MEET YOUR SENSEI, STEVEN FRANZ SHIHAN

Born in 1970, Franz Shihan has been training in the martial arts since his 8th birthday in 1978. First walking into a dojo on May 22, 1978, he has trained consistently after falling in love with the arts. Since that time, Franz Shihan has amassed over 11 World Champion titles in all aspects of martial arts competition from Kata to knockdown Kumite. His love for acquiring new knowledge has sent him all over the world, including many trips to Okinawa - the birthplace of Karate, to better understand how martial arts work and their historical significance when it comes to development. He has published four books on Karate and authored articles for publications such as Official Karate Magazine and many more. What you will find out about him is, even though he is considered one of the most prestigious martial artists in the world, he is very much absent of ego. Franz Shihan prefers to focus on how he can help his students more than about his own background or abilities. His entire goal is to build strong, confident and self-defense capable people through the training offered at his two dojos. His students will tell you that he doesn't speak about his accolades very often at all but rather focuses on the accomplishments of those that he has had the honor to teaching the martial arts too. Master Franz very rarely talks about his accomplishments as he likes to say "My entire purpose is not about what I have done but what I can do for my students by teaching them Karate". Here is more of an in-depth look at the accomplishments of Franz Shihan over his 45 years of training non-stop:

Steven M Franz, Shihan - Rokudan Okinawan Shorin Ryu Shorinkan

Martial Arts Experience & Background
     Chung Do Kwan Tae Kwon Do 7th Dan
     Moo Duk Kwan Tae Kwon Do 8th Dan
     Shorin Ryu ShorinKan Rokudan 6th Dan
     Kokusai Rengokai Kobudo 2nd Dan
     Judo 2nd Dan
     Yoshin Ryu Jujitsu 1st Kyu
     Danzan Ryu Jujitsu 3rd Dan
     Go-Mokuroku Certification in Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu Iaido

Training History
     May 1978—Began Japanese Goju Ryu Karate (Peter Urban Lineage) in Angola, Indiana
     May 1983—Began Tae Kwon Do Training in Edgerton, Ohio
     November 7, 1987—Earned 1st Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do (AMTA)
     November 11, 1988—Earned 2nd Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do (AMTA)
    January 1989—Met Junishiro Takanami and began training with him during my college years in Okinawan
        Karate (Strong Naha and Tomari-Te influence) Remained friends and trained together until he passed in away
        ** Takanami Sensei awarded me Godan in 1997
    November 20, 1991—Earned 3rd Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do
    December 1, 1991—Opened his own school in Hicksville, Ohio
    June 1994—Awarded 4th Dan in Tae Kwon Do (AMTA)
    September 1997—Awarded 5th Dan in Tae Kwon Do (AMTA)
    February 2001—Awarded 6th Dan in Tae Kwon Do (AMTA)
    August 2006—Awarded 7th Dan by the International Martial Arts Council
    July 2009 – Awarded 8th Dan by the US Martial Arts Alliance
    June 2008—Began training in Kokusai Rengokai Kobudo under Eddie Bethea Kyoshi
    July 2009—Began training in Shorin Ryu Shorinkan Karate under Eddie Bethea Kyoshi
    April 2015—Awarded 6th Dan under Eddie Bethea Kyoshi in Shorin Ryu Shorikan while training in Okinawa
         and licensed by both Shugoro Nakazato Hanshi and Minoru Nakazato Hanshi of the Shorin Ryu Shorinkan  
         Kyokai
    April 2015—Earned Shihan Instructor Certification under Eddie Bethea Kyoshi. Certified by Shugoro Nakazato
         Hanshi Judan

Martial Arts Accolades, Awards and Titles Earned
     1980—Present he has competed for many years in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky Karate tournaments
         including Internationally as a member of several different US Martial Arts teams
    1983 Placed 2nd in 3 Rivers Tournament in Kumite. Was my first trophy win in my career.
    1986 Indiana State Kumite and Kata Champion (AMTA)
    1987 Indiana State Kumite and Kata Champion (AMTA)
    1992 through 1999 Competed in Kyokushin and Eishin Karate Bare Knuckle Knockdown Tournaments
    1990 through 1994 Competed in Kickboxing. Retired to run my dojo. 8 wins, 2 loss, 1 draw record.
    1995—2005 White Tiger Tournament Grand Champion, lost in 2006, regained and held it in 2007 to 2012
    1994—1998 Top 20 PKC School Rating
    1995 AMKA Karate Champion Master’s Black Belt Kumite, Kata, Weapons and Self Defense
    1996 AMKA Karate Champion Master’s Black Belt Kumite, Kata, Weapons and Self Defense
    1995 WCOMA World Champion Black Belt Master’s Kumite, Kata, Weapons & Self Defense (Triple Crown)
    1996 IGOR World Champion Master’s Kumite and Weapons Kata
    1996 WCOMA World Champion Black Belt Master’s Kumite, Kata and Weapons (Triple Crown)
    1997 WCOMA World Champion Black Belt Master’s Kumite
    2000 The World vs Hawaii World Champion Master’s Kumite, Kata, Weapons and Self Defense Triple Crown Title
        (I was also head coach on the team that year and we won the gold in every division)
    2003 The Alliance World Championships held in Greece—Master’s Kumite and Kata Champion
    2007 The Alliance Battle at the Beach Master’s Champion
    2004—2008, 2022 US Alliance National Points Champion Black Belt Master’s Kumite, Kata, Weapons
    2006 Inducted into the International Budo Society as their first member
    2011—2015 PKC Indiana Regional Top 5 Award (2012, 2013, 2014 Runner Up for Top School)
    2012 Robert A Trias Memorial Award Recipient
    2012 Awarded the Eddie Bethea Humanitarian Award by the Professional Karate Commission
    2015 Awarded the Molum Combat Arts Honor Society Yap Suk Dai Ji Award from Master Tim White
    2016 Listed in the “Who’s Who in Martial Arts Publication”
    2016 PKC Region 2 season finished 1st place champion in Weapons, 2nd place in Kata and 2nd in Kumite after
        not competing for over 10 years. Earned many grand champion trophies over the years as well.  Earned a total
        of 28 Grand Champion trophies at Ken Gillenwater’s tournaments in Pierceton, Indiana from 1991  through 2002
    Competed well on NASKA, NBL and ISKA circuits
    1996 Awarded the Tae Kwon Do Times Instructor of the Year
    Was inducted into the US National Martial Arts Hall of Fame a total of 16 times for various themes.
    Inducted into the United States Martial Arts Hall of Fame in 2007 in St. Louis.
    2016 Developed a new traditional uniform designed to the highest of standards in cooperation with Century Martial
       Arts, the world's leading martial arts supplier. The uniform became one of the fastest selling and highest rated
       Karate Gi and was sold all over the world. Franz Shihan was photographed and published wearing the uniform
       in the Century Martial Arts catalog.
   2016 Rated #1 Master Black Belt Weapons Competitor in the Region
   2016 Rated #2 Master Black Belt Kata and Kumite Competitor in the Region
   2016 Awarded Glenn R Keeney Award for Excellence in Karate
   2018 Awarded Paul Bridges Best Tournament Official
   2021 Inducted into the International Warriors Hall of Fame founded by Tom Pisut
   2022 Inducted into the US Military Martial Arts Elite Hall of Fame
   2022 LION’S Regional Point Circuit Master Black Belt Champion Kata & Weapons
   2022 LION’S Indiana State Point Circuit Master Black Belt Champion Kata & Weapons
   2022 TKA Indiana State Champion Master Black Belt Kata & Weapons
   2022 Unified Indiana State Champion Title Master Black Belt Kata & Weapons
   2023 Awarded the Zenith School Award at the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame

Instructor Accomplishments
    Have had several students from 1995 to the present be rated in the top 10 of PKC point seasons include several
       Ohio, Indiana and National Champions
    Have had several students win Big Dog Titles at the PKC Internationals
    Have won over 60 School Trophies at various events throughout the Mid-West including 32 at Lion’s Karate
       Tournaments hosted by Ken Gillenwater from 1992 until 2005
    Many of his students have been members of various Karate teams representing the USA through WCOMA,
       WOMAA, the Alliance and other organizations, including himself often serving as Team Captain.
    Have had articles / letters published in Black Belt Magazine and Official Karate Magazine
    Have self-authored training manuals for his students and a well visited Blog page
    Been teaching and running a martial arts school since 1991 continually. Opened his dojo with $125 of his own
       savings, never had a loan, borrowed money or used credit to build his dojos. He simply made many sacrifices
      to ensure the growth and longevity of his schools.
    AMKA Top School Award 1995, 1996
    AMKA Instructor of the year 1995, 1996
    Co-founded the American Midwest Karate Association but left the leadership in 1996 for personal reasons.
    2007 to 2009 The Alliance School of the Year Award consecutively

Other Martial Arts Training  Items of Interest
    Completed PPCT Assistant Instructor & Instructor Certification
    Completed Bodyguard Training and certified
    Have a strong interest in martial arts historical facts and research. Currently his library consists of over 300 books, 
        manuals, magazines and around 150 films, DVD’s and VHS tapes spanning over 30 decades... and it is still
        growing. Many are signed by the authors and includes some very rare copies of manuals
    Have attended law enforcement tactical training seminars with various instructors over the accomplishments
        including Best School of the Year award.
    Certified Anti-Bully instructor under the Tom Patire method called Bullyguard
    Certified Self Defense Instructor in Know & Go, Rape Free and other methods
    Have held a total of over 130 Women’s Self Defense Clinics since 1993

Notable Instructors I have attended Seminars for training with
    Hanshi Glenn Keeney—Kumite
    Master Eddie Bethea Jr.—Several aspects of Kobudo and Karate
    Minoru Nakazato Hanshi Judan - Shorin Ryu ShorinKan
    Bill Hayes Hanshi - Longevity and Health in Martial Arts / Study of the Bubishi
    Master Stephen K Haynes—Togakure Ryu Ninjitsu
    Master Ed Parker Sr.—American Kenpo
    Hanshi John Venson Principles of Kumite
    Mr. Bill Superfoot Wallace—Superfoot Kicking Methods
    Master Herb Johnson—Competitive Karate
    Hanshi Fumio Demura—Karate
    Master Tadashi Yamashita—Karate and Kobudo
    Master Neil Stolsmark—Karate and Kobudo
    Master Chuck Norris—Competitive Karate and Sparring
    Frank Dux—Dux Ryu Combatives
    Master Geoff Meede (actor / stuntman / 5th Dan American Kenpo)
    Master Jeff Speakman—American Kenpo
    Master Phillip Rhee
    Master Hee Il Cho
    Master Dan and Chad Netherland—Extreme Breaking
    Grand Master James Webster Kobudo Weapons Semianars
    Guru Dan Insanto—Kali and Escrima
    Jackie Chan Stunt Team Training
    Jim Wagner Reality Based Combatives

Martial Arts Organization Affiliations
    The Professional Karate Commission Lifetime Member
    Shorin Ryu ShorinKan Member
    Shorin Ryu ShorinKan Licensed Martial Arts School
    United States Martial Arts Alliance Lifetime Member
    United States Martial Arts Association of America
    International Council of Martial Arts Lifetime Member
    USA Karate Federation Lifetime Member
    United States Association of Martial Artists Member
    Tournament Karate Association Member
    LION’S Tournament Karate Association Member
    United States Karate Association Member (1978-1982)

Personal Note by Franz Shihan:
My journey has also allowed me to study Shotokan, Aikido, Akijitsu among other various arts but my heart has always been with Karate as my foundation and rock. Thanks to Eddie Bethea Kyoshi I am now right where I have always dreamed to be...learning an authentic Okinawan form of Karate the proper way. My long term goal is to be the best Sensei I possibly can and represent and honor my Sensei and preserve the art of Shorin Ryu ShorinKan with all my heart.