Ron Nix, Kyudan

RSKKR President

Year started training in karate: 1971 at age 13 with Sifu Roby Kirby of Chinese Kempo. After five years ascended to his first black belt. At the the of 18, he entered the United States Air Force. First duty station was Okinawa, Japan. An American teaching Okinawan Karate, Robert Teller, introduced him to the Okinawan Karate Arts. Ron Nix had the honor of studying with Sensei Masunobu Kina for over a year before Sensei Kina's untimely death. In 1980, Nix continued his Karate training under Shian Toma of Seidokan Karate. He was amazed with Sensei Toma's Karate, especially the grappling techniques. Ron Nix committed to a new martial arts path, or a continuation of his previous one, and requested to become a student of Shian Toma. Toma accepted and Sensei Nix became a white belt all over again and came up through the ranks. He has been with Sensei Toma ever since.

In 1981, Sensei Nix left Okinawa and taught Karate for two and a half years in Del Rio, Texas. He returned to Okinawa in 1984 and trained for the next eight years, learning the advanced techniques of Seidokan Karate with its Motobu Ryu roots. Once again he was returned to the United States by the Air Force in 1992. This was a time of solo training for him as he polished his Kata and Bunkai, a time of inner growth and understanding of Seidokan Karate.

A return soon to Okinawa came in 1994, when the Air Force saw fit to station him at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. He was coming home and committed to give something back to Sensei Toma and the island of Okinawa. Until he retired, Sensei Nix held after hours Karate classes on Kadena Air Base three evenings a week and sometimes Saturdays, sharing with the GI's what Sensei Toma had shared with him.

His wife Akemi is Okinawan (Uchinochu). She and Sensei were about to fulfill their destiny. Just prior to retirement they built their retirement home in Okinawa with an attached dojo. It was amazing how successful the dojo was. Not only did Sensei Nix retain his following of U.S. military members who had been training with him on base, but the local Okinawan community also began bringing their children, and adults started coming to see the "Oki-Gaijin" Karate instructor who lived among them. Today, Sensei 'Ronnie-san' Nix of the Okinawan Seidokan Dojo has the largest Karate dojo on Okinawa. It grew so big he had to enclose the parking area below the upstiars dojo and add a downstairs dojo floor.

Recently, he has stepped forward at the request of Sensei Toma to preserve Toma Seidokan Karate practices and standards. Sensei Toma charged Sensei Nix with starting an organization that would require him to think outside his dojo walls. Sensei Ron Nix and his students are working toward that charge. This is why you see the Ryukoku Seidokan Karate Kobudo Renmei, an association dedicated to preserving the legacy of Sensei Toma's Seidokan Karate and sharing it with others.

In summary, Sensei Nix is an 9th degree black belt in Seidokan Karate with over 35 years experience in the martial arts. He’s spent over 30 years in Okinawa under Sensei Kina and Sensei Toma. He has been very fortunate to train under such masters. Sensei Nix’s training methods rely on technique, balance, speed, flexibility, endurance and cool head. He not only teaches traditional Karate, but also teaches tournament Karate for the individuals who enjoy competition.