AKS Quarterly Newsletter

50 Years of the American Karate System

Michael A. Sullenger
Chief Instructor - Emeritus

Since my retirement as the chief instructor in July of 2017, I haven't been very involved with the organization I was instrumental in helping to found. There were several reasons behind this, key among them was the cancer I was battling at the time, coupled with other aspects of how things with the AKS were going.

The weekend of July 22, 2023 brought me back to Muskegon for this special occasion. While it was truly great to see old friends, and to make a few new ones, I was saddened that some new members I'd never met before, made no attempt to introduce themselves. That's not the level of respect our founder expected of his black belts, or any member for that matter.

I was also reminded by a young brown belt who has been enjoying learning Cat form 1, that it was also 50 years ago when I created that form. I used it for the first time at Jim McCune's tournament in Grand Rapids and won my first 1st place trophy with it. I told Ernie I&339;d developed this new form and wanted him to see what he thought of it after it debuted during the kata competition. I had hoped he would accept it as one of the black belt level kata for the AKS. I remember him telling me it was good but needed some tweaking. I never dreamed it would become what it has.

Fifty years is a long time. Sensei Lieb's dream has survived the test of time, thus far. Ernie was concerned there would be a struggle between his senior black belts over leadership once he was gone. He spoke with me about assuming the chief instructor position on several occasions. I was reticent and not comfortable talking about me taking his place when he was gone. The thought of not having him to talk to or spend time with was very difficult.

When that fateful day in September did arrive, I was in route to my 40th High School reunion in Vincennes, Indiana when I got a phone call from his wife telling me what had happened. I had to pull off the road in order to deal with my emotions. To the credit of all the senior black belt members of the AKS there was unanimous support to follow Ernie&339;s wishes. I was promoted to that position at the July summer camp in 2007.

One of the things that brought me into Ernie's camp to become one of his students back in 1972 was his skill and knowledge as a martial artist. That, along with his charismatic personality and passion for karate, and his desire for American Karate to be the best, were the ingredients that resulted in the organization we have today. He became my sensei, mentor and lifelong friend.

I was saddened to be the only member of the founding group who was able to be present for the fiftieth celebration. Allen Horton, John Folsom and Sam Chapman were unable to attend. Others were no longer involved in the martial arts and hadn't been in quite some time. This was a special occasion as we celebrated five decades of Ernie's dream of an American Karate System. A style that has made a mark in martial arts history, not only in the arena of competition, but also as a style that set a high bar for excellence and quality for others to follow.

As an organization, we are no longer as vibrant and active as we once were. You black belts must ask yourselves why. Under Ernie's guidance and leadership, I attempted to put the AKS at a higher level within the martial arts community by taking instructional materials from the different schools and clubs and creating the student handbook we have today. The purpose was simple. Provide a set of standards for all AKS members to follow. Basic guidelines that instructors could build on within their respective schools. Sadly, not everyone was on board.

Without Ernie's blessing, I undertook the expense of creating a web page and launching it on the internet. To Ernie's pleasant surprise, old students began to reach out to him to get back into the membership. Since Sensei didn't own a computer at the time, he had one of the members go with him to the computer store and help him purchase one. That was followed by instructing him on how to use it and connect to the internet. Even though he was not trained in proper typing skills, he was still able to hunt and peck with his index fingers regularly writing emails to the members. That included articles once the newsletter, "The Punchline" was created.

There is a lot of history that fewer of our members are aware of, mainly because some of us "Old Turks," as Ernie liked to refer to us as, haven't realized the importance of passing that history along. Now, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't acknowledge periodic trips down memory lane Dave Thomas provides in articles he submits to the punchline. Yet there are others who also need to step up and share their knowledge and memories for the benefit and edification of the younger folks.

The celebration was a success. The food cooked and provided for all by Robin Thomas was wonderful, as was the picture montage Chief Instructor Reinecke had put together. Lots of memories that covered five decades of our style and organization that need to be remembered and passed along to newer, younger generations.

So where will the AKS be heading over the next fifty years? That will be up to the membership. The black belts who are responsible for helping the chief instructor make decisions by providing their suggestions and insights will be a big part. The other will be those same black belts getting more involved in helping to spread the AKS to other people and places.

Being a leader in any organization is not easy. The load the leader carries can be lessened by those lower ranking black belts who step forward to assist. At some point in a black belt's life, being just a student must be added to by helping the leader with the load and responsibility of guiding the AKS into the future.