Small Business Spotlight - Josh Owens // Shorindokai Karate
This interview was conducted as a part of YourLocalBizPro’s Small Business Spotlight. Josh Owens, the founder and owner of Shorindokai Karate, was gracious enough to participate and offer 20% off classes from 9/20/20 - 9/26/20.
What inspired you to open Shorindokai Karate?
"The martial arts have had a huge and profound impact on my life and I wanted to pass those lessons on."
What is the meaning behind Shorindokai?
“Literal translation would be the ‘way of the pine tree organization’. Pine trees are flexible and flow with the wind. We want our students to be flexible and adaptable to any situation in life.”
What inspires your entrepreneurial spirit?
“Everything I have ever learned about living, I learned on the mat. This is my way to give back and continue to pass on the ideals I learned through the martial arts.”
What is your business mission and why is it important to you personally?
“The mission of Shorindokai Karate is to provide the highest quality self-defense and self-improvement focused martial arts training possible, by always putting the student's needs and goals first.”
“Every martial arts school has its own focus. Some focus solely on winning competitions and some are solely focused on their bottom line. I have seen and been a part of schools in both categories. In each instance, I have seen those values come at a cost to the students. In the case of competitive schools, the ones that are not top competitors seem to get less attention. In the bottom line schools, I have seen the standards lowered to allow easier achievements and higher continued enrollments, leading to students having an inflated idea of their skills.”
“I believe that every student’s journey is different and that teachers have an obligation to walk that path with each of their students. Standards need to be high so that:
Students learn to work hard for their achievements.
Especially in case of self defense, students have a realistic, not inflated, idea of their skills.”
If you’d like to contact Josh or Shorindokai Karate, they can be reached at 864-516-4718 or visited in person at 5000 Old Buncombe Rd., Ste. 8 and 9, Greenville, SC 29617. More information can be found at www.shorindokaikarate.com.
*Originally posted on September 20th, 2020*