About me
My path
in the
Martial arts
At this point, I would also like to tell you something about myself and the people who have significantly shaped my path in Karatedo.
In 1985, at the age of 14, I began training in Karatedo in Klagenfurt under my main teacher and mentor Reinhold Hirsch Sensei (1954–2016), a student of Ichikawa Isao Hanshi (Karatedo Doshinkan).
Hirsch Sensei was awarded the 10th Dan and the title Dai Shihan, Iemoto Shudokan, by Ichikawa Hanshi. He was Ichikawa's Uchi Deshi (inner disciple) and studied behind the scenes for many years. Hirsch Sensei never made this extraordinary distinction public, sharing it only with a very small circle of his students. Besides the technical and historical aspects of martial arts, the personal development of his students was particularly important to him. He taught humility, courtesy, and respect—respect for training partners, all people, and nature itself. His example remains a profound source of inspiration for me to this day, both in karate and in daily life.
My second teacher at Hirsch Sensei's dojo was Gernot Laure Sensei. He was one of Hirsch Sensei's early students and participated in summer training camps with Ichikawa Hanshi as early as the 1970s. He profoundly influenced me in the importance and quality of the basic techniques of karate.
In the 1990s, I trained several times with Ichikawa Isao Hanshi at the Doshinkan Honbu Dojo in Vienna and participated in several summer training camps in Germany.
However, it would be presumptuous of me to call myself a student of Ichikawa Hanshi, and I consciously wish to avoid such a misunderstanding. Nevertheless, he left a deep impression on me. The few encounters I had with him had a lasting influence on my karate. For me, he was a beacon of traditional karate. Through him, I understood how comprehensive karate can be and what budo is truly about at its core.
In the summer of 1991, I travelled to Japan for the first time to train with Ishida Kenshin Hanshi (Okinawa Seito Karatedo Toyama-ryu Doshinkan).
During this stay, I lived in this master's house for three months. Ishida Hanshi facilitated my encounters and training with numerous students of Toyama Kanken Sensei, including Tanaka Mikio Hanshi, Takahashi Hiroshi Hanshi, Takahashi Kuniyoshi Shihan, Kawamoto Masayuki Hanshi, and Tokuyama Yoshiki Hanshi. Since 1991, I have traveled to Japan several times—alone and with karate friends—to visit the Ishida family and train with Ishida Hanshi. Conversely, Ishida Hanshi and his wife Reiko have visited me in Austria several times over the past decades, most recently in June 2019 for my wedding. The year 1991 marks both the beginning of an extraordinary teacher-student relationship with Ishida Sensei and the beginning of a deep and sincere friendship with him and his wife Reiko. I feel a deep connection to them both and am profoundly grateful for everything they have done for me over the past three decades.
There are many other teachers from the fields of karate, jujutsu, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), and aikido who have enriched my path in various ways. One of them I would like to highlight in particular: Patrick McCarthy Hanshi. I participated in several seminars with him and organized two seminars with him in Vienna in the 1990s. His knowledge of the history of karate, as well as his exceptional technical skills in kata and bunkai, are almost beyond words. McCarthy Hanshi fundamentally changed the understanding and approach to kata-bunkai in many karate schools.
Since the beginning of my training, I have been intensely interested in the history of Karatedo. Several years ago, I decided with great enthusiasm and dedication to share my knowledge of the Karatedo history of Toyama Kanken and Ichikawa Isao with like-minded individuals through book and video projects – because knowledge that is not passed on is lost forever.
In addition to these projects, I founded the International Shudokan Research Society in the summer of 2020. This research society sees itself as a platform for people interested in Shudokan karate.
What is particularly important to me in all of this is the preservation of the history and philosophy of traditional Karatedo. For me, karate has never been just about fighting. Karatedo is a martial art that inextricably links body, mind, and energy. Only through the interplay of these three levels does it unfold its true meaning.
It is important to me to show that Karatedo is far more than athletic performance, medals, or standardized competition formats. The development of competitive karate in recent decades has shaped a certain image—one that has pushed important aspects of the martial art into the background. With my books, my seminars, and my teaching, I consciously want to convey a different picture: one that is oriented towards the roots, the original intentions, and a deep understanding of what Karatedo once was—and can be again.
My aim is to preserve and pass on the old style of karate. A karate that not only teaches techniques but also cultivates attitude. A karate that addresses the whole person. And a karate that finds its meaning not in competition, but in the connection between tradition, personal development, and realistic combat application.
make contact
Shudokan Dojo Klagenfurt
Siebenhügelstraße 107B
9020 Klagenfurt am Wörthersee
Email address: shudokan@gmx.net
Tel: +43 664 828 5153
