# Sherman Oaks Karate



## Tong Po

Whatever happened to Sherman Oaks Karate Studio?

I grew up and trained on the east coast (CT) and competed on the various tournament circuits.  My instructor was an original member of the Paul Mitchell Karate Team and I always remember hearing stories (unfortunately not all good) about Sherman Oaks Karate taught by Bernie "Pops" Krasnoo and his well known daughter Michelle "Mouse" Krasnoo.  He also coached the rough and tumble (now defunct) Sherman Oaks Raiders of the NBL circuit.

So I was curious, now that I live in the San Fernando Valley, what ever happened to the school, Pops, Mouse, and the Black Belts at Sherman Oaks Karate????


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## DatFlow

I live on the east coast and have never heard of them before... Although I'm young...


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## tsdclaflin

Michelle "Mouse" was featured in a Black Belt Magazine not too long ago.  She is currently based in Southern California.  I trained in TSD in CT from 1998 through 2005 and i never heard of the others either.


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## Tong Po

Sorry if I was not too clear on this.  Sherman oaks is part of los angeles where I now live. I grew up in ct and following the tournament circuit is how I knew about sherman oaks karate and the raiders.  I also heard that chuck norris originally taught there before pops krasnoo did. Not sure on the validity of that so maybe some socal tsd people can help me out on that one.


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## JohnASE

Pops closed the school and got out of martial arts a long time ago.  He dropped by my work (martial arts supply) a few months back.  I didn't see him, but I heard he said something about releasing new videos of Mouse.  I think she was teaching some kind of fitness program at a gym somewhere between Woodland Hills and Thousand Oaks.  Sorry, I don't remember where.

When you ask about Sherman Oaks Karate black belts, I'm not sure if you mean former Sherman Oaks Raiders.  Pops sponsored the Raiders, but they weren't all from his school.  For example, IIRC, some were BKF (kenpo).  Every once in a while I hear something about one of them, so I guess some are still around.

I don't know whether or not Pops's school was Chuck Norris's old school, but it was somewhere around the same area.  There are a LOT of Tang Soo Do schools around here that trace their lineage back to Chuck.  Mostly, they spread west from there (west SF Valley and east Ventura County).

Hope this helps!


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## Tames D

JohnASE said:


> Pops closed the school and got out of martial arts a long time ago. He dropped by my work (martial arts supply) a few months back. I didn't see him, but I heard he said something about releasing new videos of Mouse. I think she was teaching some kind of fitness program at a gym somewhere between Woodland Hills and Thousand Oaks. Sorry, I don't remember where.
> 
> When you ask about Sherman Oaks Karate black belts, I'm not sure if you mean former Sherman Oaks Raiders. Pops sponsored the Raiders, but they weren't all from his school. For example, IIRC, some were BKF (kenpo). Every once in a while I hear something about one of them, so I guess some are still around.
> 
> I don't know whether or not Pops's school was Chuck Norris's old school, but it was somewhere around the same area. There are a LOT of Tang Soo Do schools around here that trace their lineage back to Chuck. Mostly, they spread west from there (west SF Valley and east Ventura County).
> 
> Hope this helps!


 
Welcome to MartialTalk. Are you with Valley Martial Arts Supplies on Lankershim in North Hollywood?


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## Twin Fist

Ah Bernie Krasnoo.

Takes me back the late 80's early 90's when I was in Long Beach and was going to all the TKA tourny's

Bernie was always around, Mouse was always around. i was there for her "Elvis Phase", the "Phantom of the Opera Phase", a few others. I remember when Butch started teaching her the kama.

And yeah, Bernie was tight with the BKF guys.


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## diamondbar1971

Hey Tim, how are things in Diamond Bar..


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## IcemanSK

JohnASE said:


> Pops closed the school and got out of martial arts a long time ago. He dropped by my work (martial arts supply) a few months back. I didn't see him, but I heard he said something about releasing new videos of Mouse. I think she was teaching some kind of fitness program at a gym somewhere between Woodland Hills and Thousand Oaks. Sorry, I don't remember where.
> 
> When you ask about Sherman Oaks Karate black belts, I'm not sure if you mean former Sherman Oaks Raiders. Pops sponsored the Raiders, but they weren't all from his school. For example, IIRC, some were BKF (kenpo). Every once in a while I hear something about one of them, so I guess some are still around.
> 
> I don't know whether or not Pops's school was Chuck Norris's old school, but it was somewhere around the same area. There are a LOT of Tang Soo Do schools around here that trace their lineage back to Chuck. Mostly, they spread west from there (west SF Valley and east Ventura County).
> 
> Hope this helps!


 
I have a friend who teaches TSD in Oange County. He laments that is very few TSD folks in So. Cal. Can you help me connect him with some?


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## JohnASE

QUI-GON said:


> Welcome to MartialTalk. Are you with Valley Martial Arts Supplies on Lankershim in North Hollywood?



Thanks for the welcome!  I'm with ASE Martial Arts Supply.  We're in Chatsworth, but we were in Northridge before that and started in Tarzana about 16 yrs ago (maybe 5 minutes from Sherman Oaks Karate).  We're a small family business, not open to the public, only schools and stores.  We carry our own brands as well as Macho and other domestic brands.



IcemanSK said:


> I have a friend who teaches TSD in Oange County. He laments that is very few TSD folks in So. Cal. Can you help me connect him with some?



Sure!  I'd be happy to!  I'll put together some info and send you a PM.


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## IcemanSK

JohnASE said:


> Sure! I'd be happy to! I'll put together some info and send you a PM.


 

Thanks John! I appreciate your help!


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## jukado1

The Sherman Oaks Karate school was originally owned by Bob Wall and Joe Lewis, Then Joe decided he would rather not teach, But just compete, So he sold his part of the school to Chuck Norris, During that period Chuck and Bob opened up about 6 branches of Chuck Norris karate, Then they sold them to a corporation which ran them into the ground and hurt Chucks reputation, So chuck and Bob bought them back and sold the individual schools to their black belts, Eventually Mr. Krasnoo ended up with Sherman Oaks.


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## ArmorOfGod

I remember that Krasnoo had a really bad reputation for being a bit of a troublemaker at tournaments as well.
It's strange to hear he is out of the business now.  He was a fairly big name.

AoG


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## 7starmarc

Wow, talk about a blast from the past. I started my journey in martial arts under Pops at Sherman Oaks Karate in the mid-to-late 80's. From what I recall, they didn't claim more than a loose association with Norris at that time. I hadn't thought of them for a long time, but passed through a while back and remember seeing that the store front of the school was gone. Ah, memories. I've moved on, but I still appreciate the good starting experience that I had at that school.


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## AmericanTangSooDo

jukado1 said:


> The Sherman Oaks Karate school was originally owned by Bob Wall and Joe Lewis, Then Joe decided he would rather not teach, But just compete, So he sold his part of the school to Chuck Norris, During that period Chuck and Bob opened up about 6 branches of Chuck Norris karate, Then they sold them to a corporation which ran them into the ground and hurt Chucks reputation, So chuck and Bob bought them back and sold the individual schools to their black belts, Eventually Mr. Krasnoo ended
> up with Sherman Oaks.



Actually Norris and Wall had 7 schools (not counting the countless other schools owned by Norris' various students). My instructor is a Chuck Norris black belt and trained on occasion at the Sherman Oaks school back in the 1970s. He actually sat on the black belt panel that tested Mouse for her black belt back in 1987, and has sat on countless testings for the them over the years. According to what I remember him telling me everything that jukado1 is correct. However during the time he trained there it was owned by another Norris black belt Harold Gross (who also co-owned Tarzana Karate with Dennis Ichikawa). Gross then sold it to another guy before it eventually ended up with Pops. Unfortunately from what I read on Jamie Krasnoo's blog Bernie is now divorced and living with him.


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## Bobarino

I don't have any new information, but just wanted to add in that I also trained at Sherman Oaks Karate in the late 80's /early 90's.  

It was about the time they moved to Encino, CA and called themselves "Sherman Oaks Karate of Encino".  I used to fight in tournaments, and yes Pop's could raise a ruckus, but he was good to have in your corner.   After they closed down I trained with the former head instructor Mr Zachoratis, but he kept moving farther and farther away from me until I couldn't make it to his school anymore. 

It was the start of my Martial Arts life, that continues to this day, so I have mostly fond memories.  I consider what I learned there as a great foundation for what I would learn later on.  Discipline, fundamentals, and fight experience.


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## JohnAy

The studio was originally Bob Wall and Joe Lewis's studio. Chuck came in as a “partner” later in the mid to late 60's. The studio later changed hands to Dennis Ichikawa and Harold Gross.. Harold and Dennis owned the Sherman Oaks Karate Studio and the Tarzana Karate studio. Herold and Dennis had their differences and split the studios with Dennis taking Tarzana and Harold taking Sherman Oaks.


Bernie ended up buying a share of Sherman Oaks and then taking if over from Harold.


Harold and Dennis broke off from Chuck Norris in the early 70's.


From the stories I heard, Bernie, Harold, Dennis and several of the competing(fighting) black belts had a falling out again with Norris when they were “promised” parts in movies with chuck and they were kind of left out in the cold.


There was also an incident with Bernie altering the sherman oaks patch from what the patch looked like under Chuck , and Chuck made it known he was not happy.



Bernie Closed down the Sherman Oaks Karate Studio in the late 90's.


Some of the senior instructors are still around. Mark Zacharatos in in Calabasas, CA not far from Sherman Oaks is still teaching and I believe still has a studio.. I heard Tom Cole is still teaching . I think he is located in both the sfv and in the high desert town of Oak Hills, CA. Ron Pohnel is still teaching but mostly doing “movie” work. I heard he had moved back to Hawaii for the 3rd time. I heard Barry Gordon is still around in the sfv Last I heard he was still a public school teacher (although he should be retired by now?) but not sure if he is teaching with the BKF or not. I heard Dexter Brooks had died. Vic VanWei disappeared after he started working with Robert Bussy.
In regards to the Krasnoo's, Michelle Krasnoo got married and has a few kids, last I heard she was still doing training videos. Jamie Krasnoo no longer teaches


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## Carenrich

Bobarino said:


> I don't have any new information, but just wanted to add in that I also trained at Sherman Oaks Karate in the late 80's /early 90's.
> 
> It was about the time they moved to Encino, CA and called themselves "Sherman Oaks Karate of Encino".  I used to fight in tournaments, and yes Pop's could raise a ruckus, but he was good to have in your corner.   After they closed down I trained with the former head instructor Mr Zachoratis, but he kept moving farther and farther away from me until I couldn't make it to his school anymore.
> 
> It was the start of my Martial Arts life, that continues to this day, so I have mostly fond memories.  I consider what I learned there as a great foundation for what I would learn later on.  Discipline, fundamentals, and fight experience.


I trained at Sherman Oaks karate in the early 80's. I was one of the few females "Pops"  let study. There were two others.  A beautiful woman named Usha and a woman who worked with Elvis  as part of his bodyguard team. I met Maurice White Of Earth Wind and Fire there, so that's how I came up on this site. I took a few classes with Pat Johnson and Chuck Norris.  I remember once I sneezed and had to do 100 push-ups.  I studied with Ron Pohnel, Mark Zacharatos ( my son is named Zach because he has a birthday near Zacharatos sometime in August)and Johnny Gyro. Jermaine Jackson trained there briefly.   Phil Collins came in one day. It was a great time and a great community. Hulk Hogan used to pick me up and throw me around.  Bernie's daughter and son were really adorable as little kids. I moved to Las Vegas and began training with Bob Chaney  as did my children. I stopped practicing in  the early 90s when I got a divorce and moved back to Los Angeles near Santa Monica. Now I do yoga.


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## bocch

Not sure what make me do a search for this, but I found all of the updates really interesting.  I was a student at Sherman Oaks Karate from about 1980 to 1983 or 1984. Student under Masters Pohnel, Matthews, Gross, and occasionally Zacharatos.  Went to Tuesday night fight night when I could.  Good times.  The experience really gave me, a kid who was previously really bad at all sports, a lot of confidence, coordination, and discipline.  I once went to a tournament in Ventura, and Bernie gave me (and another regular Jeremy Sweet) a ride..  The tourney was no-face-contact, but a point could be given for a "focused attack" within a few inches of your opponent's face.  My very first move was a perfectly executed "secret stuff" (ala Ron Pohnel) backknuckle.  My opponent moved ever so slightly forward, and I tagged him in the face.  I was disqualified within 10 seconds of starting the tournament.  Pops, who was a referee at the fight, tried to convince the other judges I didn't actually contact him, but it didn't work.  I appreciated his partiality!  But to no avail.   (BTW Pops loved telling the following story over and over--I can hear him still "I took this kid all the way up to Ventura, and he hit that kid in the face in the first 5 seconds!")


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## CLUKID

I was a student at a studio Ron Pohnel opened up in Moorpark.  Jeremy Sweet was one of my instructors with Vick Van Wei, and another instructor that Master Pohnel use to call Coco Puff.  Does anyone know what happened to Jeremy Sweet?


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## CLUKID

bocch said:


> Not sure what make me do a search for this, but I found all of the updates really interesting.  I was a student at Sherman Oaks Karate from about 1980 to 1983 or 1984. Student under Masters Pohnel, Matthews, Gross, and occasionally Zacharatos.  Went to Tuesday night fight night when I could.  Good times.  The experience really gave me, a kid who was previously really bad at all sports, a lot of confidence, coordination, and discipline.  I once went to a tournament in Ventura, and Bernie gave me (and another regular Jeremy Sweet) a ride..  The tourney was no-face-contact, but a point could be given for a "focused attack" within a few inches of your opponent's face.  My very first move was a perfectly executed "secret stuff" (ala Ron Pohnel) backknuckle.  My opponent moved ever so slightly forward, and I tagged him in the face.  I was disqualified within 10 seconds of starting the tournament.  Pops, who was a referee at the fight, tried to convince the other judges I didn't actually contact him, but it didn't work.  I appreciated his partiality!  But to no avail.   (BTW Pops loved telling the following story over and over--I can hear him still "I took this kid all the way up to Ventura, and he hit that kid in the face in the first 5 seconds!")


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## Tames D

Tomorrow (July 1st) is Mouses birthday. I believe she will be 42. Time is flying by.


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## Karatepat1

Carenrich said:


> I trained at Sherman Oaks karate in the early 80's. I was one of the few females "Pops"  let study. There were two others.  A beautiful woman named Usha and a woman who worked with Elvis  as part of his bodyguard team. I met Maurice White Of Earth Wind and Fire there, so that's how I came up on this site. I took a few classes with Pat Johnson and Chuck Norris.  I remember once I sneezed and had to do 100 push-ups.  I studied with Ron Pohnel, Mark Zacharatos ( my son is named Zach because he has a birthday near Zacharatos sometime in August)and Johnny Gyro. Jermaine Jackson trained there briefly.   Phil Collins came in one day. It was a great time and a great community. Hulk Hogan used to pick me up and throw me around.  Bernie's daughter and son were really adorable as little kids. I moved to Las Vegas and began training with Bob Chaney  as did my children. I stopped practicing in  the early 90s when I got a divorce and moved back to Los Angeles near Santa Monica. Now I do yoga.


So


Carenrich said:


> I trained at Sherman Oaks karate in the early 80's. I was one of the few females "Pops"  let study. There were two others.  A beautiful woman named Usha and a woman who worked with Elvis  as part of his bodyguard team. I met Maurice White Of Earth Wind and Fire there, so that's how I came up on this site. I took a few classes with Pat Johnson and Chuck Norris.  I remember once I sneezed and had to do 100 push-ups.  I studied with Ron Pohnel, Mark Zacharatos ( my son is named Zach because he has a birthday near Zacharatos sometime in August)and Johnny Gyro. Jermaine Jackson trained there briefly.   Phil Collins came in one day. It was a great time and a great community. Hulk Hogan used to pick me up and throw me around.  Bernie's daughter and son were really adorable as little kids. I moved to Las Vegas and began training with Bob Chaney  as did my children. I stopped practicing in  the early 90s when I got a divorce and moved back to Los Angeles near Santa Monica. Now I do yoga.





CLUKID said:


> I was a student at a studio Ron Pohnel opened up in Moorpark.  Jeremy Sweet was one of my instructors with Vick Van Wei, and another instructor that Master Pohnel use to call Coco Puff.  Does anyone know what happened to Jeremy Sweet?


So My name is Patty and yep I trained at Sherman Oaks karate studio and yes I was part of Elvis Presleys friends and because of my karate and association with Mr Norris, I hung with the Presleys for 7 years. I'm writing my book right now.Jeremy Sweet is a musical engineer. My son was a Power Ranger and did the Twentieth century fox theatrical release, TURBO A POWER RANGER MOVIE..and Jeremy Sweet did the music for that movie at the SABAN building on Wilshire Blvd.Small world.I talk to pops occasionally, hes a pharmacist and is working and also is doing a martial arts magazine for the internet..Mouse is a wife, a mommy, and does marathons and still trains..


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## Karatepat1

Karatepat1 said:


> So
> 
> 
> So My name is Patty and yep I trained at Sherman Oaks karate studio and yes I was part of Elvis Presleys friends and because of my karate and association with Mr Norris, I hung with the Presleys for 7 years. I'm writing my book right now.Jeremy West is a musical engineer. My son was a Power Ranger and did the Twentieth century fox theatrical release, TURBO A POWER RANGER MOVIE..and Jeremy Sweet did the music for that movie at the SABAN building on Wilshire Blvd.Small world.I talk to pops occasionally, hes a pharmacist and is working and also is doing a martial arts magazine for the internet..Mouse is a wife, a mommy, and does marathons and still trains..


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## Karatepat1

Also, I am a Black belt.


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## Tames D

Karatepat1 said:


> So
> 
> 
> So My name is Patty and yep I trained at Sherman Oaks karate studio and yes I was part of Elvis Presleys friends and because of my karate and association with Mr Norris, I hung with the Presleys for 7 years. I'm writing my book right now.Jeremy Sweet is a musical engineer. My son was a Power Ranger and did the Twentieth century fox theatrical release, TURBO A POWER RANGER MOVIE..and Jeremy Sweet did the music for that movie at the SABAN building on Wilshire Blvd.Small world.I talk to pops occasionally, hes a pharmacist and is working and also is doing a martial arts magazine for the internet..Mouse is a wife, a mommy, and does marathons and still trains..


Welcome to Martialtalk. 
Knowing Elvis, you probably know Dave Hebler. I worked in the same recording studio at MGM studios where Elvis recorded for his documentary 'That's The Way It Was'. Unfortunately, I was in the studio 30 years after he was


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## tarz2975

I was a student at Tarzana Karate from 82 to 85. Dennis Ichikawa was a great instructor. Had a lot of great times, memories and learned a lot. I remember Ron Ponell coming their to teach as a guest instructor on occasion. He tought us that lunging / flying back fist specifically for tournament fighting. I used that, but was mostly a counter fighter.

I remember competing at Sherman Oaks and the team fighting event. I recall the intensity from all of us (all studios). A few of the Sherman Oaks boys were fresh off winning at the Internationals in Long Beach. It was Tarzana vs Sherman Oaks vs Bob Kozdin vs the Hwang Rang Do studio that was located off Topanga / Vanowen (I forget the name). 

Great times!


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## isshinryuronin

jukado1 said:


> The Sherman Oaks Karate school was originally owned by Bob Wall and Joe Lewis, Then Joe decided he would rather not teach, But just compete, So he sold his part of the school to Chuck Norris, During that period Chuck and Bob opened up about 6 branches of Chuck Norris karate, Then they sold them to a corporation which ran them into the ground and hurt Chucks reputation, So chuck and Bob bought them back and sold the individual schools to their black belts, Eventually Mr. Krasnoo ended up with Sherman Oaks.





jukado1 said:


> The Sherman Oaks Karate school was originally owned by Bob Wall and Joe Lewis, Then Joe decided he would rather not teach, But just compete, So he sold his part of the school to Chuck Norris, During that period Chuck and Bob opened up about 6 branches of Chuck Norris karate, Then they sold them to a corporation which ran them into the ground and hurt Chucks reputation, So chuck and Bob bought them back and sold the individual schools to their black belts, Eventually Mr. Krasnoo ended up with Sherman Oaks.



I grew up in Sherman Oaks in the 60's and started my karate training there.  The Chuck Norris school was on Ventura Blvd, just off Van Nuys Blvd.   I agree with much of the history above and that he sold out to some fitness corp., licensed the use of his name and that it did go downhill.  My dojo was just a couple blocks away.

Before Chuck took it over, it was indeed Joe Lewis' dojo, but Joe did not have it long for several reasons.   Before that, it was a judo school.  Don't know about the Paul Mitchell thing.  Never got into performance competition and moved away.

Several references were made re: Ron Pohnel.  I met him a couple of times at my dojo as he was friends with the other black belt there, the late Johnny Atkinson.  They were well known Southern Calif. tough competitors back then.  Another one was the late Ken Firestone, originally also a black belt from Johnny (who had his own school by then) in Tarzana down the road and who later on affiliated with Norris TSD.  He was very successful on the tournament circuit. He moved to Hawaii, perishing in a car crash some years later.

There is a lot of karate history in the Valley, and Southern Calif. in general.  So glad to have been around then.


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## the old timer

Karatepat1 said:


> So
> 
> 
> So My name is Patty and yep I trained at Sherman Oaks karate studio and yes I was part of Elvis Presleys friends and because of my karate and association with Mr Norris, I hung with the Presleys for 7 years. I'm writing my book right now.Jeremy Sweet is a musical engineer. My son was a Power Ranger and did the Twentieth century fox theatrical release, TURBO A POWER RANGER MOVIE..and Jeremy Sweet did the music for that movie at the SABAN building on Wilshire Blvd.Small world.I talk to pops occasionally, hes a pharmacist and is working and also is doing a martial arts magazine for the internet..Mouse is a wife, a mommy, and does marathons and still trains..


Hi Patty,  I hope all is well with you and your family.  Last time I saw Blake was at Ron's filming of the Drifter lol.  

I just heard the bad news about Bernie.  I guess he passed away the beginning of this year.  I was conversing with Ron and got the Bad news.

Take care

T Cole


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## the old timer

isshinryuronin said:


> I grew up in Sherman Oaks in the 60's and started my karate training there.  The Chuck Norris school was on Ventura Blvd, just off Van Nuys Blvd.   I agree with much of the history above and that he sold out to some fitness corp., licensed the use of his name and that it did go downhill.  My dojo was just a couple blocks away.
> 
> Before Chuck took it over, it was indeed Joe Lewis' dojo, but Joe did not have it long for several reasons.   Before that, it was a judo school.  Don't know about the Paul Mitchell thing.  Never got into performance competition and moved away.
> 
> Several references were made re: Ron Pohnel.  I met him a couple of times at my dojo as he was friends with the other black belt there, the late Johnny Atkinson.  They were well known Southern Calif. tough competitors back then.  Another one was the late Ken Firestone, originally also a black belt from Johnny (who had his own school by then) in Tarzana down the road and who later on affiliated with Norris TSD.  He was very successful on the tournament circuit. He moved to Hawaii, perishing in a car crash some years later.
> 
> There is a lot of karate history in the Valley, and Southern Calif. in general.  So glad to have been around then.


Wow Sorry to hear about Johnny Atkinson.  a lot of us newly designated old timers are disappearing.

Regarding Ken Firestone form what I've been told as of Sept 2021  he  is still alive and well living in Hawaii.  He was in a crash but survived.    You know this seems to happen often.  I was driving down the road in the SFV going to visit some friends and an this care was following me  keeping pace but sort of in my blind spot.   I finally put our cars in a position where the driver couldn't hide from me.  I rolled down my window and it was an old friend of mine.  She began screaming omg omg. it is you!!  I heard you had died in a car crash. ....Mark Twain comes to mind.


(still breathing as of Oct 14, 2021) lol


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## isshinryuronin

the old timer said:


> Regarding Ken Firestone form what I've been told as of Sept 2021 he is still alive and well living in Hawaii. He was in a crash but survived.


VERY sorry to Ken and his acquaintances for my making his crash "fatal".  Glad my info was not accurate. 

Permit me at this time to pay respects to Bob Ozman, RIP, who was more than a sensei to us young guys and served as an inspiration and example of manhood. While not famous, he had the respect of all the top karate men in Southern California during the early years of the art. 

If I had to do it all over again, I'd make it a point to maintain contact with my fellow martial artists I encountered over the years.  We shared a dynamic time in karate with lots of memories.  As midteens and into our early twenties, as most of the students were in those days, we grew up with karate which formed a base for our future lives. Very cool.


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## the old timer

isshinryuronin said:


> VERY sorry to Ken and his acquaintances for my making his crash "fatal".  Glad my info was not accurate.
> 
> Permit me at this time to pay respects to Bob Ozman, RIP, who was more than a sensei to us young guys and served as an inspiration and example of manhood. While not famous, he had the respect of all the top karate men in Southern California during the early years of the art.
> 
> If I had to do it all over again, I'd make it a point to maintain contact with my fellow martial artists I encountered over the years.  We shared a dynamic time in karate with lots of memories.  As midteens and into our early twenties, as most of the students were in those days, we grew up with karate which formed a base for our future lives. Very cool.


I was really sad  when I found out Bob Ozman had passed.  I was getting in contact with him to go out to lunch when I found out.  He was a great guy  and yes, he was well known in the So Cal area and well respected. You must have been at his school  that had the Ho Toy's Chinese restaurant above it.    Man talk about the old days that goes back to at least the mid to late 60's. 

I've been trying to get in contact with a lot of the old timers.  I was suprised how many had passed. 

  To be fair I was told Ken died on the helicopter on the way to the hospital but was revived and lived.  .  So you probably only got the "telephone" version of the story.


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## isshinryuronin

the old timer said:


> You must have been at his school that had the Ho Toy's Chinese restaurant above it. Man talk about the old days that goes back to at least the mid to late 60's.


You can't find anything close to Ho Toy's food and atmosphere today.  It's all "McChina" with no love thrown in.  We also enjoyed Kaplan's Jewish deli across the street on a regular basis.  And there was Mary Ellen's donuts a couple doors down.  When working out a lot, you've got to keep your strength up.  I miss the food, I mean dojo.


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## the old timer

isshinryuronin said:


> You can't find anything close to Ho Toy's food and atmosphere today.  It's all "McChina" with no love thrown in.  We also enjoyed Kaplan's Jewish deli across the street on a regular basis.  And there was Mary Ellen's donuts a couple doors down.  When working out a lot, you've got to keep your strength up.  I miss the food, I mean dojo.


McChina, Mc Dojos. Mc veternarians.  its all bad.   

I used to  go to Ho Toy's every year for my "birthday dinner"  I loved the place.  (Turning this into a martial arts conversations ) Yes we must nourish ourselves after strenuous workouts.  Speaking of good places at the time for Carbs in that same area   Barones.  Until I went to Barones Italian Restaurant. I never like Pizza until I had a Piece of Pizza from Barones. omg!!  I've been eating Pizza ever since.  lol    I went back to Barones 30 years later. The Pizza sucked.  It was really disappointing.    Barones is still there. They owe me my money back for that monstrosity they called pizza they sold me  LOL.


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## isshinryuronin

the old timer said:


> McChina, Mc Dojos. Mc veternarians.  its all bad.
> 
> I used to  go to Ho Toy's every year for my "birthday dinner"  I loved the place.  (Turning this into a martial arts conversations ) Yes we must nourish ourselves after strenuous workouts.  Speaking of good places at the time for Carbs in that same area   Barones.  Until I went to Barones Italian Restaurant. I never like Pizza until I had a Piece of Pizza from Barones. omg!!  I've been eating Pizza ever since.  lol    I went back to Barones 30 years later. The Pizza sucked.  It was really disappointing.    Barones is still there. They owe me my money back for that monstrosity they called pizza they sold me  LOL.


Barones, YES!  They had the best pizza.  If I remember correctly, it was square and had the toppings _unde_r the cheese. Everything changes over time as the public becomes less demanding and unaware of the quality that used to be the norm. But then, again, nowadays I can pump my own $4/gal. gas and pay $2 to put air in my tires.


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## Buka

Do they still have a Fat Burger place in Sherman Oaks? They had the best burgers I've ever had.


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## Hapa

Google searching my old dojo led me here. I attended the Chuck Norris Karate Studio in Studio City on Ventura from 1984 to 1985. I made orange belt and then being an unfocused teen led me astray.

My instructor was Dean Minnerly. He was great, and instilled strong values and discipline in me. Once we had an inter-school tournament with (I believe) Tarzana where I met Instructor Prieto.

I have some old photos of that match but didn't know the protocol of uploading that here. 

I haven't returned to karate since then but I still remember the moves and forms. I have thought about enrolling in a local school here in South Orange County. 

I decided to register and post to this thread because I saw Chuck Norris studios being discussed.


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## tarz2975

Hapa said:


> Google searching my old dojo led me here. I attended the Chuck Norris Karate Studio in Studio City on Ventura from 1984 to 1985. I made orange belt and then being an unfocused teen led me astray.
> 
> My instructor was Dean Minnerly. He was great, and instilled strong values and discipline in me. Once we had an inter-school tournament with (I believe) Tarzana where I met Instructor Prieto.
> 
> I have some old photos of that match but didn't know the protocol of uploading that here.
> 
> I haven't returned to karate since then but I still remember the moves and forms. I have thought about enrolling in a local school here in South Orange County.
> 
> I decided to register and post to this thread because I saw Chuck Norris studios being discussed.


I would love to see those photos as I was likely at that tournament. I was a student at Tarzana Karate during those years and was a blue belt at the time of that tournament.


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