Watch Out For This Arizona Grandpa!

 

Soke teaches the art of 'tameshiwari' outside the geology
museum at the University of  Wyoming in Laramie, some
years ago (UW photo service). 

One Gilbert, Arizona, martial artist enjoys training in martial arts as much as he enjoys rocks, stars, writing, research, music, and even Sindonology. He began training in martial arts decades ago, when safety equipment for full-contact karate included an athletic cup and nothing else (no paddled gloves, boots, or head gear), and when the entire body was considered a target. Over the years, he trained in more than a dozen martial arts earning several black belts and was inducted into 17 Halls-of-Fame for martial arts, science, and polymath, and was presented many national awards.

While in mosquito-infested Alaska consulting for WestGold in the late 1980s, and living in a tent in a gold exploration camp surrounded by bears and caribou, he continued to train in karate and kobudo. By time he left the Kuskokwim Mountains of Alaska, the group actually found the mother lode: one of the largest gold deposits found in history. 

He found college studies to be easier to handle, as long as he took daily physical training breaks. While at the University of Utah, he trained in karate, researched lunar and terrestrial rocks, worked as an astronomy lecturer, and played in a rock n' roll band. A similar regimen continued at the University of New Mexico.

While at the University of Wyoming (Wyoming Geological Survey), he took breaks from field research after walking all day in the hills at South Pass, Seminoe Mountains, Rattlesnake Hills, Laramie Mountains, and Owl Creek Mountains of Wyoming, just to kick and punch flies, trees, and rocks. His lightning fast reflexes saved him more than once from striking rattlesnakes in the Seminoe and Laramie Mountains.

While researching diamondiferous kimberlite in the State Line, Iron Mountain, and Indian Hills districts of the Laramie Mountains, and looking for gemstones in the Leucite Hills, Soke kept up his martial arts training. On a trip to the Australian outback to study rare diamond deposits associated with olivine lamproite (one of the rarest rock types on earth), he found himself among pesky noSeeUm insects, kangaroos, and crocodiles. He and some Japanese karate practitioners/geologists challenged one another breaking the tops of termite mounds with shuto uchi (knife-hand strikes). The mounds were perfect targets for tameshiwari (rock breaking) since they had conical-shaped tops reaching to heights of 6+ feet. Many were silicified making them as hard as concrete.

Soke taught karate, kobudo, jujutsu, samurai arts, and self-defense classes and clinics for the Departments of Physical Education, Kinesiology, Extended Studies, and Club Sports, and also offered periodic clinics to ROTC, Religious Studies, Faculty, Staff, Students, Sororities, and to the Public for more than 30 years at the University of Wyoming. In the midst of all of the classes, clinics and research, he traveled the country to consult for mining companies, lectured to more than 400 groups, and in-between, wrote and published nearly 1,000 abstracts, professional papers, magazine articles and books. 

Part of his training regimen included stadium stair runs, weight-training (squatted 800-pounds at a body weight of only 160 pounds), and lots and lots of kata, bunkai, and body hardening (kitai kori). And like any other martial artist, he periodically pulled a muscle or two, and injured his lower spine lifting too much weight. 

So, today, grandpa Soke trains in a local gym in Gilbert, where he is weekly seen stacking 720-pounds or more on a leg press for lifting and yet that allows support for his lower back. In April, 2023, he was seen squatting 5-times his body weight: at 180-pounds and 73 years of age, he squatted 900-pounds on a leg press. A few days later, he did 920 pounds. But he notes, a leg press is nothing like squatting free weights, where one must also focus on balance, have a strong back, strong legs and knees. At his age, and now 170 pounds body weight, it is nice to be able to walk around and to know one can defend himself against most anyone. 

Today, Soke continues to teach a small number of black belt students in Mesa, Arizona, but he is looking to find a church group in Gilbert to teach weekly self-defense classes in 2024 as well as teach other social groups in the East Valley.

Karate and Aging.

Grandmaster Hausel squats 400 pounds at a 170-pound body weight at the
University of Wyoming(photo courtesy of UW Photo Service). Former kyoju no
budo (professor of martial arts), the grandmaster was often seen squatting 400
and 600-pounds and even successfully squatted-800 pounds at Half-Acre Gym
on Campus. Today, as a senior citizen, he pushes 800 lbs with his legs on an
inverted squat machine, a few times a week at Mountainside Fitness in Arizona.

Soke Hausel (Grandmaster of Shorin-Ryu Karate, practices Karate & Kobudo nearly every day, and trains with weights 3 to 4 times a week as he has done for more than 5 decades. When he was a martial arts professor at the University of Wyoming, people were often astounded to see a skinny martial artist/geologist squat 600-pounds at a body weight of 160-pounds (left photo shows Grandmaster Hausel squatting 400 pounds). He even squatted 800 pounds, but not on a regular schedule. This was because of karate and geology. As a geologist, he walks miles in search of gold, diamonds and colored gemstones. As a martial artist, he trains often and teaches karate, jujutsu, kobudo and self-defense. Both geology and martial arts kept him healthy and fit. 

We recently heard about an 118-year old martial artist with great flexibility who can kick the tar out of any 20-year old. Then there is a man who recently earned a 6-degree black belt at the age of 94. And there are examples of men and women at 50,  60, 70 and 80 training in martial arts. Both men and women, no matter what age, benefit from martial arts.

For warm-up, Soke starts with karate kata. Kata are a beneficial aerobic exercise. He may practice fast or slow - but always adds full-power focus to visualize each self-defense application in each kata movement. After kata, he hits the weights working on arms and hands before moving to a squat rack to stretch, kick and punch. Then it's off to a heavy bag for a series of kicks and punches (he does not wear shoes or gloves). He also does a minimum of 300 sit-ups and on some days, has been known to do 1200 situps.  So, that's how he keeps looking fit and beautiful along with teaching 8 karate classes each week.