Traditional Shorin-Ryu Karate
Legacy of the American Karate Federation (AKF)
Gary Tiktin, 1941 – 2015
First Teacher, Hanshi – 10th Dan
The AKF legacy is legendary - Gary Tiktin, John Newman, Walt Sapronov
Traditional Shorin-Ryu Karate
Gary Tiktin, 1941 – 2015
First Teacher, Hanshi – 10th Dan
The AKF legacy is legendary - Gary Tiktin, John Newman, Walt Sapronov
Authorization and brief legacy history of the American Karate Federation
Principles of the American Karate Federation established by Sensei Tiktin and Fundamentals of Shorin-Ryu Karate by Sensei Newman.
Details of the operations of the American Karate Federation, videos, AKF Photo Gallery (click photo for caption) and email contact to the organization.
President - Ted Bechtel - Kudan - 9th Dan
Senior Advisor - John Newman - Hanshi - 10th Dan
American Karate Federation founder and first President, Gary Tiktin, was born in Cleveland, Ohio on July 2, 1941. During his teen years in Columbus, he learned judo from Don Speakman before spending two years training as a paratrooper in the US Army. At age nineteen he had obtained letters of introduction from Jim Wax and Don Speakman then flew to Okinawa to learn Shorin-Ryu Karate (a linear, hard-hitting traditional karate style) from Shoshin Nagamine in the capital city of Naha. Mornings began for Gary with the dojo sensei (instructor), Nagamine, instructing him personally for an hour or more, after which they would breakfast and discuss karate. Tiktin then joined the morning , afternoon and evening dojo classes daily. He became a Nagamine family friend and had karate experiences with masters Takayoshi Nagamine, Ansei Ueshiro, and Chotoku Omine. After a few years in Okinawa, Gary returned home and began teaching Nagamine’s Matsubayashi-Ryu form of Shorin-Ryu in Columbus at the International School of Self-Defense. Gary resisted pressure to award belts based on any criteria but skill and opened his own dojo to reflect this principle. Sensei Tiktin established the American Karate Federation (AKF) in 1968 to maintain the traditions he had learned. Notable among Gary’s students were Roger Ward (his first black belt and sadly, this great pioneering AKF karate master passed on August 15, 2022 at age 86.), Mike Hixson, Roger Genereau and Bill Dwyer. Gary taught karate at Ohio State while earning his philosophy degrees. Through the decades Sensei Tiktin continued to advise and train AKF karate men as President and first teacher of the organization. He created his own form, Tiktin-Kata-Ichi, which he was astounded to see decades later performed by Shoalin Monks demonstrating their art in Las Vegas, NV. The AKF was established as a loose confederation of dojos throughout the United States under Sensei Tiktin's guidance. Although fees may be charged for teaching, AKF dojo instruction has often been free of charge and taught for the love of spreading the art. Participation in the AKF has always been voluntary and dojos are never charged for membership. In 1969 one of Sensei Tiktin’s foremost students and AKF Vice President, Walt Sapronov, brought Shorin-Ryu Karate to Iowa City, Iowa, when he entered graduate school at the University of Iowa.
Sensei Tiktin met John Newman, another experienced karateka, and together they gathered students beginning the AKF in Iowa City. Sensei Sapronov led the class for two years, until he left for a business career, and Sensei Newman became chief instructor and AKF Executive Director. Newman ran the Iowa City class and another in Cedar Rapids until he moved to Fort Collins, Colorado in 1975. Two noteworthy students among the many black belts who were trained in Iowa City were Denis Oliver, who succeeded Sensei Newman as instructor, and Gloria Hershberger. Sensei Hershberger was the first woman black belt in the AKF and the first woman in any style of karate to earn a black belt in the state of Iowa.
John Newman continued to teach AKF Shorin-Ryu Karate when he joined the Colorado State University (CSU) faculty in 1975. At that time in collaboration with Senseis Tiktin and Sapronov, Sensei Newman developed the Fundamentals of Shorin-Ryu Karate (see pdf file linked to this website) and became a contributing editor of Self Defense World. The magazine featured articles and photos of several AKF black belts, including Oliver, Sapronov, Hershberger, Phyllis Kawanbe, and a another contemporary of Newman’s, Kurt Christensen. Sensei John Newman taught AKF Shorin-Ryu Karate in the Colorado outdoors year round for decades. Of the many black belts he trained, there were such noteworthy individuals as Paul Tanner, Gloria Hershberger, Chris Caggiano , Michael Spadafora, Woody Bell, Ted Bechtel, Bob Hood, John McCarty, Larry Monesson, and Steve Bradley. Many of these black belts moved away after graduation from the university and continued training and producing AKF black belts where they settled. Others moved on to develop their karate in different styles, like Sensei Caggiano who mastered and continues to teach Okinawan Seidokan Karate. Sensei Bechtel taught Self Defense in the Physical Education Department at CSU for six years and afterward continued to teach at various parks and health clubs in the Denver area. Michael Spadafora advanced his black belt rank by making his way to the Nagamine school in Okinawa from his home in the Philippines. John McCarty continued with his own dojo in Glenwood Springs, CO and Steve Bradley joined Ted Bechtel practicing and teaching in Denver. Sensei Newman continued to teach in Fort Collins until 1995, when he retired his position as AKF instructor. Bob Hood and Larry Monesson ran the Fort Collins dojo after his retirement. Like Sensei Newman in Colorado, Dr. Denis Oliver's AKF influence in Iowa City resulted in a large number of black belts who went on to teach and open their own dojos. Most notable of the teachers was Terry Kutcher, who took over the Iowa City AKF classes when Sensei Oliver left the group. Other noteworthy among Senseis Oliver and Kutcher's lineage of students include Kurt Christensen, Kirk Dombrowski, Tom Hronic, Woody Bell (originally with Newman in Colorado), Bruce Bussell, Tom Hayes, Curt Stansel (and his black-belt family), Scott Smith, and Dennis Williams. Each of these karate masters have instructed additional AKF black belt students who made substantial contributions to the American Karate Federation. Unfortunately, Sensei Denis Oliver, one of the giants of AKF karate, passed away in 2010.
Numerous black belts visited the hospitable Tiktin couple over the years to have their karate refined by the AKF Founder. Notable among these students was seventh Dan Sensei Tammam Cheetany, who made regular visits to the Tiktin household well into the early 21st Century. In 2011 Sensei Tiktin's earliest black belt students presented him a Lifetime Achievement Award along with the rank of Hanshi, tenth degree black belt. Several years later, in July 2015, Sensei Tiktin died unexpectedly of natural causes. Sensei Newman received the Hanshi diploma Sensei Tiktin had prepared for him in 2011 before his death. Bruce Bussell, Curt Stansel, Tom Hayes and Dennis Williams also received their diplomas for the ranks of eighth, seventh, seventh, and seventh degree black belt, respectively. In September 2016, Sensei Newman promoted Ted Bechtel to kudan, ninth degree black belt, and President of the American Karate Federation. Sensei Williams teaches in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, while Sensei Stansel and Sensei Smith continue to teach in Plant City, Florida. In March 2023 Curt Stansel rank tested and was promoted to eight degree black belt.
Above: Dr. Denis Oliver Practicing Nunchucks (To learn more about Matsubayashi-Ryu, click the image to open another website window.)
Sensei Newman brought his Fort Collins black belts for an extended weekend visit with Sensei Tiktin. From L to R are Bob Hood, John McCarty, John Newman, Gary Tiktin, Ted Bechtel, and Larry Monesson.
One morning Sensei Tiktin assigned Sensei Newman the task of doing each of all the AKF kata ten times, which he completed well before noon.
In 2011 Sensei Tiktin's earliest black belt students, led by Paul Keller, Roger Ward, Chuck Carlos and Mike Hixson, presented Gary a Lifetime Achievement Award along with the rank of Hanshi, tenth degree black belt.
During March 2023, Curt Stansel traveled from Florida to Fort Collins, CO, for a rank test by the top ranking AKF black belts. From L to R are Curt Stansel, Ted Bechtel, Hanshi John Newman, and Brad Allin. Sensei Stansel's Plant City dojo and his diploma presentation are shown in the photo gallery.
AKF Principles as expressed by Sensei Tiktin:
"Karate exists between the instructor and the student". In other words, the karateka can practice movements and exercises on their own, but unless they are teaching a student, they are not practicing AKF Karate. This is one of many ways Sensei Tiktin encouraged the growth of the AKF.
"The American Karate Federation is a ranking system". That is, rank within the AKF is relative and has no relationship to other martial arts organizations. AKF classes and formal tests are conducted according to rank in terms of authority and structure. AKF rankings are life long.
"Members of the American Karate Federation should all perform the kata the same". Sensei Tiktin requested that all AKF karateka perform the same AKF kata the same way. AKF instructors at the various dojos may teach different kata and different techniques. However, formal AKF rank tests should require only AKF kata be performed. For example, a rank test may require performance of Tiktin Kata Ichi, which is an AKF kata, but not Ananku. Although Ananku is included in Nagamine’s "Essence of Okinawan Karate-Do", it is not considered an AKF kata. Ted Bechtel demonstrated Ananku (learned from Nagamine’s book) for Sensei Tiktin in 2001. Although he recognized it as a Shorin-Ryu kata, he had never seen it practiced in Okinawa or elsewhere. And so, it is not considered an AKF kata. Each instructor can decide whether to teach and test with Ananku.
"Over forty years ago, Gary Tiktin and I collaborated to create Fundamentals of Shorin-Ryu Karate. Our goal was to supplement Shoshin Nagaminie's The Essence of Okinawan Karate-Do with a description of training and other practices in the American Karate Federation. Our first step was to achieve clarity of scope in the form of a table of contents. Then, the process was for me to write a first draft and send it to Sensei Tiktin for revisions and eventual approval. Everything in the text derives directly and completely from Sensei Tiktin's adaptation of Shorin-Ryu karate classes to American students and circumstances Nothing is included from my earlier training or from anywhere else. Accordingly, the first draft was a sound basis for additional work. In those early days before email, packages of pages went back and forth often between Fort Collins and Cleveland. Sensei Tikin read every word several times and changed many of them. When the text was as he wished it to be, he added a signed introduction to the last draft. The illustrations, which I think are clear and effective, began as high-contrast black and white photographs. It was Byron Mallory's original idea to trace them, refine and darken the tracings as needed and then copy them onto heavier paper for the first printing. When the decision was made to download this book to the American Karate Federation website, there was complete agreement among the senior AKF leadership to present the original version exactly as Gary Tiktin had approved it in 1975."
John Newman Hanshi - 10th Dan, American Karate Federation.
Five parts of pdf files of the Fundamentals of Shorin-Ryu Karate.
The practice of AKF kata is developed in three stages: mechanical, energetic, and no-mind. The first stage of kata practice focuses on the mechanical nature of the kata movements. Starting from the stance up, the student learns the mechanical movements of the kata as demonstrated by the dojo instructors, usually by observation and imitation (see the Fundamentals of Shorin-Ryu Karate). The student learns mechanical techniques involving breathing, stability, force, speed, focus, telegraphing and targeting. For example, the student learns that stability is based on the area of the stance and the height of the center of gravity within that area. Stances are low to strengthen the legs and Shorin-Ryu techniques are so powerful that foundational stability cannot be maintained without pulling the feet toward each other. Sensei Tiktin taught how the entire body is tensed at the moment of impact to connect the strike with the rest of the body's momentum. He often emphasized that a punch starts from high in the armpit with the fist pulled back behind the front of the chest. Sensei Newman emphasized that the power of a strike or block is dependent on the distance and speed the elbow travels in the movement. The beginning student eventually learns these and other mechanical aspects of the kata through years of practice.
The second stage of kata practice generally comes when a student has begun to master the forms as a sensei (instructor). The focus during this stage of kata development transcends the mechanical and moves to the expression of energy. Air is no longer just a mechanical practice of breathing, but becomes the flow of energy. Sensei Tiktin described this form of kata expression as simply "expansion from the center outward".
The third stage of kata development is AKF Mastery known as no-mind (also known as "the way" or "mushin" in Japanese). In this stage of practice, the kata are no longer performed with a mechanical or energetic focus. The kata are performed without any focus or concept at all, (i.e. no-mind, a pure present moment experience), without a means to an end. At this stage the kata become a moving meditation. Sensei Tiktin described kata practice at this stage as a ceremony or ritual. He often referred to the same state of no-mind in other forms of practice: with the heavy bag, he described it as "bag, no-bag". In one of his last video recordings, while practicing punching with the other black belts, he described it as to punch, "so that your opponent is no longer your opponent. He's no longer anything at all"!
Click to reach the American Karate Federation YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm_E1_6Z_Fp2_rWOOFFWyqQ (Note: if you don't get to the AKF Channel, then search for American Karate Federation in YouTube search.)
(Letter to Sensei Bechtel on that includes Sensei Tiktin's heavy bag training session.)
Tiktin Training 8-23-1993 (pdf)
DownloadSensei Tiktin wanted all American Karate Federation members to perform the kata the same way. For the most part, these AKF Kata are the same as portrayed in "Essence of Okinawan Karate-Do". However, the AKF kata have some substantial differences and are consistent with those taught to Sensei Tiktin in Okinawa during the sixties. With over forty years of kata practice as taught by Senseis Tiktin and Newman, Ted Bechtel is the authority and chief instructor on AKF kata (see "Bechtel-Bradley AKF Kata mid-80s" video below).
List of AKF kata:
Tiktin Kata Ichi
Fukyugata 1
Fukyugata 2
Pinan Shodan
Pinan Nidan
Pinan Sandan
Pinan Yondan
Pinan Godan
Naihanchi Shodan
Naihanchi Nidan
Naihanchi Sandan
Naihanchi Yondan
Wankan
Rohai
Wanshu
Passai
Gojushiho
Chinto
Kusanku
Please note: This is a new version of the AKF website and it will continue to evolve. Check back periodically for changes. Also, if you are an AKF member and want to have your dojo listed here (that is, you are teaching or are willing to teach AKF Karate), provide your contact information (name, phone number or email address) and dojo location to the webmaster by filing out the information below the list of dojos. List of dojos:
Curt Stansel cwstansel@yahoo.com
(813) 731-5544
Scott Smith ssmith1997@aol.com
(813) 856-7766
1805 N Park, Rd. Plant City, Florida 33563.
Dennis Williams
St. Louis Park, MN 55426
Aaron Perry aaron09riki@yahoo.com
Hesperus, Colorado
Kirk Dombrowski kirkdombrowski@gmail.com Burlington, Vermont
Martin Torres martintorres@yahoo.com (863) 808-7542 Lakeland, Florida
Ted Bechtel tbtel7@gmail.com Morse Park, Lakewood, Colorado
Professor John Newman (Contact via Ted Bechtel) Fort Collins, Colorado
Click to reach the American Karate Federation YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm_E1_6Z_Fp2_rWOOFFWyqQ (Note: if you don't get to the AKF Channel, then search for American Karate Federation in YouTube search.)
From the American Karate Federation YouTube Channel.
From the American Karate Federation YouTube Channel.
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