More Info on Sensei Arndt
Updated
August 11, 2005
This page will list some brief
information on Sensei George Arndt. We will try to add more as time
permits. But first, a few words of explanation.
The martial
arts have many different names for the many different ranks. The
Senshi Nokkiru Dojo (SND) uses only the rank or title of "Sensei,"
which simply means "teacher." There are no masters, no
grand masters, no ultra-grand masters, no Professors, no Doctors. No
false titles. I have actually seen people with the title master in 7
different martial arts styles, all being 8th degree black
belt or higher. I have never met a living karate master. I can think
of those who may have deserved that title (Mas. Oyama, J. Kano, M.
Ueshiba, M. Maeda). I personally know many who have that title, but
of those there is not one of whom I would consider a "master."
One of my kyokushin karate instructors is titled "Shihan"
which literally means "head administrator." He's the head
of the kyokushin organization and that is it. He has put in a lot of
time training. And a lot of time fighting. And performing kata. And a
whole lot else. But he is not a master.
I am still a student.
I hope that you are a student, too.
Sensei Arndt (b. 1967)
began practicing Kyokushin karate in late 1984/early 1985 under the
direction of Shihan
James Gillis, Hachidan (8th degree black belt).
George then went on to study and teach at Purdue University, W.
Lafayette. In 1986 George met a Brazilian graduate student (T. Fadda)
who was from a long family of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners. He
asked Sensei Arndt to teach him kyokushin techniques, as kyokushin
was the “hottest” martial art in Brazil at that time. He
and Sensei Arndt would sometimes train together trading techniques,
standing and grappling. In 1986 Sensei Arndt formed the Purdue
Kyokushin Karate Club, sanctioned by the university. Students began
to join and the dojo began training on wooden floors in the
Mechanical Engineering Building Room 118. As the number of students
grew the dojo moved to Lambert Fieldhouse Dance Studios and the
Co-Rec gymnasium. The Dance Studio soon became too small and so the
dojo finally settled on the Lambert Fieldhouse basketball courts in
1990. With a large group of regular students from many different
martial arts experiences, the dojo was able succeed through the help
of assistant instructors such as Brenda Dodge (2nd kyu),
David Ball (2nd kyu), Chad McAlexander (at that time 2nd
kyu), James Haupert (4th kyu) and others. The Purdue dojo
used both the standing techniques from Kyokushin Karate, as well as
some throws from Judo and several Brazilian Jiu Jitsu techniques
learned from “Sensei” Fadda.
In 1995 Sensei Arndt
left the Purdue school in the able hands of Sensei McAlexander and
moved to New Carlisle, Indiana, in the northern part of the state.
There he continued to train regularly with his Kyokushin partner
Sensei Tracy Crump, and other students and instructors in both
kyokushin and brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ). He continues his training
today in kyokushin and BJJ.
Sensei Arndt was promoted to 1st
dan in 1993, 2nd dan in 1995, and 3rd dan in
1997. In 1998 Sensei Arndt decided that he was no longer going to
accept additional ranking for himself for personal reasons and so has
dissolved himself of any rank and is simply considered a black belt
instructor. Sensei McAlexander, Sensei Crump, and Sensei Arndt sit on
the voting board of the Yudansha Committee of the Senshi Nokkiru
Dojo, while the non-voting members are Sempei Brad McAlexander,
Sempei Shaina Poland, and Sempei Becky Miko..
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