Sensei Rod Sanford (Hanshi)
Sensei Rod Sanford first began training in Judo in 1959 at a Dojo in Watsonville, CA and earned his black belt 4 years later. He then began studying traditional Japanese Chito-Ryu Karate in 1964. Around the same time he was also training with Sensei Chow-Hoon in Kodenkan Ju-Jitsu.
Sensei Sanford joined the Zen Bei Butoku-Kai and started training in Shorinji-Ryu Karate under O’Sensei Kim in the mid 60’s and remained a student of O’Sensei Kim until Kim’s passing in 2001. Sensei Sanford was one of the earliest students of O’Sensei Kim back in the days of classes being held at the YMCA in Chinatown, San Francisco.
Sensei Sanford has also extensively trained in Daito Ryu Aiki-Jujutsu, Okinawan and Japanese weaponry, and in the Chinese arts of Tai Chi Chuan, Hsing Yi and P’a Kua. In 1980 he decided to become a full time Karate instructor and open our current Dojo in Soquel, CA. He was promoted to the rank of 9th degree Black Belt and the title of “Hanshi” in 2022 by Sensei Jean Charlemoin, who is the president of the Kokusai Butoku-Kai in Europe. Sensei Rod Sanford serves as the current president of the Zen Bei Butoku-Kai (North American branch).
In addition to having an extensive history in the Martial Arts, Sensei also has a background in law enforcement in Santa Cruz county. He was a Sergeant with the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Department and joined the police force starting in 1966. He studied police tactics under Robert Koga who was a very experienced practitioner of Aikido. Sensei became a Defensive Tactics Instructor under Mr. Koga, teaching law enforcement agencies across California. He was also on many special units at the Sheriff’s department including SWAT, Bomb Squad, Search and Rescue, K9 Unit, as well as serving as a firearms instructor. In 1983, Sensei Rod Sanford founded his own law enforcement training agency called the Pacific Institute of Defensive Tactics. He continues to run P.I.D.T. to this day. Sensei oversees the police academy in Chico, CA and certifies officers to become Defensive Tactics instructors in his system.
Outside of the Martial Arts, Sensei Sanford enjoys classic cars, gardening and spending time with his family.
Shorinji-Ryu Karate & The Legacy of O’Sensei Kim
O’Sensei Richard Kim (1917-2001)
Our master and founder of our style, Shorinji-Ryu Karate-Do. O’Sensei began his training in 1922 at the age of 5 in the Japanese art of Judo under Kaneko Sensei. Soon after he started studying Okinawan Karate. He studied under Arakaki Sensei (a disciple of Yabu Kentsu, a famous Karate master). Before WWII he traveled to both China and Japan to train in various Martial Arts. After WWII he studied Daito-Ryu Aiki-Jujutsu under Yoshida Kotaro (O’Sensei Kim & Kotaro Sensei pictured to the far right).
O’Sensei Kim helped reform the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai organization in 1953. The Dai Nippon was founded in 1895 to preserve Samurai tradition and traditional Japanese Martial Arts. It had been closed at the end of WWII in 1946 during USA military occupation.
In 1959 he then left Japan for San Francisco and began a career of teaching the martial arts to westerners for the next 42 years.
Shortly after arriving in the US, O’Sensei Kim would meet and help acclimate a young Japanese martial artist named Hidetaka Nishiyama who was to begin teaching Shotokan Karate in the states. Nishiyama moved on to become the master of Shotokan Karate, which is the most common style of Japanese Karate practiced in the world. He was also made a living national treasure by the Emperor of Japan. O’Sensei Kim was named Vice President of Nishiyama’s organization and the two remained good friends until Kim’s passing in 2001. O’Sensei Kim had spent many years teaching thousands or practitioners throughout the USA, Canada, Europe and Asia.