane, Wyoming calls it another day), it is almost impossible to catch a tail wind. So don't ski to work, or ride a bicycle unless you want to work against hurricane-force winds in both directions (never could catch a tail wind in Wyoming).

Then there is the problem of frostbite, where windchill reaches fingers through the best of gloves - it makes you wonder if the Apollo Spacesuits would keep you warm in Wyoming winters. Still, it is a wonderful place.

Soke took early retirement from the Geological Survey at the University of Wyoming for ethical reasons. He could not work for a completely incompetent director and went to work for DiamonEx Ltd (an Aussie Diamond Company), consulted for other mining companies and packed up and moved to the other extreme on our planet: Phoenix. But on our way to Phoenix, Soke thought about buying a building to house the new Hombu dojo where he could introduce people to traditions of Okinawa martial arts.

A rare day in Wyoming (right) - no boulders are blowing by. Photo by Sharon Hausel taken of the Red Mask mine
west of Laramie. Below, typical day in Gilbert as the sun sets the lake on fire.

In the Phoenix Valley, temperatures are high enough that Soke Hausel periodically checks his Wyoming truck (which has no air conditioning - didn't need one in Wyoming) to see if it has melted into a puddle of red metal, rubber, and plastic. It is so hot in Phoenix, that he was under the impression that it got up to 123 degrees Fahrenheit in the early Spring of 2006. However, his wife thinks he was delusional (heat does that to the brain). It only got to 119 degrees (maybe a little lower, but it was hot)!

But really, it does get upwards to 125 degrees in the summer. Hot enough to fry eggs and feet on the pavement. The only heat Soke Hausel reports that he ever experienced this intense was in the outback of Australia while searching for diamonds near the Fitzroy River.

Photo by Hausel (1996) in the Australian Outback.

Bill Bryson wrote in his book on the Australian outback entitled, "In Sunburned Country" that the highest temperatures recorded on earth were in Australia's Outback: 145 degrees Fahrenheit, enough to melt Kangaroo. So after Soke Hausel arrived in the East Valley, he started teaching karate at ASU, prior to opening the Hombu dojo in Mesa.

In 2008, Soke went back to Siberia - err, Laramie. The University of Wyoming Campus Shorin-Ryu Karate and Kobudo Club was celebrating its 30th anniversary. It had out-lasted some departments on campus such as the Department of Physical Education, Department of Kinesiology, Nursing, MMRRI and many others. But the UW karate club and other classes taught by Soke Hausel  attracted many students to UW.

The club was established in 1977-1978, and through the years, we put a few thousand students through this program from all over the world. While students were working on BS, MS, and PhD degrees, many graduated with honors and took home certifications for black belt or mudansha (lower level color belt). Few other universities in North America provided such an opportunity. A student graduating in geology, for instance, had the added benefit of going to work for industry as a geologist and earning a certificate in karate that could potentially be used as an added profession - they could open their own dojo and earn added income, or just teach part time at the local gym. And if nothing else, if they forgot a rock hammer on the way to the field, no problem, we also taught all of our students how to break rocks with their hands!

I know of at least one case where a student in geology graduated with a MS and decided that karate was more lucrative. He still operates a dojo in Albuquerque. The University of Wyoming club includes many faculty, staff and members of the Laramie Community. We even had a couple of priests and missionaries, and are proud to say our organization has more PhDs, scientists, engineers, etc per capita than any other martial arts association in the world! If we can't beat you in a fight, we surely can build a bridge or road much faster than any other martial arts organization.

Over the years, many of our members indicated they had picked the University of Wyoming over other universities simply because of the martial arts program that included training in karate, kobudo, self-defense, jujutsu and other samurai arts and our international associations made our organization impeccable - our primary associations include Juko Kai International, Zen Kokusai Soke Budo Bugei Renmei and Seiyo Kai.

But the UW club was not the only anniversary to be celebrated. In 1964, Soke began training in Kyokushinkai karate at the Black Eagle Federation dojo in Salt Lake City, Utah. Thus, in addition to the University of Wyoming's Karate Club anniversary, 2009 is also Soke's 45th anniversary in martial arts. It's hard to believe he has been  kicking for that long.

In 1969, he began teaching karate at the University of Utah Shotokan Club a form of Shorin-Ryu. This is also his 40th anniversary teaching martial arts. In 1999, he was appointed the Sokeshodai of Seiyo No Shorin-Ryu Karate Kobudo Kai – Thus 2009 is also his 10th anniversary as Soke (Grandmaster) of Shorin-Ryu Seiyo-Kai Karate. And of course, 1999, Soke Sacharnoski and the Zen Kokusai Soke Budo Bugei Remnei certified Seiyo No Shorin-Ryu Karate Kobudo Kai as a new form of Shorin-Ryu. So this style has been officially in existence for 10 years. There are probably other anniversaries he hasn't thought of.

Over the years Soke taught at the University of New Mexico, Arizona State University, University of Utah, University of Wyoming, Gold's Gym, KourtHouse, Methodist Church and elsewhere. He really enjoyed teaching at universities because of the type of students, but all universities are filled with bureaucrats that would make any czars of the Obama Administration look competent - they promise you everything and give you nothing. Our martial arts association now has students scattered all over the world who are geologists, artists, writers, astronomers, biologists, zoologists, law enforcement agents, linguists, civil engineers, electrical engineers, petroleum engineers, mechanical engineers, teachers, professors, physicists, mathematicians, business owners and more.

So, here we are in the East Valley sweating profusely and training at the Arizona School of Traditional Karate. Soke tried teaching at ASU, but they seemed to be more interested in improving their bureaucratic skills. Thus, in 2008, we decided to open a Hombu training center in Mesa at 60 W. Baseline. We made this Arizona dojo look as traditional as possible and we invite everyone to stop by to talk about martial arts. We look forward to meeting you!

At the dojo, we teach traditional karate and kobudo for adults. No person and in particular, no woman in the Phoenix valley should be without self-defense training – it is dangerous here. And with so many illegal drug runners running around from Mexico, one must be prepared for anything. You can find out more about us by visiting our dojo in Mesa and learning about our international martial arts association. We practice traditional karate as it has been taught for the past few hundred years in Okinawa, we strive to be the best people we can be, learn some Japanese, focus on traditions of the dojo and Budo, and strive to meet interesting people and have a great time sharing our art.

The Arizona training center is open to the public - we focus on Adults and Families. Come learn the traditions of Okinawan Karate & Kobudo. Much of the class is conducted in both Japanese and English to help students learn Japanese. We also teach meditation, philosophy and martial arts history interjected in karate classes.