SHOTOKAN LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE
Shotokan Leadership Institute 501 (c) (3) is a non-profit based out of Santa Rosa, CA in the lovely Sonoma County. Shotokan Leadership Institute (further known as SLI) is supported by the donated efforts and time of Shotokan Karate Leadership School and the financial support of donors. Started by Marty Callahan in the year 1981, SLI's goal has always been to provide world class leadership training and karate instruction to those who otherwise could not afford it.
As a young man, Marty attended seminary with the goal of becoming a priest. Later, he changed paths and attended University of California Riverside, earning a B.A. in psychology.
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Marty first began studying karate while in college. Having grown up in an abusive home, he was an angry young man who became interested in learning to fight. The longer he trained, however, the more his focus shifted from fighting to character building and leadership skills.
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"Character development became the central focus of my training, " says Marty. "My teachers emphasized fighting, but I was more interested in becoming a better person. I realized that my anger was doing more harm than good. Karate gave me the confidence to let go of it. I used to be a human 'doing', but I became a human 'being'. I was, and still am, being transformed.
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Marty earned his black belt in Shotokan Karate in 1972 and moved to Santa Rosa, California in 1981. Here is where Shotokan Leadership Institute and Shotokan Karate Leadership School were founded.
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WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
SHOTOKAN LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE
"Leaders become great not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others."
- John Maxwell
