Tosh's Academy of Shorin-Ryu Karate

We are closed on October 31st for Halloween!

How many 10th dans are there that have no school, no students and no lineage?

I believe no one should hold a rank of leadership that doesn't lead!

I think it is silly to see all these people who nobody has even seen do one simple martial art related thing, but hold a high rank. They are possers wearing a belt.

Does anyone believe it's easy to teach classes each and every week? Does anyone believe that doing extensive kata, kumite, bunkai, tuite', makiwara, conditioning and isometric breathing is being done for glory and photo ops?

There are those who work their tail off trying to be worthy of leadership. They do it for the students who depend on them to lead them on the path of those who left it.

I see a lot of "bloat" and swollen headed wannabes parading around with their self anointed glory and purchased symbols of success.

They have not spilt blood or sweat, they have no students to testify on their behalf.

I have always told my students to not give me any respect that I haven't earned and question me, if there is any confusion about the principles and use of the martial art that I teach.

The art was passed on to me by those who walked the path before me. I have not founded a style, created a style, or mixed up a few things to call it something new for the purpose of self elevation.

Teaching is the biggest burden one can have and it is also the most rewarding. You must give up to give out!

Teachers of all subjects have to share so much of themselves that they give up many of the freedoms others take for granted. Remember to talk the talk, you must walk the walk. A real teacher is an example and must always be! IMHO

I must say that the certificates and awards one receives are only as good as those who sign them.

If the person who signs the "paper" has no body of work or no students and has never achieved anything, it is nothing to be proud of.

So it's a good idea to look at the signatures before you post how great you are for being in a "Hall of Fame" or some other fraternity of recognition.

Remember nobody is "humbled" by any of those things. You are being honored and respected by those who have said it so with a signature! Being honored is a testament to those who respect you and that is a good thing, but certainly not humbling!

A friend put up a question saying who agrees with me that martial arts is good for all ages. My response follows:

A martial art would be meaningless if it didn't benefit all who train properly. It is not only for the strong, big or muscular human. It is for those who are far less capable in the natural sense.

Many of the ones who entertain us are like gladiators of old possess the desire and the physical means to endure such efforts. A small child or an older frail person doesn't have all the human physical elements to rely on.

In those situations, the arts and science of smarter action and reaction was born. That was the birth of martial arts.

To redirect, to move away, to turn disadvantage into advantage by leverage or counterweight and technique that maximizes the natural attributes of the human body is what enhances the chances of a favorable outcome of an aggressive attack.

So yes, martial arts training is good for everyone of all ages in that respect. It is also good for health, as the breathing and physical exercises strengthen the internal organs, bone density and muscular structure of what is already given at birth.

The idea is to improve the outcome in all scenarios that one have encounter including the doubting mind of the individual in question.

Happy Anniversary to my beautiful wife. Today we have been married for 37 years, known each other for 39 years and have been friends for the entire time.

I am so very happy to be your husband and to be the wind beneath your wings as you are for me. The emptiness that living in this world full of billions of people, can only be filled with the one true love.

You are my one true love and even though we love many things and many other family and friends, the depth and strength of a love like ours is like a blanket that encompasses more than words can express!

Thank you for being you and for trusting me with you heart and your hand. I will love you for all eternity as I know what true love is. Since God is love and love is God, the feeling and emotion I have for you is Godly and God given.

My First dojo was 1972 in American Samoa, the Village of Fatumafuti. It was in the lower level of my Father-in-law's Palagi Fale that is now where the Governor's personal home stands (my brother-in-law by my ex-wife). We referred to him as Peleti at that time and he was my very first student, he made it to brown belt.

The making of our pilot "Just For Kicks"; Sid Campbell's creation. I actually sold the pilot to TV 20 in San Francisco using the vignette but couldn't get the guy who produced the film to release it without giving him $10,000 that we didn't have at that time. So the show never took off!

Below is a very long and maybe boring story that I found in some old files that someone wrote about me in an interview. I hope it is not too much of a waste of time for some of you to read. It does speak to my lineage:

The Journey Begins:
In the early part of 1958, a child went to the YMCA with his uncle Bill and observed a group of guys practicing a martial art in a room to the left of the check-in desk. He stood there mesmerized by their exacting movements and the effectiveness of their actions. He thought this must be magic, the kind of magic that a 5-year-old dreams of.

His uncle saw him standing there and said, "Are you ready to go now?" He replied, "ok, but what are those guys doing?" His uncle replied "Judo." Wow he thought, "That's for me, that's how I could become superhuman, a hero to my family". The young boy went to the counter and asked, "How much does it cost to join here?" The man on the other side of the large reception area desk replied something like $100 annual." $100 may as well have been a million dollars in 1958, since the young man's mother only earned $18 per week as a waitress, and he didn't have a father.

This young man was trying to find a way to feel like the other kids he knew in the area that had two parents and plenty of food and attention. You see in 1958 divorce was not common. His family was very poor and there was little to be proud of.

One day shortly after the visit to the YMCA, he was talking to some other kids about what he saw and one of the boys, Randy McDonald, said that he saw something like that at the Boys Club. Randy’s father owned McDonalds Feed Store across the street from his grandmother’s house.

Danny went to the Boy’s Club and saw that they indeed did have a class that it was being provided at no additional charge for the members. The class was Shorin-ryu karate and it was being taught by Sensei Joe Spriggs. Danny asked how much the membership costs and found it was $8 per month. He knew he could not get $8 per month from his mother, so he tried to figure out how he could get that much money every month to join this class.

He needed a job! But where and who would hire a 5-year-old kid to do anything? He was at his grandmother's house. Since Randy McDonald was the same age as Danny and they were friends, he went to Randy's father and asked for a job. His father said "A JOB! Why do you need a job?" He answered, "So I can join the Boys Club and it costs $8 per month."

He was hired on the spot for $.50 per day, after school and on weekends for a couple hours a day. He was to sew the top of the feed sacks after they filled before the workers loaded them on the conveyor belt. With the money he earned, he was able to join the boys club and buy a pair of gloves down at Yellow Front (a local store) to keep his hands warm in the winter, it was perfect.

Life was hard for Danny, being the oldest and being from a very poor family. He was studying karate, but still had a hard time at school due to the low-class status of being poor. In the 3rd grade, the teacher called Danny to the front of the room and asked him to stand there. She told the other children, as she was laughing, to look at this boy and look at his shabby clothes and his old worn-out shoes. She said that this is not acceptable, and the other kids laughed almost uncontrollably.

She then sent him home until he could wear the proper attire to be accepted in her classroom. That experience became a driving force in Danny's life to achieve as much as possible in life and the chosen path was "karate".

This sensei did not provide color belts for his students as they progressed in knowledge so everyone was a white belt until they achieved the black belt level. Shodan (1st degree black belt) was not an easy thing for the youngest of the students to achieve.
In 1966, at the Bartlesville Oklahoma Boys Club, 8 years after starting, Danny received his black belt from Sensei Spriggs, who came to Bartlesville to train some of his students like Danny who started in Coffeyville, Kansas (about an hour drive away).

Then in 1967 Danny and his family moved to San Jose, California. He continued to train on his own, since the only Shorin-ryu school was Sid Campbell's school located in Oakland California and that was too far to go. In 1970 Dan joined the Marine Corps at the urging of his grandmother, who thought it might open doors for him and help him on his journey of life to discover who he was. She was right!

He was stationed out of Camp Pendleton and sent to Hawaii after a short listening post recon assignment in Cambodia. He started a Marine Corps karate club. During his stay in Hawaii, he met Miyagi Sensei, who he trained with on a one-to-one basis. In the short few-months of training he became a father figure and helped Dan perfect his skills and kata.

One day Miyagi made Dan stand in a horse stance all day at the beach under a tree while watching the ocean waves. This went on for 7 hours. At the end of this day he could not walk right for more than a week. Miyagi sensei was known for striking the back of the hand if an opponent punched without turning his punch and shifting his hips. This was a very painful lesson. Dan toured for karate competition to different locations via military hops on C-130 aircraft and managed to win a few of those tournaments doing kumite or kata.

While being in Cambodia on an LP (listening post) near the DMZ (demilitarized zone) he managed to hurt both knees and was discharged early from the Marine Corps after only about a year and a half of a 3-year stint. He was awaiting discharge and married his Samoan girlfriend in Hawaii, and they moved back to San Jose, California.

His daughter was born in November of 1971 and by the time she was 4 months old they'd decided to move back to Hawaii. Dan connected with his teacher again and continued to train until they moved to Samoa in 1972, where he taught high school and opened his first dojo in the Village of Fatumafuti, Pago Pago, Samoa until 1974 when his son was born in February.

Two months after the birth of his son they move back to San Jose via a short stay in Hawaii. Miyagi Sensei told Dan "Find a school in the mainland, tell them that you never trained and when you get black belt, let me know." He found Ed Perkins, a 3rd degree black belt under Eizo Shimabuku of Shobayashi Shorin-ryu, now known as Shaolin Shorin-ryu.

Dan put on a white belt and trained under the direction of Perkins Sensei. Perkins Sensei, told Dan after about a week of training, "You've trained before, haven't you"? Dan responded by saying "yes I was a brown belt". After 6 months, Perkins promoted Dan to 2nd degree black belt. One day while working out at Perkin's dojo a man came in and wanted to spar. His name was Paul Morris, he was about 6'4" weighed over 200 lbs. and was a former Standard Football player.

He owned a well-known company called The Morris Plan, and in his early 30s and was quite successful. He wanted to join a karate school but wanted to see if there was a school that could teach him anything helpful, since he was already a big tough guy from all his football training and his golden glove boxing experience. He asked Sensei Perkins if he could spar before deciding to sign-up.
Sensei looked over at Dan who was sitting against the wall waiting for kumite to start that evening. Dan was 5'6" tall weighed about 130 lbs. but was one of sensei's fastest and toughest fighters at that time. Sensei said, "Mr. Tosh please come to the center of the dojo" Dan replied "sir".

As soon as the sparring began, Paul charged forward in a football sort of way and started punching at Dan. Dan blocked almost everything and was careful not to respond in kind, since the goal was to get a new paying student and not to hurt him. Then one of the powerful punches hit Dan in the let ear, causing it to bleed. Perkins called a yame (stop in action) and asked Dan if he was ok, "Hai" was the reply, "I'm fine sir".

The match started again, and this time Dan redirected the attack and countered with a flurry of kicks and punches that Mr. Morris could not avoid and he fell into the bookshelves on one side of the wall, breaking three or four of the shelves. Mr. Morris did join the school and became a good friend and student.

Dan sent a letter to Miyagi Sensei and told him that he had complied with his wishes and was promoted to black belt. In 1976, Dan received a certificate in the mail for godan (5th degree black belt). Miyagi knew that humility and a humble spirit was necessary for Dan to become a proper sensei.

Tosh was living with his ex-wife in East side San Jose in the Story Road apartments, a rough neighborhood. One Friday Dan's ex-wife came running in from a visit to the aunt's apartment located around the corner. She said that the police were coming and that there was a problem with a gang that lived in the complex.

Dan went to find out what was going on and her Samoan cousin nicknamed “Mannix” said that this guy was driving really fast through the street in front of his mother's apartment, and he yelled at him to slow down since there were a lot of kids playing there.

The guy stopped the car and got out with a big knife. Mannix went into the house and came out with a bigger knife and told him to put down the knife, he refused and by this time other Samoans came running to the scene. One of the Samoans broke a piece of the fence and used it to knock the guys' legs out from under him and took the knife away. The gang member went into his mother's house and called the police as well as his gang friends.

The police came and Dan stood next to Mannix while being interviewed by the police. The guy that started the fight said that he didn't have a knife and Dan interjected by saying "what are you talking about, everybody saw the knife"? The guy said "who are you?" Dan responded by saying "Don't F' with me or I'll knock you out!"

The police finished the interview and told everyone to disperse. Everyone left, but the gang was slow in leaving the area. Dan got in his car with his ex-wife after dropping his kids at the aunt’s house to be babysat. As he got in his car the gang stood in front of his car and wouldn't let them drive away.

Dan got out and the wife honked the horn to summon the Samoan friends and family to the scene as she exited the car. The guy that started all this ran up to Dan and threw a kick at his groin. Dan said the kick seemed like it was in slow motion as the kick came closer and closer without a response from Dan and at the last moment he dropped his left hand hooked and lifted the kicker's leg up, did a back fist to his jaw with his right hand and that guy dropped like a stone.

As Dan turned to see maybe 20 guys advancing towards him, he saw his ex-wife wipe spit off her face and punch a guy in the face. Then he started blocking all the attacks and counter striking. It seemed like a blur of movement when suddenly one of his arms was grabbed and he was pulled back by a police officer who was laughing since he couldn't believe that this little skinny guy was taking on all these guys.

As Dan calmed down and looked around, he noticed there were 6 or 7 guys on the ground. By now all the Samoans were back out to help if necessary. The police made everyone go home and there were warnings and threats made against Dan by the gang members.

A few days later Dan saw a carload of these gang members and as they looked at Dan, they just kept on driving by without saying a word. Dan opened in first dojo in California in June of 1975 at the Story Road Apartment facilities about 1 month later and had 140 signups on the first day.

Most had either seen or heard about the fight. One of the girls that was signing up, told Dan that the guy that started the fight was her cousin; Dan indicated that he was sorry about that, and she responded by saying "it's ok, he's a jerk and nobody in the family likes him anyway".

Dan was only charging $10 per month since the facilities were provided at no charge. Sensei Perkins was not happy about Dan teaching for such a low fee. Dan told Sensei Perkins that these people are poor and can't afford any more than that. So Dan left the organization and started focusing on his own his own dojo and instead of calling it Tosh’s Karate he named it Shorin-kwoon-do-ryu; meaning the "Chinese training hall in the small pine forest. This began the formal teaching of his own school of Shorin-ryu based upon the Yabu Method that his first teacher taught.

Dan and his wife ended their marriage after 5 years and she left the kids in Dan's care, since she wanted to start a new life and knew that Dan was a good father and would always be there for his kids. About a year later, in 1977, Dan had a new girlfriend and moved to Washington State to open a dojo.

This lasted only a short time since he found out how much he disliked the rain and snow. He was a real estate appraiser and an appliance repairman, since neither paid very well, he did both as well as teach karate. In 1978 he moved back to San Jose and started teaching refrigeration at Polytech Institute.

One of his refrigeration students was a man named John Tollow. John started studying karate from Dan and soon fell in love with Shorin-ryu. He asked Tosh to help him open a dojo in Ukiah, California. Tosh moved to Ukiah with his brothers, kids, and girlfriend to do just that.

In 1981, John Tollow, Danny Tosh (Dan's son) and Michele Herman (Adkins) took the last 3-day black belt exam ever held and became Shorin-ryu black belts. The presiding black belt examiners were Dan Tosh, Tom Tosh, David Jahn, Steve Vargas and Alice Lazotte. There were 4 students testing for black belt and only 3 passed.

At this time Tosh's dojo was asked to do a demo at the Ukiah Fairgrounds. A photographer heard about the demonstration and how the sensei (Shihan Dan Tosh, 5th degree black) belt was going to break bricks with his fist punch. The photographer found a good spot and set up his camera just right to catch (as he put it) a photo of a guy breaking his hand.

Dan punched through 5 un-spaced concrete blocks and the crowd roared. No one had ever seen such a thing at the time in this small community. The headlines included a picture of a karate master breaking bricks, and the community was proud.

Shortly after that, Michele Herman, opened a branch dojo in Lakeport and taught many police officers as well as the community at large. The two dojos were spreading the art of Shorin-ryu as Tosh's teachers had wanted. John Tollow broke away over a disagreement with Dan's girlfriend about how the dojo finances should be controlled.

John started what would be the longest running successful dojo in Ukiah and it is still being run today nearly 40 years later by his students. John reconnected with Dan and continued to train with Dan Tosh and Sid Campbell for several years until, sadly, John passed away on November 1, 2009.

Before passing away he became a grandmaster 9th degree black belt and was promoted by his teachers, Grandmaster Dan Tosh, 10th degree black belt and Grandmaster Sid Campbell, 10th degree black belt.

During the Ukiah years Dan and his dojo went to many tournaments and competed in kata and kumite winning many A, B and C rated events. Chris Fisher, a former sparring partner of George Forman, built a 3-rope boxing style ring in the Ukiah Dojo.

Every Friday night an open sparring event took place for about a year. During this time, a participant would pay $3 at the door, sign a waiver, and fight 3 rounds for 3-minutes with whoever they wanted to. Dan fought every Friday when he was in town. Much knowledge was shared in those days and in this manner.

One night, Dan was out of town on business and Sensei Tom Tosh was running the kumite. At the end of the session, he was getting ready to leave and a young man came to the door with a girlfriend. He wanted to spar, Tom told him class was over and he could come next week. He was insistent and pressed Tom to let him spar, Tom repeated his comment knowing that his teacher, his older brother Dan, would not like him to change the rules for this guy.

The guy said he'd come another time and left. While leaving he told his girlfriend that karate was for sissies and that he was a kung-fu stylist and his teacher was Master Eric lee, the undefeated forms champion and Black Belt Magazine Hall of Famer. He continued to tell his girlfriend how he would be able to beat any karate man and that they are all scared of him.

Since the guy's girlfriend went to school with Tom, she told one of Tom's friends what was said and Tom told Dan. Dan called his good friend Eric Lee and asked if he trained this guy, Eric said no. Dan told the girl to ask this guy to come to the dojo, since he wanted to learn more from such a talented and skilled martial artist.

Dan arrived early on the day of the match and started preparing, not knowing just how good this guy was going to be. When the guy walked in the door with a local boxing coach, Chris said, "I know this guy, he is a boxer who likes to hit hard, let me fight him." Dan said, no he has insulted the art that I have spent a lifetime trying to perfect, I’ll fight him."

Dan said to the guy "are you ready to spar?" He replied, "No I wanted to fight Tom, not you". Dan said, "No you indicated that karate was for sissies and that you could beat anyone and now I need to defend my art." Dan told the guy that he had never trained with Master Lee and that his comments were improper and braggadocios.

He apologized and then Dan went on to tell the boxing coach that if he doesn't teach his stable of fighters to watch their mouths, he would be held responsible and may get dragged into having to fight as well. The coach apologized and there were no further problems.

Tosh moved his school back to Santa Clara and for the next few years moved the location a couple of times. In 1985 Tosh met his current wife Shelley who he married in 1987. In 1986 Tosh started teaching at Professor Sig Kufferauth dojo, an old friend.

Professor Sig Kufferauth was teaching at a dojo that he shared with Professor Tony Janovich, a jujitsu teacher and direct student of Professor Kufferauth. Sig was a friend of Miyagi Sensei from Hawaii. Dan had met Professor Kufferauth in Hawaii at a Luau. Dan started teaching Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Santa Clara dojo, 4 hours each day.

Professor Kufferauth would stand outside the front window and watch, trying to stay out of sight. One day Professor Kufferauth walked through the dojo to meet a patient for his restoration therapy and Dan stopped the class, had everyone face the professor and bow with respect.

A few weeks later Professor Kufferauth came to Sensei Tosh and said, "when are you going to move up in rank from 5th degree black belt?" Dan replied by saying his teachers had passed and he lost track of Sensei Perkins meaning only the black belt council could promote him and he was the head of the council. So, a promotion will never happen, and it doesn't matter anyway. Sig responded by saying, it does matter since the system will die without the proper ranking to lead the way. He said that he knew a lot of 5th degree black belts and most of them aren't very good.

He said that he would head the council to promote him. Dan thanked him and forgot about it. Tony reminded Dan about it and that Sig wanted to do this for him. Dan accepted the ranking certificate and did not have an opportunity to have a formal presentation.

Tosh moved his family to Antioch, California after the 1989 earthquake and started teaching karate at the Delta Park Athletic Club, then to Byron, California and finally to Brentwood, California. During this time Dan became close friends with Sid Campbell, who he had known but not well prior to this time. Eric lee kept telling Dan that he should hook up with Sid since Sid was almost the same style.

Sid invited Dan to come to black belt training that was held once a month on Saturdays. The first time Dan showed up, he went alone, not knowing what to expect and thinking that maybe he'd have to fight everybody.

As Tosh walked into the Oakland Dojo, Sid stood in middle of the school and noticed that he and Dan were both wearing a black top, white gi pants and a red and white belt. Sid had a coffee cup in his hand and said to Dan "Are we reading each other's mail?" After a good laugh, class started. The workout started with nihanchi shodan and all eyes were on Dan either directly or through the mirror. After the first time through the kata, Dan and Sid were brothers in the art and became best friends.

Dan's kata was strong and that meant that he had trained properly. Dan traveled to Okinawa again to compete in 1991 and during that trip went to see Grandmaster Eizo Shimabuku. Shimabuku Sensei told Dan “Your kata is my kata" he had confirmed his kata as he had learned it. Although Tosh's system did not have all the kata that Shimabuku taught, what Tosh did have in common was correct.

Dan competed in kumite, met with Miyahara Sensei and Matayoshi Sensei as well as an old friend Sensei Patrick McCarthy. Pat was selling his book "The Bubishi" and was going to compete in kata until tosh informed him that he would not be allowed to do kata since the tournament was goju-ryu and other stylists were not allowed to compete.

One of Dan's lower belt students took first place, and another black belt won his first two fights, was ahead in his third fight, got his nose broken on purpose by the opponent and was not allowed to continue. Dan lost his fight after chasing the opponent around the ring, punching, and kicking him at will and receiving no points. No points were awarded to either fighter, but the match was given to the goju-ryu stylist.

It would not be good for an outsider to advance to the finals at this gathering. However, a good time was had by all including Dan, who enjoyed the event overall and was overwhelmed by black belts who thought his fighting skills were exceptional.

In 1998, Sig told Dan that it was time to move to the grandmaster level. Sig wanted to promote Dan to 9th or 10th degree black belt and it was decided that 9th degree black belt was the most appropriate due to Dan being under 60 years of age.

Sensei Sid Campbell tested Dan's kata quality and signed the certificate as a council member along with the council’s chief Professor Sig Kufferauth. This promotion took place on February 28th, 1998, at San Jose State University in front of several hundred spectators and dozens of masters and grandmasters at the conclusion of Dan’s demonstration of technique and brick breaking.

Grandmaster Dan Tosh was promoted to 10th degree black belt on January 13, 2007, at the WOSKKA annual gathering, by the black belt council chaired by Great Grandmaster Al Novak, one of Bruce Lee's mentors. This honor was bestowed on Dan in the presence of several Great Grandmasters and Grandmasters including such dignitaries as Bob Wall, Sid Campbell, Al Novak, Carlos Navarro, Eric Lee, Bob Maschmeier, Ernie Reyes, Sr., Tony Thompson, Harry Mok, John Oliver, Gary Lee, Mark Gerry, Bruce Lee's cousin, Greglon Lee, Max Pallen and Robin Taberna among hundreds of others.

My lineage.

Here is the ISBN on Amazon to buy the article that we are in for the magazine; ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8327604728