Featured School
Interview with Jimmy Mora of Shinjinbukan New York Shibu Dōjō
Property Type: Karate
1. Who is the dojo’s founder and what prompted him/her to build the school? Is there any rich history behind its making?
The Shinjinbukan Honbu Dōjō was founded by Onaga Yoshimitsu Kaichō in Okinawa, Japan. Shinjinbukan was founded in Japan to preserve the ancient Ryūkyū martial arts, culture and living traditions. Since 1996, Mr. Jimmy Mora, a direct student of Onaga Yoshimitsu Kaichō, started teaching the Shinjinbukan Karate in the New York City Metropolitan Area through several volunteer programs. The Shinjinbukan New York Shibu Dōjō is an official branch of the Shinjinbukan School in Okinawa, Japan.
2. What forms of martial arts do you teach in your school? Can you please share with us the history behind them?
Shinjinbukan is a school of traditional Okinawan Karate: Shōrin Ryū. Our founder, Onaga Yoshimitsu, is considered one of the last Masters able to understand and teach Ti, the ancient Okinawan Martial Art, which preceded modern Karate.
3. What are the principles and concepts that you uphold and try to instil in your students?
For us, Karate is not a sport, nor about street fighting. The Shinjinbukan system is based on Ti, which incorporates unique principles of body mechanics, body conditioning and fighting techniques into a complete cohesive System. Most Martial Arts have training curriculums that are not integrated into a cohesive unit. On the other hand, the study of Ti requires the integration of all training curriculum into ONE cohesive System of body mechanics.
4. Why do you think it is important for people to learn martial arts?
Our Karate is for those who seek self-improvement through the practice of Shōrin Ryū Karate and Ti. Most people are interested in quick results without too much training. Therefore, the true value of martial arts could not be appreciated without the proper perspective.
5. What difficulties and obstacles have you encountered so far with regards to teaching martial arts and how did you overcome them?
The biggest obstacles in teaching martial arts is to overcome the wrong expectations that some people may have. The skills learned through our training were made for self-defense, rather than for street fighting. My Dōjō in New York operates as a non-profit rather than a commercial school, so we don’t use rank promotions and tournaments as a business model.
6. What advise and/or insights can you share with our readers who want to pursue their interest in martial arts?
People have many reasons for studying martial arts: sports & fitness, mental discipline, self-defense, combat skills, personal development, meditation, spiritual awakening, or all of the above. Each authentique Martial Art has a unique culture, history, philosophy, goals and training methods. And these ideas or styles could be in complete opposition to each other. In general, Martial Arts could be classified by: country/ region (Chinese, Japanese, Okinawan, Korean, Thai, etc); with or without Japanese weapons; traditional or sports oriented. So, you should ask yourself: What do I want out of martial arts?
7. Can you give a short biography of your instructor(s)?
Jimmy Mora was Onaga Sensei’s first foreign student who trained from White to Black Belt at the Shinjinbukan Honbu Dōjō, as well as the first to open an official branch in the United States. In 1992, while stationed in Okinawa, he met Onaga Sensei and was accepted as his Uchi Deshi.
In less than 18 months, he obtained his Sho Dan, 1st Degree Black Belt. In 1995, he obtained his Ni Dan, 2nd Dan, in less than three years under Onaga Sensei. Jimmy is currently a Yon Dan, and is the head instructor of the Shinjinbukan New York Shibu Dōjō.
For more information, see http://www.shinjinbukan.com/jimmymora.html
Onaga Yoshimitsu Kaicho’s biographical note: http://www.shinjinbukan.com/onaga.html
Onaga Michiko’s biographical note: http://www.shinjinbukan.com/michiko.html
Sincerely Yours,
Jimmy Mora
Shinjinbukan New York Shibu Dōjō
Yon Dan
Shinjinbukan
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