U.S. Budokai Karate was founded in March of 1987 by William J. Reid.
Prior to that Mr. Reid was the chief instructor of Albany Seido Karate, one of the largest branches of World Seido Karate. The World Seido Karate Organization, based in New York City, was founded in 1976 by Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura. Kaicho Nakamura, a ninth degree black belt, trained under Mas Oyama in Japan, and in 1969 he brought Kyokushinkai Karate to America. He taught many students in Kyokushinkai until he formed the World Seido Karate Organization. Over the past 30 years Mr. Reid has trained thousands of students in the Capital District, many of his students have gone on to ivy league colleges, become educators, and successful business leaders themselves.
In May of 2005 William Reid was honored with the rank of Eighth Degree Black Belt and the title Hanshi.
Philosophy
At US Budokai we believe martial arts education is a vehicle for self-discovery and positive change. Martial arts training helps teach respect, self-discipline and responsibility, as well as condition the body and teach self-defense. Budokai Karate helps to develop character, spirit, and strong positive attitudes. Using as much traditional Japanese theory as possible, we strive to build a strong mind, body and spirit, which leads to self-esteem.
Goals
People begin training for a wide variety of reasons. One of our goals is to bring people together from all different walks of life, help teach them to respect each other, themselves and to care for their fellow man. However, the overriding goal of our School is to help each person become a better-rounded person. We believe martial arts training can improve the world one person at a time.
Commitment
In addition to providing ivy-league martial arts educational programs for over twenty years. US Budokai has demonstrated a commitment to serving our community. We participate in a variety of activities including the Albany PAL, for the past 15 years. A program providing martial arts training for inner city youth in the Albany school district. Fund raising for organizations like March of Dimes, St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, and Jerry’s Kids.
We encourage our students to strive to achieve their personal best both physically and mentally!
