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Robert Trias
Historical photo of Robert Trias
BornMarch 18, 1923
Tucson, AZ
DiedJuly 11, 1989(1989-07-11) (aged 66)
Phoenix, AZ
ResidenceUnited States
StyleShuri-ryū Karate
Teacher(s)Tung Gee Hsiang
Rank10th dan (degree) black belt  

Robert A. Trias (March 18, 1923 – July 11, 1989) was an American karate pioneer, founding the first karate school in the mainland United States and becoming one of the first known American black belts.[1][2] He also developed Shuri-ryū karate, an eclectic style with roots in Chinese kung-fu, and indirectly some Okinawan karate.

Life before karate

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The son of Jesus B. Trias (1895–1966) and Dolores A. Trias (1896–1984), Robert Aquirre Trias graduated from Nogales High School in Nogales, Arizona in 1941. He was employed by Southern Pacific Company as a boilermaker apprentice from 1937 to 1939 and as a boilermaker from 1939 to 1942.

Introduction to karate

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Robert Trias enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve in Phoenix, Arizona during World War II, on September 22, 1942. After completing recruit training, he attended Advanced Naval Training School Naval Station Treasure Island in San Francisco, CA, where he trained as a machinist. Trias was then temporarily attached to a patrol squadron at Section Base Morro Bay in San Luis Obispo County before returning to Treasure Island in September 1943.

By the summer of 1944, Trias was deployed to the South Pacific, where he participated in the Battle of Saipan. By September 1944, he was Machinist's Mate First Class Trias. On Tulagi, in the Solomon Islands, Trias tried his hand as a middleweight boxer. It is said that he met Tung Gee Hsiang, a Chinese missionary of Chan (Zen) Buddhism, while on Tulagi. Hsiang often watched Trias work out and imitated his boxing footwork, and he asked to practice with Trias. Trias refused because Hsiang was "just a tiny little guy," but Hsiang was persistent and at last Trias agreed to spar with him. Hsiang gave Trias "the biggest thrashing of his life" and Trias then asked Hsiang to instruct him in the martial arts.[3] Trias returned home to the United States in November 1945.

Karate in the U.S.

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In late 1945, shortly before Trias left the Navy in January of the following year, he began teaching martial arts in his backyard. He later opened the first public karate school operated by a Caucasian in the United States mainland in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1946.[4] Trias served as an officer of the Arizona State Highway Patrol from 1946 to 1961[5] utilizing his self-defense knowledge on duty and teaching his fellow officers. In 1948 he founded the United States Karate Association (USKA), the first karate organization on the American mainland.[6][7] Jointly with John Keehan, Trias hosted the first national karate tournament in the United States, called the 1st World Karate Tournament, at the University of Chicago Fieldhouse in late July 1963 in Chicago, IL. This event was re-titled the USKA Nationals in 1966 and the USKA Grand Nationals in 1968.[6] His rules for tournament competition are still used today with only slight variation.

Trias' style was once dubbed, by Trias himself, as Shuri Karate Kenpo, Goju-Shorei-Ryu, and Shorei-Goju ryu though there is no relationship or direct ancestry to the Goju-Ryu currently practiced in Okinawa or the original form of Shorei-ryu once practiced by the Okinawans. His style is now referred to as Shuri-ryu to imply roots to traditional karate though his style is much different from any martial art originating from the Okinawan islands.[citation needed] It has much more Chinese influence and overtones than Okinawan[citation needed]. The naming of his style was as eclectic as the style itself. A few US organizations claim to trace their roots to him and the USKA, including the United States Karate-Do Kai, Professional Karate Commission, United States Karate Alliance, International Shuri-Ryu Association, and Kondo No Shokai.

Career accomplishments

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Robert Trias was responsible for the following developments in karate in United States:[8]

  • 1955 - Wrote the first rules for karate competition
  • 1955 - Conducted the first karate tournament
  • 1958 - Wrote the first textbook
  • 1959 - Made the first instructional film
  • 1963 - Conducted the first world karate championships
  • 1968 - Conducted the first professional karate tournament

Published works

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Trias authored:[8][a]

  • The Hand Is My Sword: A Karate Handbook (1958; revised 1973)[9]
  • Karate Is My Life (1963)
  • The Pinnacle of Karate (1980)
  • The Supreme Way (1983)
  • Render Yourself Empty (1984)

Honors

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Trias is a two time inductee to the Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame. His first induction was a Black Belt Editor's Award, in the class of 1979.[10] His second induction was an Honorary Award, in the class of 1989, the year of his death, posthumously honoring his legacy.[11]

Legacy

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Trias formed the United States Karate Association in 1946, which continued after his passing until 1999. An arm of the USKA was the Trias International Society, which honored the outstanding competitors of the USKA in its heyday. The Trias International Society froze all new inductions after Master Trias' passing. Trias International members carried on the tradition by forming extended halls of fame such as USKK Bushido International Society, USKA (alliance) Hall of Fame, Hawkes International Society, Bowles International Society, Rabino Shuri-Te Society, PKC Elite, and the International Warrior Society.

Death

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Trias died from a stent of reoccurring illnesses. Including a number of infections and stage 2 cancer complications exaggerated by an unspecified preexisting condition on July 11, 1989, leaving multiple branches of the Shuri ryu system. Most of the highest ranks and Chief Instructors followed Robert Bowles in the formation of the International Shuri-ryu Association

Notes

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  1. ^ Other than the 1973 revised edition of The Hand Is My Sword: A Karate Handbook, all were self-published

References

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  1. ^ Van Nutter, John (July–August 1964). "Trias and Keehan Head U.S. Karate Association". Black Belt. Vol. 2, no. 4. pp. 34–37. Retrieved August 28, 2024 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Haines, Bruce A. (1995). "Chapter 9: On the Mainland USA". Karate's History and Traditions (Revised Paperback ed.). Singapore: Charles E. Tuttle Company. p. 154. ISBN 0-8048-1947-5. Retrieved August 28, 2024 – via Google Books. ...first documented commercial karate school was opened in 1946 in Phoenix, Arizona by Robert Trias.
  3. ^ Ortiz, Sergio (April 1976). "Robert Trias: Pioneer of U.S. Karate". Black Belt. Vol. 14, no. 4. pp. 36–39. Retrieved August 28, 2024 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Jones, C. Michial (2011). "Chapter 1: History". Entering Through the Gateway of Gojuryu. Morrisville, North Carolina: Lulu Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-1-257-97938-7. Retrieved August 28, 2024 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ "Robert A. Trias". Retrieved October 5, 2018.[dead link]
  6. ^ a b Corcoran, John; Farkas, Emil (1983). Martial Arts: Traditions, History, People. New York: Gallery Books. p. 230. ISBN 978-0-8317-5805-9. Retrieved August 28, 2024 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ Wallace, Bill (March 1990). "Robert Trias and his USKA". Front Kicks. Black Belt. Vol. 28, no. 3. p. 12. Retrieved August 28, 2024 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ a b "Who's Who | Robert Trias: Father of American Karate". usadojo.com. July 11, 1989. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
  9. ^ Trias, Robert A. (1973) [1958]. The Hand is My Sword: A Karate Handbook. Rutland, Vermont & Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company. ISBN 978-1-4629-0229-3. Retrieved August 28, 2024 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ "Hall of Fame 1970-1979 Member Profiles". Black Belt Magazine. October 9, 2023. Archived from the original on August 29, 2024. Retrieved August 28, 2024. Robert Trias | 1979 Black Belt Editor's Award
  11. ^ "Hall of Fame 1980-1989 Member Profiles". Black Belt Magazine. October 9, 2023. Archived from the original on August 29, 2024. Retrieved August 28, 2024. Robert Trias | 1989 Honorary Award | Second Induction into the Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame
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