Sensei Robert Shepard
Growing up in the tiny town of Greybull, Wyoming, Robert Shepard had little contact with the martial arts beyond television, movies, and books. Nevertheless, as a young man he developed a sincere interest that led him to seek martial arts knowledge in any way that he could. His first efforts to gain this knowledge were guided by books from which he began trying to learn basic moves. Eventually a friend helped him to find a Shito Ryu school in another town to which he commuted in a 180 mile round-trip several times a week. Eventually, however, a Kenpo Karate school opened in the town where Robert lived. He immediately enrolled and began training seven days a week (and at all hours of the day and night). His efforts were rewarded with a First Degree Black Belt in that style.
As he progressed through the ranks of that school and later as a Black Belt in this style and in Kara-ho Kempo Karate, Sensei Shepard traveled a large tournament circuit in Wyoming, Colorado, and Montana, where he became known as a very able competitor and gained a reputation for excellent kata performance and a quick and innovative fighting style that set a high bar for those competing against him. His tournament success was not confined, however, to his own achievements. Sensei Shepard began teaching karate students in several small communities before he reached his Black Belt, traveling hundreds of miles every week to bring martial arts instruction to many who otherwise would not have had access and opportunity to study. The students he trained became a force to be reckoned with on the tournament circuit as well as a fine upstanding force in their own communities and very capable martial artists.
Against this background, looking to enrich his own training, one of Sensei Shepard’s students, Mike Swenson, had read about and contacted Grandmaster Sam Kuoha, who had taken the reins of Professor Chow’s Chinese Kara-ho Kempo after Professor’s death. At this student’s suggestion, Sensei Shepard began communicating with Grandmaster Kuoha by phone. This communication led Grandmaster to agree to allow Sensei Shepard and his schools to sign on as only the third Kara-ho school to exist other than Professor’s own school. Sensei Shepard’s training in Kara-ho was conducted via videotape and with many personal visits with Grandmaster Kuoha and his senior students, both in Wyoming and in San Diego, California, where Grandmaster Kuoha lived.
Besides bringing his own schools into Kara-ho, Sensei Shepard became an enthusiastic ambassador for Professor’s style. He began enlisting other Black Belts in the Rocky Mountain region to join the organization and begin studying Kara-ho. By inviting Grandmaster to the tournament he sponsored in Cody, Wyoming, Sensei Shepard further bolstered the influence of Kara-ho in the region, which became a very strong part of the Chinese Kara-ho Kempo network of martial arts schools. Because of his enthusiasm, dedication, hard work, and commitment, Sensei Shepard became a regional director and a national representative for the organization. In those capacities he traveled widely with Grandmaster Kuoha throughout the United States, providing training for new instructors and schools as the organization began to grow.
During his 28 years in the martial arts, Sensei Shepard, currently a Third Degree Black Belt in Professor Chow’s Chinese Kara-ho Kempo Karate, has stayed active in his personal and community life as well. In addition to the intense and invaluable instruction and palpable enthusiasm he provides to his students, he also conducts self-defense seminars for non-students. He and his wife Sari, an ever-present and wonderful support in all his endeavors, have three children and seven grandchildren, who are the center of their world. Sensei Shepard has also completed a substantial formal education, earning his Masters of Social Work. He now lives and works in his private counseling practice in Spokane, Washington, surrounded by his family and students, all of whom look to him as a man of wisdom, courage, loyalty, honor, and dedication.
