The Dojo Origins in Eugene, OR
Seishinkan - Karate on Main is the only Goju Ryu Dojo in the Portland Metropolitan Area. Schedule a visit here!
The true focus of Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate-Do is to instill people with strong character, morals and discipline. Moral, intellectual and physical training combine as one to encourage positive development of the human spirit.
Through karate training, a student will learn to focus and apply the power of the mind. Students develop qualities centered on courage, morality, resolve and responsibility. These are facets of human character necessary for the development of humankind and which contribute to the health of society as a whole. In our everyday training, the karate practitioner strives to improve both mind and body. All people irrespective of race, age or gender are welcome.
This is what is meant by karate-do. This is what we practice. This is what we teach.
Personal Student of Sensei Morio Higaonna, 10th Dan Black Belt
Sensei Ellis began karate training in 1963, while still a high school student in New York. Early training also included Judo, Kendo and Zen with Sakiyama Roshi, a former student of Miyagi Chojun Sensei. Following discharge from the Marine Corps, Ellis entered the PhD Japanese history program at the University of Oregon In 1973, Ellis went to Tokyo to study with Higaonna Sensei as one of the first westerners at the now famous Yoyogi dojo. Concurrently, he enrolled at Waseda University to continue his academic studies. Upon returning to the US, Ellis started his own dojo and for the next 20 years headed the University of Oregon club sports karate program and taught karate while on faculty in the Physical Education Department. Ellis lives with his wife and son in Portland, Oregon where he teaches. His daughter is the Mayor of King City Oregon. Ellis is a former technology executive having spent most of his career in the defense industry. Ellis Sensei's new dojo SEISHINKAN, named in honor of his teacher, means "the school where we develop the spirit of Morio Sensei."
Harry began practicing Karate in 1973 under Sensei Robert Ellis, while pursuing the study of Architecture at the University of Oregon. Following graduation with a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1976, and his first degree black belt promotion, he competed in regional and national level tournaments in both kumite and kata events. As Harry began his career in Architecture he opened the Portland dojo to teach students for over twenty-five years, attending numerous seminars and Gasshuku’s, and continues to teach and practice since that time. Harry has been a Portland native all his life where he raised his family and fulfilled his career goal of practicing architecture, with the last 32 years at an international design firm headquartered in Portland, Oregon, leading major design projects for global high-tech companies in the semiconductor industry. Harry retired from the practice of Architecture in 2021 after 45 years in the business, and continues with some occasional consulting. He now spends much of his time assisting his Sensei, as Vice Chief Instructor for SEISHINKAN. 2023 marks fifty years of practicing Goju Ryu Karate Do under the tutelage of Sensei Ellis. He is blessed with three sons, Devin, Nathan, and Adam, and four grandchildren, Abigale, Finnian, Kahlil, and Ailish.
Ricardo began his formal Karate training in 1970 as a 14-year-old Junior High School student. Following undergraduate studies at the University of Guanajuato, Mexico, Ricardo came to the United States in 1980 to pursue his education at the University of Oregon and continue his practice of Martial Arts. In 1985, he began his training in Okinawan Goju-Ryu under Sensei Ellis. Ricardo is a Ph.D. candidate in Criminology, at the University of Oregon. He has spent 20 years working in the field of Addiction Counseling, as a professional consultant to Oregon's Office of Mental Health & Addiction Services, and to the Oregon Department of Corrections, He is currently president of MultiCultural Consultants and the Executive Director of the Freedom & Recovery Program at the Oregon State Correctional Institution. He lives happily with his wife and two children in Salem, Oregon.
Come and join us at the dojo today - Schedule a visit here!
