John Sells Hanshi is a renowned martial arts historian and instructor, best known as the author of "Unante". A native Californian, he began his study of Karate and other Asian martial arts as a youth in Los Angeles, practicing daily by the age of fourteen.
Sells' early training included Hidetaka Nishiyama's original All America Karate Federation. During high school, he organized and taught a school-sponsored Karate club. While attending the University of Redlands, he expanded his horizons by enrolling in Kyokushin Karate courses and joining a campus Shorin-ryu club.
In 1968, he received his first black belt in Shobayashi-ryu Shorin-ryu under George Torbett and was retained by the University to teach Karate as part of the physical education curriculum. He continued to study Shito-ryu concurrently with Shorin-ryu, while also pursuing Shotokan during summer breaks.
By 1973, Sells held a 3rd Dan in Shorin-ryu and a 2nd Dan in Shito-ryu. He became a licensed instructor of Kotaka-ha Shito-ryu under Chuzo Kotaka. He later served as the Karate instructor at UC Santa Barbara and studied Itosukai Shito-ryu and Shotokan under Fumio Demura and Daniel Ivan, eventually becoming a senior instructor with the JKF USA.
His technical excellence was formally recognized in Osaka, Japan, in 2001, where Kenzo Mabuni Soke awarded him the title of Hanshi. He holds an 8th Dan in Shito-ryu and a 6th Dan in Okinawan Kobudo.
Since 1976, John Sells has been a prolific contributor to major martial arts publications such as Black Belt and Karate Illustrated. His writing focuses on the historical aspects of Karate-do, aiming to bring hidden details of the art's past to light. He is the founder of the United States Kobudo Association and co-founder of Shindokai Karatedo.
Copyright Shuriway
All rights reserved.
Use of this website is governed by the Terms of Use.