Hanshi Bill and Sensei Karen Palmer hold black belts in Kokushiryu Jujutsu andhave been teaching since 1975. Hanshi, a professor at theKokushi Budo Institute (the New York branch of the KokushikanUniversity in Japan), is an eighth degree black belt and a certifiedInternational referee. He holds the highest rank awarded in the style,and is the sole recipient of the Hanshi teaching certificate. Hanshi isa fifth degree black belt in Kokushi Karate. Sensei holds a sixthdegree black belt in Kokushiryu Jujutsu, and is also certified as anInternational referee. Both also study Judo and Tomiki Aikido, in whichKyoshi is a certified national referee. Bill and Karen are alsoCertified BLS/First Aid Instructors.
Thesummer of 2007, Sensei Palmer taught martial arts in an outreachprogram camp on the lower East Side under the auspices of the FultonStreet YMCA. During the academic year 2006-2007, Karen was a member ofthe faculty at the Birch Wathen Lenox School, teaching self defense tomiddle school girls. She taught karate and jujutsu at the ChinatownYMCA the summer of 2003. Karen began teaching at Horace Mann lowerschool in January, 2001. In the fall of 1999, the Palmers institutedthe C.A.T.S. Martial Arts Program for children and adults. The summerof 1999, they taught jujutsu at the West Side YMCA Sports Camp. InJanuary, 1998, Kyoshi began teaching at the After School Program heldat P.S. 6 and Sensei took over in the fall of 1998.
InSeptember, 1991, the Palmers began an after school martial arts programat the the Birch Wathen Lenox School, and Kyoshi began teaching jujutsuand karate there as part of the physical education department inJanuary, 1993. He also taught at the Asphalt Green Day Camp the summerof 1993. Sensei began teaching jujutsu at Marymount and the Town Schoolin 1992, and Kyoshi started a class at the Ethical Culture School whereKaren has been teaching for the past several years. During the summerof 1991, Kyoshi taught karate at the Columbus Branch of the New YorkPublic Library for the Mayor's "Safe Streets... Safe Cities" program.
ThePalmers began teaching youngsters at the West Side YMCA in September1985, and were interviewed there by Storm Fields on the Channel 2 News.They have lectured and conducted workshops on Japanese martial arts,and have performed many demonstrations. Kyoshi taught at the McBurneyYMCA from 1974 to 1985, and his adult self-defense class was listed inNew York Magazine as one of the ten best in New York City. Senseiworked there as his assistant.
Theirmost recent book, The Encyclopedia of Martial Art Movies, was publishedby Scarecrow Press in 1995. A trade paperback edition was released in2003. In 1987, the Palmers served as the martial art film reviewers forThe Complete Guide To Videocassette Movies, edited by Steven Scheuer.They review videos for "Martial Arts Movie Associates," conductlectures on martial art films, and served as consultants for WorldwideEntertainment, the syndicators of the best TV martial arts films. Theyhave also been advisers to Embassy, Ocean Video, and Saturn Video, whowere interested in learning the best ways to sell Asian action films,and have contributed time and information to several authors of booksand magazine articles.
In1985, the Palmers co-authored the book Martial Arts Movies: From BruceLee To The Ninja (Citadel Press), which has been considered the "bible"for the industry since publication. In addition to the hundreds ofcopies purchased by Ocean Video and World Wide Entertainment to helpeducate their salesmen, the book is used as an assigned text in filmcourses taught at St. Johns University.
ThePalmers began reviewing films for the Madison Square Garden Network TVshow, Martial Art World in 1985, and have been seen across the countryand in parts of Canada. The program was the only regularly scheduledmartial arts show on TV, and they were the only reviewers coveringthese films.
In addition to offering traditional Japanese Martial Arts ProgramsFor Children, Teens, & Adults in Kokushiryu Jujutsu, Karate, andAdult Self-defense, we also offer certification in CPR/AED, CPR for theProfessional Rescuer, First Aid, Bloodborne Pathogens, Child &Babysitting Safety, Emergency Medical Response, Emergency OxygenAdministration, Disaster Preparedness, & Injury Prevention forChild Care Workers.