T’AI-KARA-TE-DO™

T’AI-KARA-TE-DO™ is a combination of Karate, Tae Kwan Do, Kung Fu, T’ai Chi, Jujitsu, and several other Japanese based styles as well as many of the internal martial arts philosophies. T’AI-KARA-TE-DO™ is an art form that was created in order to allow each individual the opportunity to grow into the martial artist that he or she is capable of being. There are structured boundaries to the art itself but, with the adaptability of individuality, each student is allowed the opportunity to find their place in the martial arts community. We focus on training with empty hands for the purpose of self-defense as well as training with various weapons incase our students find themselves in a situation where the use of a weapon is required. We train our students to keep a cool head when in trouble through T’ai Chi techniques and we also train them to be able to get out of a situation with little or no physical damage not only to themselves but also to the other person as well. We also believe that any form of Martial Arts is only for self-defense and never for the purpose of being a bully or beginning fights. This philosophy is taught to all of our students. It requires concentration, endurance, and dedication to learn anything in life and we feel this also applies to learning the art of T’AI-KARA-TE-DO™.

T'AI-KARA-TE-DO™ was started by Grand Master T.B. Whittaker. He based it off of the training he had received when stationed overseas. Upon returning home he took up training locally in martial arts schools but found none to be as satisfying to him as what he had learned while stationed in the military. Many of him and his buddies from the military decided to join together and practice the moves previously learned. As he got older he taught a few of his family members but none really took interest in the art. Upon his passing his most dedicated student was left all the information on the style of karate that he was creating. Master Nick Smith upon receiving this information began to study it and saw where it could use some improvement for today's more competitive martial arts community. He began mixing several styles of martial arts to the basic karate and in turn created the final product that is taught today. He choose the name of T'AI-KARA-TE-DO™ based off of the two major influences of the martial arts that he drew from. T'AI comes from T'ai Chi which helps to focus one on their inner self and builds the internal martial artist. T'ai Chi means "Ultimate Power". He chose the word ultimate to represent the kind of strength that he wanted students training in the art to achieve. KARA-TE is the proper writing of the more americanized karate. Almost all traditional writings show karate with the separation between it in order to show the two words. Kara mean "Empty" and TE means "Hand". The two together created the phrase "Empty Hand". In all styles of traditional martial arts they always have their style name followed by the word DO. This is because it shows how martial artists felt about their art. It means traditionally "The Way of". All traditional martial artists have always felt that what ever the style, it was a way of life and so they lived that style and they made sure they informed the public of the way they were choosing to live their life. When you look at all of the different meanings then you can see the simple translation of this art. T'AI-KARA-TE-DO™ means simply "The Way of The Ultimate Empty Hand". Master Smith has opened a school that now teaches this art form. It is located in South Carolina and has been in operation for three years. He has also created an association so that others who train in this art form and later decide to open their own school can have a way of staying linked to the home school as well as a way for all black belts to stick together in order to further the art form and keep it alive for generations to come. Master Smith also has created a program specifically catering to women wanting to learn the art of T'AI-KARA-TE-DO™. He saw so many quit because of the difficulties they had in learning other arts and he has tried to create it, with the help of his wife, to where it is something they enjoy learning and can progress in, so that they can defend themselves in an ever growing world of men looking to hurt innocent women. He has also tried to focus on those who may not be able to afford to send their students to these rather expensive schools. He feels the art form is to be shared rather then being lost to only those who can afford it. Traditionally the Sensei would choose those whom he felt would learn the art form the best in order to train, not which child's family had the most money to offer. The same is true with Master Smith. He feels it is what is in the child that makes them a martial artist rather then the means by which they live. He has tried to stick to as many of the old ways as possible because he feels that was the bases upon which Grand Master Whittaker wanted this art created. Our Grand Master will live on in our hearts forever and now so will the art he so longed to see fully developed,
T'AI-KARA-TE-DO™.