Sensei Mark Burns, Sandan (3rd degree black belt)
Everyone has a desire to share what they are passionate about, and I wish to share my karate training. I have been practicing karate since I was a young boy, and I believe it has been a great impact on who I am today. I believe that karate can also be beneficial to others, and I want to help them discover the benefit of karate in their own lives. I love the way I connect with people when training and teaching karate. Training with others brings joy and community to my day, and I hope that people receive the same joy through training with me.
This is my karate journey...
1996 - 2008
I was inspired to start karate training at the young age of 4. I first began learning Shotokan Karate while living in Illinois with my family. I practiced Shotokan for 4 years.
My family moved to Huntsville, Alabama when I was 8 years old. Fortunately, I found a new dojo home at the North Alabama Seibukan Karate School (NASKS) under Sensei Brent Knight. I am very thankful that I found Brent's dojo because being a part of Seibukan Karate-Do has greatly influenced my life in an incredible way.
I trained with Sensei Knight up to 6 times a week growing up. I participated in the Okinawan Karate-Do World Championships held in Atlanta, GA in 2001. I placed 4th in kata, 5th in Kobudo (weapons), and 4th in kumite. I also participated in multiple karate demonstrations that NASKS presented for the community. In middle school, I taught after-school karate at the elementary school. I traveled annually to Coal Mountain Karate School (Seibukan USA Headquarters) to train with Hanshi Dan Smith, Brent's sensei. Sensei Smith has trained with Hanshi Zenpo Shimabukuro for over 45 years, making Smith his most senior student.
Through all of this hard, repetitive training, I was awarded the rank of Jr. Shodan, or Jr. black belt in 2004. I continued training at NASKS and assisting with classes through my teenage years. You can watch my Junior Shodan Test here.
2008 - 2011
After turning 16 years old, I was invited to Okinawa to train with Hanshi Zenpo Shimabukuro at the honbu Seibukan Karate School, or Jagaru Dojo, which is the International Okinawan Shorin Ryu Seibukan Karate-Do (IOSSKA) Headquarters. I trained on Okinawa for two weeks and was promoted to official shodan rank, 1st degree black belt. Mr. Yamauchi, one of Zenpo's students, gifted his belt to me as he explained he had no children to pass it down to. I began wearing his belt every time I trained. It is one of my life's greatest honors.
I continued training with Sensei Knight at NASKS multiple times a week through high school. Sensei Knight not only sharpened my karate skills, but he also became my friend and mentor outside the dojo. He has helped me become the young man I am today. I treasure having Brent as my sensei, for it is a unique friendship that few people experience in their lifetime.
After high school, I went away to college at Auburn University. I trained in my spare time and trained at NASKS during school breaks.
2015 - 2017
I graduated and moved back to Huntsville in 2015. I resumed training with Sensei Knight on a weekly basis. I was promoted to nidan, 2nd degree black belt in early 2017 at . I continued assisting and leading class at NASKS until Sensei Knight closed the building at the end of 2017. Sensei Knight continued training with his senior students. I started training with Sensei Knight before and after work.
I also began assisting Sensei Kathy Moorhead as she started her own dojo, Alabama Seibukan at the Okinawan Karate Center, following the closing of NASKS.
Kathy joined NASKS a year before I did; she is Sensei Knight's most senior student. She is sandan, 3rd degree black belt. I am thankful for her companionship over the many years we trained at NASKS together. We have many great memories through our shared passion for Okinawan Karate-Do.
2018 - 2019
My wife and I moved to Nashville after getting married. I commuted to Huntsville for work for about a year while searching for a job closer to home. This allowed me to continue training with Sensei Knight, as well as attend and assist classes at the Okinawan Karate Center with Kathy.
Mid-2019, I accepted a job in Nashville, so I continued training at my home on my own. Training solo is a great opportunity to advance your training goals and discover new inquiries about your own karate. The wonderful thing about karate is the learning never ends.
I was able to attend and learn new details and drills at the Seibukan USA Annual Training in Jackson, Mississippi. Zenshun Shimabukuro (son of Zenpo Sensei) and Ryushi Zakimi, the 2018 Okinawan Karate World Champion, visited from Okinawa.
October in Okinawa
During October 2019, my wife and I were fortunate to travel to Japan. We visited Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Okinawa. We stayed on Okinawa for a week exploring the island, such as Shuri Castle and the Okinawan Karate Kaikan museum. The museum is a collection of Okinawan Karate lineage. It was an incredible experience to witness the history of karate.
Thanks to the efforts of Sensei Smith, I was able to train with Zenpo Sensei and Zenshun at both the Jagaru and Ozato Dojos, alongside many of my Seibukan friends. I learned and received many new lessons training on Okinawa.
October 25 is recognized as Karate Day to celebrate Okinawa as the birthplace of karate. I attended a demonstration by many Okinawan karate masters, including Hanshi Shimabukuro. There was a parade downtown where karate-ka of various styles performed kata together, all led by Zenpo Sensei.
It had been 11 years since I first visited Okinawa. This was just the trip I needed to revitalize my training in Nashville. I am very thankful that my wife organized our vacation together, and that she was able to experience Okinawa, the birthplace of karate. It was a very special trip that I will always remember. I cannot wait to go back soon.
2020 - 2021
At the start of 2020, I was continuing my training at home as well as at the Green Hills YMCA looking to find others to train with me. Due to the pandemic, I began working full-time from home in March. Not having to commute to work provided more time in the day that I could devote towards my karate training. I started training everyday, sometimes twice a day, with my extra time at home.
An unfortunate consequence of the pandemic is that many karate schools had to close doors and cancel classes. Sensei Moorhead had to close the Okinawan Karate Center, so she began creating instructional videos is provide to her students online. She asked if I would create a video to assist her students, so I made a few videos leading up to May. Kathy also started Zoom classes in the summer months. She kindly invited me to train and assist classes each week.
Sensei Doug Aoki also had to cancel classes for his dojo located in Edmonton, Canada. I met Doug at the Seibukan USA Annual Training in 2017 and 2019. Consequently, he began hosting online Zoom online classes. Doug welcomed me to join the trainings, and occasionally lead class.
At the end of June, Sensei Smith began a Seibukan USA Virtual Training Seminar series on a bi-weekly basis. With all of these new online opportunities to train with my peers and in my own spare time, I was training almost every day of the week.
At the end of August, Sensei Knight organized a socially-distant test for me at his house. Kathy and my other karateka friends, Arthur and Joseph, attended the test to show their support. After the test, Sensei Knight promoted me to sandan, 3rd degree black belt.
At the end of the 2020, Emma and I purchased our first home in Brentwood. Fortunately, there is a room in the basement that we allocated as my personal training space. I have finished the room with walls and flooring into my own private dojo. It is very special to me to have a dojo at my house, so that I can train everyday.
2021 - 2024
Into 2021, I have continued Zoom classes with Alabama Seibukan and Seibukan USA. I started discussing with the Franklin Family YMCA over the summer about bringing Seibukan Karate to their facility. I began teaching classes in November of 2021. Registration is open. Click to Register.
Headed into 2024, I am starting my 3rd year teaching classes at the YMCA . We have classes for all ages. It is a blessing to have this opportunity to share the principles of Karate-Do within my community. I have met so many wonderful people.
Sensei Knight attends and supports classes as his schedule allows. His continuing mentorship and guidance is monumental. My student, Allison Spears, has started assisting with the kids classes on a regular basis, and she leads classes when Sensei Knight and I are unavailable. Allison and I attended the 2023 Seibukan USA Natinal Training Seminar to train with Hanshi Zenpo. We are looking forward to more of our students joining us for the 2024 seminar to all train with Hanshi Zenpo and Kyoshi Zenshun.
I look forward to each new day of this ongoing journey of Karate-Do.
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