Madison Area YMCA Karate Teacher Celebrates Half a Century of Martial Arts Experience –...

MADISON, NJ – On December 12, 1968, a gangly teenager stepped up onto a raised, padded training platform to experience his first formal karate class at the pioneering, the Bank Street School, a karate dojo in Summit, NJ. “It was love at first kick” cites Madison Area YMCA master karate teacher, or Shifu Hayashi as many of his students have come to know him. “Karate was unfamiliar to the general public in the 1960s,” states Christopher Goedecke, a prolific writer and popular area teacher. Goedecke, a Buddhist monk, book author and inventor, (Buddhist name; Hayashi Tomio), has been instructing children and adults at the Madison Area YMCA since 1979.

“Most people mistake karate only as a fighting sport for the young. Karate is an exceptionally good self-discipline and physical education in how to move gracefully, and with confidence through the world regardless of your age. It will expand your awareness, enhance any sport or physical activity you do with its detailed functional body patterns called kata, and introduce practitioners to an integrative philosophy in the Asian Mindfulness tradition.

Goedecke, who heads the Madison Area YMCA’s karate program, has no intention to stop teaching. “This art is too compelling,” he explains. “New insights emerge every week. With increasing volatility in the world, karate becomes an evermore vital discipline to benefit anyone who feels anxious about their future well-being.”

The Madison Area YMCA is a 501©3 cause-driven charitable organization dedicated to strengthening community through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.

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