Soke W. Dan Hausel

W. Dan Hausel was promoted to Soke Shodai at the JKI Central Hombu in Murphy, North Carolina, on September 26th, 1999 & certified by Zen Kokusai Soke Budo-Bugei Renmei. At the same time, he received certification as Kudan (9^th Dan) black belt by Soke R. Sacharnoski & Soke Shian Toma.

On February 22^nd, 2004, he was certified as Judan (10^th dan) by Soke M.I. Tianero & as Judan by Soke R. Sacharnoski on June 6, 2004. Soke Hausel founded Seiyo no Shorin-Ryu Karate Kobudo Kai^TN after 35 years of martial arts training. This powerful martial art is based on Okinawan principals & incorporates many Shorin-Ryu, Shotokan & Jujutsu techniques into a powerful martial art. In short, Seiyo Shorin-Ryu focuses equally on kihon (basics), kata (forms) & bunkai (applications from kata). Kumite is a minor part of this style.  Competition (sport martial art) is not formally recognized by Seiyo Shorin-Ryu as it tends to erode focus & power. Even so, a small number of members compete as individuals & have had extraordinary success.

Soke Hausel began his training in 1964 in Kyokushin-Kai karate where he practiced full-contact kumite (sparring). Later he trained in Kempo, Shotokan, Wado-Ryu, Shorin-Ryu & several other martial arts. His greatest frustration was that even though he was considered one of the best fighters & never lost a kumite match after he received his first kyu rank, he felt that the power to defend himself on the street did not exist. This concern led him to experiment with a variety of training methods resulting in the development of Seiyo Shorin-Ryu.

Soke Hausel picked his son Eric Hausel as his successor. Eric will inherit this style upon retirement of Soke Hausel to become Soke Nidai of Seiyo No Shorin-Ryu Karate Kobudo Kai. The succession is followed by Kyoshi Andy Finley & by Jessica S. Martinez (Soke’s daughter).

Since joining Juko-Kai International & training under Dai-Soke Sacharnoski, Soke Hausel has earned many distinctions & certifications in 18 martial arts including 8 black belt ranks. This diversification is seen in his martial arts teaching & our style.

Soke Hausel’s martial art has brought him many other distinctions that include induction into 14 Halls of Fame, Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in the 21st Century & many others. In essentially every case, he has been rewarded for his teaching methods & style.  This is a point that he is very proud of – to be known as an excellent teacher rather than a fighter.

It is our belief that karate-do is to be used for development of one’s character. It should be practiced to improve one’s self-confidence, self-esteem, self-respect & respect for all others as well as a way to protect oneself if necessary. It has been stated by some Okinawan masters that karate is kata. This is how we practice Seiyo Shorin-Ryu. Kata is the secret to our martial art & understanding all of the intricacies of kata is paramount.

Seiyo Shorin-Ryu includes more than 70 kata. As the student progresses through the basics, they periodically learn kata. As they learn kata, they also learn a set of bunkai (applications) so that there is a complete understanding of the kata. As they develop, the kata become a living encyclopedia of techniques & have the ability to become an excellent self-teaching tool.

Students are trained to develop focus and power in all kicks, blocks & strikes & to focus each and every technique that the practice. As they practice kata, they focus each technique with full power & visualize the bunkai for each technique.

Soke Hausel has been honored with the title of Kyoju (Professor of Budo) and JKI Samurai. In 1998, he was inducted into the Millennium Hall-of-Fame & awarded JKI's "Open Shorin-Ryu Instructor of the Year". In 1999, his drive for excellence led the UW Campus Shorin-Ryu Karate and Kobudo Club being recognized as JKI's top dojo along with Soke Kent Bergstrom's dojo in Wisconsin. For a small isolated city (Laramie, Wyoming) with a population of less than 26,000, this was considered a major achievement.

Soke Hausel has trained under several great martial artists including Sensei T. Anguay, Sensei J. Bekker, Sensei T. Martinez, Sensei D. Tsutsui, Hanshi T. Osaka, Hanshi T. Yamashita, Dai-Soke R. Sacharnoski & others. Dai-Soke Sacharnoski provides the greatest influence and is considered as one of the greatest martial artists in modern history & remains as Soke Hausel's Sensei.  It is the opinion of Soke Hausel that there are two world-class martial artists living in modern times – Dai-Soke Sacharnoski and Sensei Yamashita. It is a privilege to have trained under both & to remain a student of Dai-Soke Sacharnoski.

Other honors granted to Soke Hausel include appointments to the United States Soke Council & the World Soke Council as well as induction into the International Black Belt Hall of Fame, World Martial Arts Hall of Fame, North American Black Belt Hall of Fame, World Karate Union Hall of Fame & others. But his greatest honor of all is his students. Because of his past association with the University of Utah, University of New Mexico & University of Wyoming & more recently with Arizona State University, Soke Hausel has the distinct honor of having more PhDs in his association than nearly any other martial arts federation.  Of his students scattered around the globe, many are university professors & public school teachers, others are engineers, many are geologists & geophysicists, some are astrophysicists, mathematicians, physicists, linguists, writers, librarians, nurses, architects, chemists, pharmacists, business managers, anthropologists, law enforcement scientists & others.

Like many of his students, martial arts represent a separate and distinguished career. Soke Hausel is also a geologist, public speaker, author & artist & received national & international recognition in these disciplines. He is considered a leading economic geologist, has written & published >600 books, papers & geological maps & discovered more than a hundred diamond, colored gemstone, gold & other mineral deposits (see: http://Kimberlite.pbwiki.com) during his career.

His literary contributions include published work in popular magazines, professional journals & contributions to 27 books (http://DanHauselAuthor.pbwik.com). Most notable are his books on diamonds, gold, minerals, rocks & gemstones.

He is considered one of the leading authorities on diamond exploration, colored gemstone mineral deposits & Archean greenstone belts & related gold deposits. During his career as a geologist, he presented >400 talks and lectures to various civic, private & professional organizations and won awards for his work including induction into two Halls of Fame for his contributions to geological sciences.

He is an artist. One of his sketches (titled "self-portrait"), is the color pencil sketch of the leopard shown on this web site. Many of his other sketches reside in private collections, museums, in magazines, on book covers company logos (http://DanHausel.com). He has received a few national awards for his artwork (http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/dan-hausel.html).

His geological accomplishments have been rewarded: he is a member of 2000 Outstanding Scientists of 2008, Who’s Who in Science & Engineering, 21st Century Achievement Award, 2006 Archimedes’s Award for Contributions to Geological Sciences, 2004 Wyoming Geological Association Distinguished Service Award, 2001 Education Award (North American Rock-hound & Lapidary Hall of Fame),  1998 University of Wyoming Department of Geology and Geophysics Distinguished Lecturer, 1994 Laramie Lyceum Distinguished Speaker, 1998 Rocky Mountain Prospector's & Treasure Hunter's Prospector's Best Friend Award, induction into Who’s Who in the 21st Century, 2000 Notable American Men & honorary memberships in Colorado Mining Association, International Order of Ragged Ass Miners, Wyoming State Gem & Mineral Society, Wyoming Prospectors Association & Rocky Mountain Prospector and Treasure Hunters.

Grandmaster Hausel was honored as ‘Man of the Year’ in 1995 & ‘International Man of the Year’ in 1996 due to accomplishments in geology, writing & martial arts. He may be one of a few people in the world to have been inducted into two separate Halls of Fame for different professions in the same year. This happen when he was inducted into a martial arts Hall of Fame in 1998 & a different Hall of Fame for contributions to geology & writing.  In 2001, he was again inducted into two Halls of Fame – one for geology & the other for martial arts, but both with a similar theme – as an outstanding educator. In 2004, he was inducted into 3 separate martial arts Halls of Fame.

Grandmaster Hausel is a popular speaker & has traveled around North America lecturing & teaching clinics to martial artists and special interests groups. You can contact Soke Hausel for self-defense clinics, motivation talks, or as a keynote speaker for business conventions (Karate Resume or Diamond Resume); call 480-294-1001 or write to: Soke@yahoo.com or OkinawaKarate@yahoo.com. His fees are $500/clinic or speech plus expenses (see brochure – pdf)).