Sensei Richard Rabago, 7th Dan

 

Sensei Richard Rabago was born August 14th, 1943 on the Island of O'ahu

and raised on the garden isle of Kauai. As he was growing up on the Islands,

Rabago Sensei had the opportunity to experience and study many different

forms of martial arts. Rabago Sensei martial studies included: Judo, Aikido,

Kempo and boxing. After completing high school Rababo Sensei moved to

California in August of 1961. Then, he began his training in Shotokan Karate

under the instruction of Tsutomu Oshima and Hidetaka Nishiyama.

 

Rabago Sensei trained and studied the principles of Shotokan until 1968. In

1969, he began his study of Shorin-Ryu Karate under Senseis'

George Terukina and Seikichi Iha. He progressed through the years and

earned his title as "Sensei".  Rabago Sensei then opened his own

dojo and for the past 30 plus years taught Kobayashi Shorin-ryu and 

specialized techniques in use of force in Torrance,California.

 

Rabago Sensei has the experience, training credentials, and Budo

skill to have earned the right to be called "Master" several times over.  If you

call him that, however, you'll most likely get a roll of the eyes, a slightly

embarrassed laugh, and the words, "just call me Sensei - that's enough". A

throwback to the age of Budo and Honor, where a Karate-ka earned respect

through skill and dedication, not by self-given titles, Rabago Sensei

measures himself against a higher standard than is commonly used in

martial arts today. Rabago Sensei has learned his most important lesson.

“The basics are everything”.