NEWS

Area martial arts program makes national hall of fame

Kate Snyder
Reporter
Sensei Brad Seward instructs Mackenzie Junke, 13, and Wyatt Williams, 9, on their technique in his Coszacks Elite Defense System class at the Tri-Valley Fitness Center in Dresden. Seward’s dojo was inducted into the U.S. Martial Arts Hall of Fame for Leading System of the Year.

DRESDEN – This year is the second that Brad Seward was inducted into the U.S. Martial Arts Hall of Fame: The first was for Instructor of the Year, the second for Leading System of the Year.

That system, or program, or dojo, in Dresden, is called Coszacks Elite Defense System, which was in part inspired by the Coszacks School of Self-Defense in Zanesville.

"It's surreal," Seward said. "To be honored on a national level is unbelievable."

Seward's rank is master, but he never lets his students at Coszacks Elite Defense System call him master. Focusing on ranks can detract from the real goals of his class, he said.

His students simply call him "sensei," a Japanese word that loosely translates to "teacher."

The style of fighting in Seward's class is a combination of Shorinjiryu karate, Jidokwon taekwondo, combat judo, Brazilian jiujitsu and different kinds of Asian weaponry. Technically, Seward's rank is in karate, and if his students compete in tournaments — it's not a requirement in his class — they compete in karate.

But basically, Seward has taken what he thinks is the most relevant and best aspects of various styles of fighting and put them together in one program. Tournaments are great, he said, and he encourages his students to compete. But the main purpose of the program is self-defense.

"We apply the self-defense to tournament fighting," he said. "We treat it as a self-defense application."

There is no one technique that is right or wrong, Seward said, when the goal is self-defense. If a student needs to get out of an attacker's grasp, there is no one way to accomplish that. If the student gets out, they're doing it right. Different techniques work for different bodies and skill levels.

"I want them to find their own style," he said.

Seward said he's constantly trying to move the program forward and bring some modernization to the styles of fighting.

"Gone are the days of teaching the same thing over and over," Seward said.

Luke Kozlowski, a 17-year-old Licking Valley High School student and first-degree black belt, also is a sensei at Coszacks Elite Defense System. Kozlowski has been a student of karate since he was 6 years old and, lately, has been training with Seward.

"I loved it from the very first time I started," Kozlowski said.

You train to fight not so you can go looking for fights, Kozlowski said, but so, if something happens, you'll be prepared to handle it. And because the students are working toward that kind of goal, there is a certain level of camaraderie within the program as well, he added.

"It's all supposed to be practical," he said.

Kozlowski received his black belt when he was 14 years old but continues to learn more himself as he teaches others..

"You're always learning, you're always progressing," he said.

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