Sensei Bill | 4th Dan

Sensei Bill Kelly started training in Seido karate in 1991. At the time, his exercise routine consisted of jogging and exercising in Tompkins Square Park. But after the park was closed by police following a riot, a friend who had recently studied Kyokushin in Japan for several years convinced Sensei Bill to go with him to Seido. Once he entered Honbu, he never looked back.

Prior to joining Seido, Sensei Bill trained for a bit in tai chi. His Seido teaching journey began in 1997 as a white belt instructor for morning classes, and he gradually moved on to teach all-belts classes. Throughout his years teaching, he has learned that consistency and repetition are imperative for students to be able to understand and make discoveries about their own training and, indeed, their way of living.

He emphasizes in his classes that there are more things in karate than are dreamt of in kicks and punches. Rigorous, authentic karate-do training leads to an understanding of the difference between a gym, where people work out, and a dojo, where people work on themselves.  

When he’s not teaching or training, Sensei Bill works as a writer and filmmaker, and he enjoys reading in his spare time. He also has a YouTube channel, Squirrel Budo, dedicated to martial arts lessons with squirrels. His favorite kata is Kanku.