My name is Adam Carter, thank you for visiting my Blog. A Welshman, originally from the UK, I moved to the US, Chicago suburbs in 2016 after being invited to teach at a dojo in Palos Hills, Illinois.
My enthusiasm lies in the practice and study of Okinawan traditional karate, and to help people discover a deeper understanding of their martial art, regardless of style or experience. I have been studying, training and practicing karate for over 50 years, and teaching since 1985, currently ranked 8th Dan (Hachidan) Black Belt and Hanshi, teaching in the Okinawan karate tradition.
In 1974, I embarked on my karate journey with the study of Wado Ryu, marking my initial exposure to the martial arts, under Tatsuo Suzuki while still at school in the UK. In late 1981 I decided to try something different, in addition to Wadō-ryū I cross-trained in Shinjin-Ryu Okinawa-te under Katsumi Tamaki sensei, hoping to improve my knowledge and skills further.
But after a move in location in February 1984, which necessitated a change in dojo, I joined a karate school located at a local sports centre, which at the time taught Sankukai karate under Yoshinao Nanbu sensei.
Political unrest caused my instructor to change to Shito-Ryu, training under Kenji Kusano Soke and Ryozo Tsukada of Kusano-ha Shito-Ryu Kenpo Karate-do. During the 1980’s and early 1990’s I competed in many karate tournaments throughout the UK and Europe, in kata and kumite winning and placing highly in many of these events, as part a dojo team and individually. Prior to the beginning of my karate journey I did a small amount of boxing as a youth.
I am the founder and chief instructor of the Shuri Dojo passionate about the classical fighting arts, but preferring functionality and pragmatism over aesthetics, inspired by the likes of Ronnie Colwell, Patrick McCarthy, Iain Abernethy, Vince Morris and many more practical karate teachers (no direct lineage is implied).
TRAINING
I have spent many years practicing, and training with a wide range of traditional karate instructors, attending dojo sessions and seminars across the UK, Europe, the United States, Okinawa, and the Japanese mainland. Those experiences exposed me to different teaching approaches, interpretations, and priorities, and shaped how I understand karate.
Graded in Japan in 2003 by Mabuni Kenzo, Soke of Shito-Ryu International Karate-Do Kai, representing the organization as the UK senior instructor.
In 2023, I was awarded the grade of 8th dan and the title of Hanshi by Katsumi Tamaki, 10th dan, of Shinjin-Ryu Okinawa-Te. This recognition was a deeply humbling experience and one I regard not as an endpoint, but as a reminder of responsibility to continue studying, questioning, and practicing.
DEDICATION
In 1999 I founded the International Shuriway Karate & Kobudo Society as a reference-based resource website dedicated to karate and kobudo.
Over the years, that work brought me into contact with practitioners who shared a similar concern: that the study of karate and kobudo can too easily become shaped by politics, hierarchy, fees, and organizational identity rather than by the arts themselves.
My interest has never been in building another structure for its own sake. The purpose has always been study, preservation, and careful examination.
Today, that work continues through Shuhaku-den, a study of Ryukyu karate and kobudo with an emphasis on functional understanding, historical context, and the principles that connect kata, application, and practice.
TEACHING
Sharing my experience and passing on the knowledge gained through more than five decades of training to my students at the Shuri Dojo in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. I approach my teaching as a responsibility, not a role, with an emphasis on clarity, context, and honest examination of what karate is being asked to do.
Alongside teaching, I maintain daily personal training at the dojo, viewing study and self-development as ongoing obligations rather than completed achievements.
I am a retired EMT from the UK Ambulance Service and, earlier in my career, worked with both the military and the police – experiences that continue to inform how I think about stress, decision-making, and the realities surrounding personal violence.
I hope you find your visit to my Blog informative. If you require further info please contact me.
Thank you once again for visiting.
Adam
Related work: Applied Methods Notebook – a reference site examining karate, training, and context.
New writing now appears on Applied Methods (Substack) first.