Sherman Oaks Karate

[CLUKID]

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!")

 

[Tames D]

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

 

[Karatepat1]

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

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.

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..

 

[Karatepat1]

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..

 

[Karatepat1]

Also, I am a Black belt.

 

[Tames D]

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

 

[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!

 

[isshinryuronin]

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.

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.

 

[the old timer]

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

 

[the old timer]

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

 

[isshinryuronin]

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.

 

[the old timer]

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.

 

[isshinryuronin]

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.

 

[the old timer]

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.

 

[isshinryuronin]

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 under 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.

 

[Buka]

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

 

[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.

 

[tarz2975]

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.

 

[Hapa]

Hi, sorry been so inactive so long. Happy to email them/DM them though I didn't see any blue belts in the photo. Purple and Orange.