HELLO & WELCOME
Adam Carter 8th dan Hanshi (2019)
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 classical 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 Wado-ryu I cross-trained in Shinjin-Ryu Okinawa-te under Tamaki Katsumi 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 Nanbu Yoshinao sensei.
Political unrest caused my instructor to change to Shito-Ryu, training under Kusano Kenji sensei and Tsukada Ryozo of Kusano-ha Shito-Ryu 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, established in the UK in 1986, 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 practising, studying, 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 as a living practice rather than a fixed system.
Earlier in my training, I was graded in Japan by Mabuni Kenzo, the son of Mabuni Kenwa, the founder of Shito-Ryu Karate, and later represented the organisation in the UK as a senior instructor. That period reinforced the importance of integrity, clarity, and consistency in both teaching and conduct.
In 2023, I was awarded the grade of 8th dan and the shogo (title) of Hanshi by Katsumi Tamaki, 10th dan, of Shinjin-Ryu Okinawa-Te, during a visit to the UK. 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 practising with honesty.
DEDICATION
The International Shuriway Karate & Kobudo Society was founded in 1999 as a reference-based resource website dedicated to karate and kobudo. Over time, friendships formed through this work with practitioners who expressed increasing dissatisfaction with political structures, rising membership fees, and restrictive practices within their existing associations.
In response, a small, study-focused group was formed, grounded in the traditional values of Okinawa and Japan rather than hierarchy or governance.
This became the foundation for the Shuri Dojo International Kyokai, established in 2025.
The Kyokai exists to support the study of classical Ryukyu karate and kobudo, with an emphasis on historical context, functional understanding, and careful examination of the arts as they were originally intended. It is not a governing body, nor a rank-awarding organisation.
STUDENTS
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, is my ikigai – my reason for being. Teaching is approached 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.
Related work: Applied Methods – a reference site examining karate, training, and context.
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