Chief Instructor
Robert E. Ellis, 6th Degree Black Belt
Personal Student of Higaonna Morio, Founder and Chief Instructor of the International Okinawan Goju Ryu Karate-Do Federation
Certified IOGKF Senior Instructor
Member Executive Committee IOGKF-USA
Member National Grading Board IOGKF-USA

Sensei Ellis began karate training in 1963, while still a high school student in New York. Early training also included Judo, Kendo and Zen with Sakiyama Roshi a former student of Miyagi Chogun Sensei. Following discharge from the Marine Corps, Ellis entered the PhD Japanese history program at the University of Oregon In 1973, Ellis went to Tokyo to study with Higaonna Sensei as one of the first westerners at the now famous Yoyogi dojo. Concurrently, he enrolled at Waseda University to continue his academic studies. Upon returning to the U.S., Ellis started his own dojo and for the next 20 years headed the University of Oregon club sports karate program and taught karate while on faculty in the Physical Education Department. Ellis lives with his wife and son in Portland, Oregon where he teaches. His daughter attends law school in London, England. Ellis is a former technology executive having spent most of his career in the defense industry. Ellis Sensei’s new dojo SEISHINKAN, named in honor of his teacher, means the school where we develop the spirit of Morio Sensei.