History of The United States Soryu Karate Federation

(taken from an account by Master Chris Lopez)

     In April of 1967, the state of karate was markedly different from what it is today.  While people had a faint idea of what judo was, most knew little of  karate aside from what was seen on shows such as The Green Hornet. In the city of Austin, Texas, there were only two schools of instruction; Master Joe Alvarado's Soryu Karate and Mr. Mike Usselton on the University of Texas.  Master Alvarado, a student of Grand Master Michio Koyasu of Sasebo, Japan held the rank of 2nd Dan at that time.  Mr. Usselton was a 2nd Dan in Tae-Kwon-Do and a student of the famed Mr. Allen Steen of Dallas (who in turn was taught by Master Jhoon Rhee in 1957 at South West Texas State in San Marcos, Texas).  Training with Mr. Usselton was Mr. Eric Whorton, an outstanding 1st Dan.  Tony Lasit, a 4th Dan Ka-Ju-Kenbo stylist, had started a school on Bergstrom AFB outside of Austin prior to being transferred. Brown belts were few and far between.  There were three in 1967; Mr. Ben Calvo, Mr. Freddie Hernandez, and Mr. Jack Ruckleman.

      Master Chris Lopez first began training students in 1971 as a blue belt. It was at this time that he was assigned the duties of self defense instructor at the Austin Police Academy, taking over from Tom Graham, a 2nd Dan Judoka. In September 1973, after a grueling exam, Mr. Lopez was promoted to 1st Dan. Mr. Lopez had a class of 44 students in Austin when he first opened his school in New Braunfels on 14 January, 1974.  With the assistance of his wife Ida (who was promoted to 1st Dan in 1975), Mr. Lopez also opened a school in San Antonio.

      Mr. Lopez, was one of the original 30 Texas instructors who founded the Amateur Organization of Karate in 1976  At that time, Mr. Lopez was also the promoter of the Lone Star State Karate Championships for several years.  This outstanding tournament annual drew some 400 fighters from around the country and Mexico, including several world champions.  His tournament was recognized as a first rate event with outstanding judging and first rate competition. It was a "clean" tournament, but fell victim to area politics. Rather than knuckle under, Mr. Lopez shut down the tournament. (end, Master Lopezes account)

     In 1975 after forming The United States Soryu Karate Federation*, Jeff Bonugli started training under Master Lopez. In 1978 as a green belt, Mr. Bonugli beat the undefeated state champion in the Houston's Karate Olympics.  Mr. Bonugli's fighting record is impressive ranking number 1 in Texas multiple times.  Mr. Bonugli Received his 1st Dan Black Belt in 1979 and has recently been promoted to 6th Dan. Master Bonugli now teaches Ultimate Martial Arts fighting in Spring Branch, Texas.

     In 1997,  Shawnie Brown transferred to Master Bonugli's class from a USTA school where she had been learning Taekwondo. It was from Master Bonugli that she learned and gained the confidence to later open Alamo Family Karate and then American Family Karate.

     As a teenager and young adult Mrs. Brown learned some basic boxing and military hand to hand combat and realized a love for contact sports. In 1996 Mrs. Brown volunteered with the Rape Crisis Center for over a year and quickly realized the importance of self-defense.

     Mrs. Brown started karate in 1996 at The United States TKD Academy in San Antonio, Texas. In 1998 as a purple belt, Mrs. Brown won the Black Belt continuous sparring division at Houston's Karate Olympics. By the end of 1998, She was ranked the #1 Black Belt fighter in Texas, #3 in Mexico and #5 in the U.S.A. Her dominance of Texas continued for 2 years until in February 2000 she became pregnant with her first child. She continued to teach and train during this period. Sensei Brown Received her 1st Dan Black Belt in February 2002 with her husband and baby girl watching and cheering her on. She opened Alamo Family Karate in San Antonio on January 3rd, 2001. Most of her original class are still students. In November of 2003 Sensei & her husband, Tom had another daughter and again She taught and trained throughout the pregnancy.

     Sensei Brown has a passion for teaching women, children and teens karate, self-defense, leadership, integrity and self-confidence. She taught in San Antonio, Texas until June 2007 when she and her family moved to upstate New York to open American Family Karate.  Sensei Brown is very thankful to Master Bonugli for his instruction and support through the years. In addition to karate, Sensei Brown is the music director at her church and plays bass guitar in the band there. She is also active in the youth group where she plays electric guitar to lead the kids in worship. Shawnie also plays racquetball and loves camping & hiking.

       Mr. Brown has been studying Soryu karate under Master Jeff Bonugli since 1997 also. He started it as a hobby with his then girl friend (now wife). Tom loves teaching self-defense and always has a unique method of getting his point across. Tom traveled and competed in many tournament with his wife, winning many titles himself. Tom has been instrumental in the formation and development of The United States Soryu Karate Federation to which AFK proudly belongs to. He is now the proud father of 2 little girls and is an awesome father. Tom earned his 3rd degree brown belt on 10-08-04. Master Bonugli, Sensei Bill Daggett and Sensei Shawnie Brown presided over the exam. As a brown belt he is now a certified instructor for Soryu karate in the United States Soryu Karate Federation. In addition to karate, Tom is also very active in his church serving as the Junior Warden and as the technology wizard every Sunday. Tom is an avid hunter and outdoorsman. He is also an awesome carpenter and handy man. Mr. Brown is very supportive of Sensei Brown's martial arts career and encourages her at every turn.

     While there are many more people who have been instrumental in the growth of USSKF, this brief history provides a snap shot of those directly related to Alamo and American Family Karate.   

 (*There are a few other branches of Soryu Karate in the US and Japan, the USSKF is its own organization and is trademarked by Master Jeff Bonugli.)

          Confidence            Integrity        Leadership