Bellevue Dojo Chief Instructor
Keith Dipboye, M.D.
Keith Dipboye started Chito-ryu karate at age 14 in Louisville Kentucky. He was promoted to black belt by Dr. Chitose during his last visit to the US in 1982. He was promoted to Ni-dan, 2nd degree black belt in 2006.
During his medical school training in Illinois, his PhD research as a Fulbright scholar in Japan and during his time as a practicing Internist in Seattle, Keith Dipboye has trained in several other styles including ShotoKan, Funakoshi Shotokan, Kyokushinkai and Seido; throughout this time, primarily because of close friendships with members of the Louisville Chito-ryu dojo, he continued to train in Chito-ryu as well. Keith Dipboye is also a student of Japan, has undergraduate and graduate degrees in anthropology, medical anthropology and Japanese.
Dr. Dipboye decided to use his 26 years of martial arts experience to teach Chito-ryu karate-do when the US. Koshinha Chito-ryu organization was formed in 2004.
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I've noticed that the karate-ka with the greatest skill tend to display an enormous interest in learning from others; and always express humility, rather than arrogance about what they have mastered. The actual instructors of our class are the karate sensei of that caliber who taught, and continue to teach me. People like my first teacher, Dr. Dan Francis, who started Louisville Dojo when he was a seminary student, Shihan Philip Arnold, Chief Instructor of Louisville Dojo, the other senior leaders of the Koshin-ha Chito-ryu Federation -- Kyoshi Van Horne, Kyoshi Davenport, Kyoshi Hedderman, Renshi Valentino -- are at the top of a very long, and growing list of karate Sensei who have achieved remarkable skill and possess admirable character." |
Why I started, why I stay.
When I joined Louisville Dojo at age 14, I had vague ideas that Karate was ‘cool’ and very specific ideas that I wanted to feel more confident around the older kids in high school.
I learned pretty quickly that, while Karate was in fact cool, it was also far more than a fighting system. Respect and discipline permeate every aspect of the training. I learned the value of hard work. I discovered that through constant practice I could take movements that looked and felt clumsy and produce graceful and powerful techniques.
I came to appreciate the tranquil side of Karate: classes begin and end with meditation and one of the primary training methods – kata – emphasize such mental focus that they have been called zen in motion.
Importantly for my own life, many of the adults who were to become my role models, and the cohorts who were to become life-long friends, I first encountered in the dojo.
In my 'day job' as a doctor, I spend much of my time trying to get adults to exercise. I have found that people who find something they enjoy, find a group they enjoy, are far more successful at keeping in shape than those who simply carry a gym membership card in their wallets. Karate-Do is rigorous, purposeful exercise that engages the body and the mind; it is intended to be done -- and can be done -- for a lifetime.
-Keith Dipboye, MD
