Adam Carter has practiced karate for over fifty years and has taught continuously since 1985. He holds the rank of 8th Dan (Hachidan) and the teaching title of Hanshi within the Okinawan karate tradition.
Before beginning formal karate training, he had a small amount of boxing experience as a youth. That early exposure to timing, distance, and contact left a lasting impression, later influencing his preference for methods that can be tested and applied rather than performed for appearance.
His karate training began in the United Kingdom in 1974 under Suzuki Tatsuo sensei in Wadō-ryū. Early exposure to structured kata and pressure-tested basics established a foundation, while also raising long-term questions about application and context.
In late 1981, he began training in Shinjin-Ryu Okinawa-Te under Tamaki Katsumi sensei. This shifted his focus toward older Okinawan methods and a deeper interest in kata as a functional system rather than a performance sequence.
After relocating in 1984, he continued training through Sankukai karate under Roger Mills sensei, later following Mills into Shitō-ryū under Kusano Kenji and Tsukada Ryōzō. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he trained extensively across the UK and Europe, seeking out instructors from Goju-ryu, Shotokan, and Kyokushin. The late Ronnie Colwell-sensei remarked, “It’s wonderful to see a person so deeply interested in Budo as you are.”
By the mid-1990s, it became clear that sport-oriented practice no longer answered the questions that initially drew him to the art. In 1997, he stepped away from competition to focus on independent study and kata-based analysis. In 2000, he was introduced to Mabuni Kenzo sensei and became the senior instructor for Seito Shitō-ryū in the UK.
After Mabuni Kenzo sensei’s passing in 2005, Carter-sensei focused on independent study and travel across the UK, USA, Japan, and Okinawa. This phase of research directly shaped the applied, civilian-focused approach that defines his teaching today.
Invited to teach in the US in 2014 and 2015, he relocated permanently to the Chicago area in 2016. Following the COVID period, he returned to a private dojo model, which aligns naturally with older Okinawan teaching norms and a mentor-led structure.
In September 2023, he reunited with Tamaki Katsumi sensei, reaffirming a connection that began in the early 1980s. During this visit, his 8th dan rank and title of Hanshi were formally endorsed, with Tamaki sensei and Rhys Collins agreeing to provide mentorship and advisory support to both him and the Shuri Dojo.
He is the founder of the Shuri Dojo International Kyokai, a study-based association created to support clarity and applied understanding of Okinawan karate. Today, Carter-sensei teaches a pragmatic interpretation of classical methods referred to as Ryukyu Karate Jutsu - Shuhaku-den, emphasizing kata-based partner work and realistic pressure awareness.
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