🎉 Celebrating 40 Years of Karate 🥋
June 21, 1985 — the day my journey began.
June 21, 2025 — I’m celebrating 40 years in martial arts, and I’m filled with gratitude, reflection, and purpose.
In early 1985 I was a young, small, weak, shy kid and had a few interests but nothing too major. I was a Bruce Springsteen fan (still am) and had a friend who invited me to visit a local karate school. I remember it clearly — the place was tiny, it smelled awful, and it was packed wall-to-wall with adults training in Okinawan Karate. Honestly, it wasn’t exactly inspiring… but something about it stuck with me. I had another friend who was interested in judo and we were going to take an afterschool class but neither of us were organized enough to actually take any sort of action. Later that year, on a Saturday in June, I took my very first karate class. My father took me in, enrolled me and my grandparents said they would pay for it. I waited a couple of weeks for my new karate uniform and tested later that year for my first stripe.
My grandmother sewed the stripe on in the incorrect position but I dare not tell her and so left the stripe. Later, I tested for yellow belt, then yellow with a green stripe and then green belt. It was at green belt level where I started to get pretty good. I had started to lift weights (frowned upon by the “karate masters” of the time and this really gave me a strength boost. Later, I earned brown belt, my friend quit and I kept going.
💥 In the Early Years
So many people came and went, but I stuck with it — training anywhere from 3 to 8 times a week. I earned my black belt in 1989, the same year I graduated from high school, and then I headed to the University of Nebraska.
In 1991 I earned my 2nd degree black belt later in 1994 I earned my 3rd degree and then in 1997 I earned my 4th degree black belt in Okinawan Style Karate. The name of the style changed a few times and it was right around 3rd degree when I really started to come into my adulthood and my understanding of what I wanted in martial arts and what I did not want.
During college, I balanced work, studies, and non-stop karate training. In 1997, while in graduate school and completing my internship, I broke my arm in a martial arts accident — ironically not doing karate, but testing out a different style.
That injury gave me time to think. I realized how dysfunctional and broken the system I had trained in truly was — poor leadership, unhealthy dynamics, and a lack of integrity. I spent time watching, reflecting, and questioning what kind of martial artist — and instructor — I really wanted to be. The place that had been a good place to train, was no longer that place. It had become a source of negativity, drama and incongruent with my own values and standards.
So, I left the karate school I was at. I was done with the drama, the stress and decided to just train by myself. 🙏 That’s when I decided I wanted to do it differently — better. Three different people told me within the same period of time “just start your own school” and initially I resisted but then the light bulb went off and I had to follow my own advice: When in doubt, take action.
💡 Starting Something New
In 1998, I completed my internship in Mental Health Counseling and had just started working in private practice. Around that time, several students from my old dojo encouraged me to start my own school. I also had some connections at a local gym — and when the opportunity presented itself, I took the leap.
I launched the karate program and within just a few short months, we had grown to around 35–40 students. Honestly, I had no plans to expand beyond that.
I had a handful of people who believed in what I was doing. A friend of mine helped me with our first logo and brochure. My uncle helped design our first website and students who just wanted to train. No politics, no association/organizational issues and no leaders to answer to. I/we just wanted to train. And train we did. I promoted a group of students to their black belts including one of my longest friends who later died but I was honored to be a part of his life and martial arts journey.
I had my doubters/haters: I remember when students/instructors from the old school (now closed) came over and said I had no right to open a new school. Well, they were wrong and were dismissed quickly. All that did was drive me to do better and defeat anything and anyone in my way. Some of those doubters I still see every so often. I get a grin on my face knowing what I accomplished in spite of their doubts.
Then, on December 24, 2003, I received a phone call that changed everything — the gym we were operating in was going to close. Just like that, I was faced with a major decision: shut it down, or go all in.
🏠 A New Home, A Bigger Vision
In January of 2004, we found a new space. For a few months, we continued holding classes at the gym — even as it was winding down — and then in April, we officially transferred all students to our new location.
In 2006, we expanded and doubled our space, and we’ve been growing and thriving in that same location ever since.
🔥 40 Years Later:
• I’ve trained hundreds of students
• I’ve watched kids grow into leaders, and white belts earn black belts
• I’ve created programs like our Rise Up Against Bullying and Predator Awareness Training
• I’ve built an approach that blends traditional martial arts with my background as a licensed mental health counselor
• And I’ve had the privilege of being part of something that’s bigger than me — a community that believes in strong minds and strong bodies
To every student, parent, mentor, and friend who’s supported this journey: thank you. Your belief in what we do means everything.
📣 I’d love to hear from you!
If you’ve been part of my journey — even for one class — thank you and shoot me a call sometime! Let’s celebrate this milestone together.
Here’s to the next chapter! 🥋💪
Sensei Scott Walls
#KarateAnniversary #40YearsOfKarate #SenseiScottWalls #LincolnKarateClinic