A Martial Art Legend in Gilbert, Arizona

Soke posses while teaching tekko (Okinawan Horse shoes) 
during Shorin-Ryu Karate and Kobudo classes at the
Arizona Hombu dojo in Mesa, Arizona.

Grandmaster of Shorin-Ryu Karate & Kobudo taught karate, kobudo, samurai arts, self-defense, jujutsu, kempojutsu, sojutsu, self-defense for women, etc., for more than 30 years at the University of Wyoming. After retiring, he moved to the East Valley of Phoenix and relocated to Gilbert in 2007, and opened the Hombu Dojo. Hombu - the world headquarters of a Seiyo no Shorin-Ryu Karate Kobudo Kai.

Soke Hausel, nominated and selected for the Albert Nelson
Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award.

While at the University of Wyoming, he was certified as Professor of Budo (martial arts) by Juko Kai International, and taught martial arts classes and clinics in four colleges including Club Sports, Extended Studies, Physical Education and Kinesiology. Over the years, he was awarded nationally and internationally for his teaching recognized by the University President and the WyomingGovernor for outstanding contributions to martial arts and the education of a few thousand of students at the University of Wyoming. He was also a stand out in the geological sciences. He was known as a workaholic and a person who loved to help others.

Over the years, he was selected  recognized for lifelong dedication to martial arts, geology and writing and was selected for the Albert Nelson Marquis Who’s Who Lifetime Achievement Award and inducted into in Who’s Who in Martial Arts Legends in Washington DC, and was honored as an outstanding alumni of Who's Who in Martial Arts Hall of Fame.

Students of all ages - from 10 to 100, learn karate and kobudo. Children train with a parent or grandparent.

Hausel trained a few hundred black belts around the world as well as hundreds of lower ranked students. Most are now productive members of society as engineers, scientists, physicians, accountants, priests, soldiers, mechanics, university faculty and staff, university students, school teachers, lawyers, nurses, pilots, etc. And many of have noted that their training in martial arts provided an advantage in their respective careers.

According to various researchers; training in traditional martial arts helps improve physical and mental conditioning in part due to better health, memory, concentration, and social skills through training in the traditional Okinawa Shorin-Ryu martial arts.

Hausel dreams that one day he will meet a benefactor as devoted as he, so a permanent martial arts school can be constructed to offer many different aspects of the traditional Okinawan and Japanese martial arts to the public in the Phoenix valley, and train people to respect others and be ethical, something that is not practiced by politicians.

In one recent (2018) US study reported by Dr. Ashleigh Johnstone from Bangor University, children between the ages of 8 and 11 were tasked with traditional martial arts training that focused on respecting others and defending themselves as part of an anti-bullying program. The children were taught to maintain a level of self-control in heated situations.

Researchers found martial arts training reduced the level of aggressive behavior in boys, and the boys were more likely to step in and help someone who was being bullied. Significant changes were not found in the girls’ behavior, possibly because they showed lower levels of physical aggression before the training than the boys did.

Interestingly, this anti-aggression effect is not limited to young children. A different research project found reduced physical and verbal aggression, as well as hostility, in adolescents who practiced martial arts.

Breaking Rocks, Restraining Prisoners, Defending Gardens - all in a day of the life of a martial arts master

Students at the University of Wyoming in Laramie line up to break rocks

Grandmaster (soke) Hausel from Gilbert, Arizona returned from teaching a martial arts clinic at the East Canyon Resort in the Oquirrh Mountains of Utah to the east of Salt Lake City in August, 2015. The 2015 Utah gassuku (outdoor training clinic for Okinawan martial arts) included a variety of martial arts such as tameshiwari, kamajutsu, hanbojutsu, hojojutsu and karate bunkai used in self-defense against an individual armed with a hand gun as well as a rifle.

During tameshiwari training, Soke taught the Utah students a little about geology and how to break rocks with their bare hands. Rocks can be challenging as they are not like boards and seldom provide a grain to break along. A couple of years ago, a taekwondo group broke boards at a demo at the Islands clubhouse in Gilbert. Honestly, it was pathetic as these boards offered no resistance and we had no idea one could purchase boards that thin. we've seen taekwondo demos in the past that were very entertaining - this one was not. Personally, we enjoy watching people break bricks or ice and putting some effort into breaking.

Hojojutsu training at the 2015 Utah gassuku

At the Utah Clinic, the group was quite impressed they could break rocks as none of them had tried before. Soke also gave them a little lecture on rock types and what kind of rocks are a little more user friendly and why they should avoid granite, gabbro, basalt and rhyolite (rocks common in the Phoenix valley).

Hojojutsu is a traditional samurai martial art that uses cord or rope to restrain prisoners. The hojojutsu is always a lot of fun for students who have never seen this art - actually its fun as there is nothing more satisfying than tying up your partner with a rope and watching them squirm. They usually look completely helpless.

Over the past few years, Soke Hausel has been teaching members of the Utah Shorin-Kai as well as members of the Seiyo Shorin-Ryu Hombu the art of hanbojutsu. At the Utah clinic, soke reviewed strikes, throws and chokes with the hanbo (a 3-foot stick) and added a couple of new techniques. The hanbo is a great weapon as it can be carried anywhere - much like a cane.

Daughter and father train with hanbo (half-bo) at the Utah Clinic. 

Kamajutsu is a traditional Okinawan martial art that uses a pair of sickles for self defense. These are great weapons and we spent a few hours at the clinic practicing kata bunkai (practical applications hidden in kata).  Then it was time to train in self-defense against an armed attacker with knife, handgun and rifle. These techniques are simple, but must be practiced over and over again in case one ends up in a situation where an aggressor has a gun.

Kamajutsu training at the Arizona Hombu on Baseline Road, Arizona

Utah students train in hand gun defense at the Arizona Hombu in Mesa in the Spring of 2015