AUBURN, Ind. (AP) - Two decades since he first taught karate in Auburn, Steven Franz has returned with the opening of his Franz Karate school downtown.
Franz’s school occupies the former Window Boutique building on the west side of the courthouse square, which he extensively remodeled into a dojo while keeping its historic character.
A native of the Hamilton area and graduate of Eastside High School in Butler, Franz still makes his home in Hamilton.
He started studying karate at the age of 8, opened his first karate school in 1991 in Hicksville, Ohio, and taught at the YMCA in Auburn in 1997.
The school he opened in 2001 in Bryan, Ohio, remains a thriving operation with more than 70 students. He started teaching full-time in 2005.
Now he is taking over a school started in Auburn by his former student, Jeremy Bowers.
“I always wanted to have a school in Auburn,” Franz said, but he would not have gone into competition as long as Bowers was teaching, he added.
Franz instructs more than 70 students in Bryan and hopes to build a similar roster in Auburn.
In Auburn, he will teach Shorin Ryu ShorinKan, which he describes as a “very, very old, authentic system of karate from Okinawa” with a heavy emphasis on self-defense.
“I’m a second-generation black belt under the founders of Okinawan karate,” Franz said. At his school, he added, “You get pure Okinawan karate. . You’re going to get real-life, effective self-defense.”
Karate gives students discipline, focus and self-confidence, he said.
“We truly build people from the inside out,” he added. He finds rewards in watching the changes in his students.
What makes a good karate school, Franz said, is that “the instructor has been taught how to teach. . I had to go to Okinawa and test for that,” he said. He makes return visits annually to stay up to date as a shihan, or “teacher of teachers.”
Franz is a promoter with the Professional Karate Commission, an 11-time world karate champion and a multiple hall of fame inductee, he said. He remains one of the nation’s top competitors in the masters division.
“Most people can’t believe I do it at my age, but I do,” he said about competing.
His school in Auburn will operate Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons and evenings, with a plan to move toward five days per week.
He offers basic and advance classes, including training with centuries-old Okinawan weapons. He also instructs private students, including professional people and law-enforcement officers, and leads self-defense seminars.
“I want to know what I can do to help you,” he said. “That’s the real challenge of being a karate instructor.”
He added, “Karate is a path of self-discovery. That’s what makes my job great.”
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Source: KPC News, https://bit.ly/2gEmxDE
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Information from: The (Auburn, Ind.) Star, https://www.dekalbstar.com
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