Karate and Kickboxing Training at Steele's Karate in Salem Part 4

Part four focuses on boxing training downstairs with full size bags.

Photos by Tim King Salem-News.com

(SALEM, Ore,) - "One of the sayings that I got from a master is, 'Anyone can fight, but a warrior trains and training is about striving to reach your limits.'"

Steele's Karate Sinsei John Olivera

In our fourth and final installment of this special in-depth video look at Steele's Karate in Salem and the dojo's Sinsei, John Olivera, we see students training with the use of 100 pound punching bags.

"Now the students get downstairs and I teach them the application of what they learned up there, which is punching the bags and just really going for the burn," the veteran Black Belt Instructor said.

This phase of Karate, boxing and kickboxing training offer resistance, and demands a more focused approach from a student.

John Explains that students, "learn the difference between a jab, a jab, a cross, a hook, an upper cut, a front kick and a round kick, and kicking a heavy bag that weighs a hundred pounds, they're going to find out what it is like to move that mass in front of them."

The students at Steele's Karate range greatly in age. John Olivera says there is no age too young to begin learning self-defense. Students in his program range from three and four years old, to seventy.

He stresses that self-defense training can be particularly important for women and girls and all who feel a need to better be able to defend themselves in a time of emergency.

And there are few programs that are going to help a person develop their physique and muscle tone more effectively than a few hours a week with John Olivera.

"It's going to build their muscle and their tone, It's going to be a great cardiial workout, they're going to reduce weight and lose stress."

John Olivera and Tim King from Salem-News.com have one really unique thing in common; that is U.S. Marine Corps Platoon 1044, which commenced training in the middle of June, 1981.

While John and Tim only knew each other for a brief few months as they went through Marine basic training or 'boot camp', they were certainly among the most challenging in each of their lives.

Years later when Tim was working for Portland TV station KATU, he interviewed John for a news story and they recognized each other about halfway through the interview.

Considering that Tim grew up in Los Angeles and John is from the Detroit Lake, Oregon area; it was a lucky find.

One story and related video produced by Tim some years ago: Salem Ex-Marine May be World's Toughest Kickboxer; has led quite a bit of business to the Salem dojo over the years, John says. Here is the first part in this series, watch for part two which will be released Tuesday.

Over this four part series,you can watch his class transition from standard Karate training, to an aerobic kickboxing dance workout... to hard punches against heavy bags that represent the weight of a human body.

Here are the other videos in this series:

Dec-13-2010: Karate and Kickboxing Training at Steele's Karate in Salem Part 1 - Salem-News.com Staff Report

Dec-14-2010: Karate and Kickboxing Training at Steele's Karate in Salem Part 2 - Salem-News.com Staff Report

Dec-16-2010: Karate and Kickboxing Training at Steele's Karate in Salem Part 3 - Salem-News.com Staff Report

Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 covering the war in Afghanistan, and he was in Iraq over the summer of 2008, reporting from the war while embedded with both the U.S. Army and the Marines.

Tim holds numerous awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing, including the Oregon AP Award for Spot News Photographer of the Year (2004), first place Electronic Media Award in Spot News, Las Vegas, (1998), Oregon AP Cooperation Award (1991); and several others including the 2005 Red Cross Good Neighborhood Award for reporting. Tim has several years of experience in network affiliate news TV stations, having worked as a reporter and photographer at NBC, ABC and FOX stations in Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. Serving the community in very real terms, Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website. As News Editor, Tim among other things, is responsible for publishing the original content of 65 Salem-News.com writers. He reminds viewers that emails are easily missed and urges those trying to reach him, to please send a second email if the first goes unanswered. You can send Tim an email at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com

Bonnie King has been with Salem-News.com since August '04, when she became Publisher. Bonnie has served in a number of positions in the broadcast industry; TV Production Manager at KVWB (Las Vegas WB) and Producer/Director for the TV series "Hot Wheels in Las Vegas", posts as TV Promotion Director for KYMA (NBC), and KFBT (Ind.), Asst. Marketing Director (SUPERSHOPPER MAGAZINE), Director/Co-Host (Coast Entertainment Show), Radio Promotion Director (KBCH/KCRF), and Newspapers In Education/Circulation Sales Manager (STATESMAN JOURNAL NEWSPAPER). Bonnie has a depth of understanding that reaches further than just behind the scenes, and that thoroughness is demonstrated in the perseverance to correctly present each story with the wit and wisdom necessary to compel and captivate viewers. View articles written by Bonnie King

Jerry Freeman begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting is part of a new generation of dedicated news photographers who are entering the Internet news industry as a second career. He shares in common with many people the dream of becoming a visual journalist. Joining the Navy at an early age, and the Oregon Army Guard a few years later, Jerry has a wide range of life experiences. He describes himself as “an old truck driver with a new found passion to bare witness on the world’s events.” Teaming up with Salem-News.com he embarks on a new career as a video news photographer and reporter. Stay tuned, and see how it turns out. Jerry seems to exhibit natural talent and is already becoming a published member of the Salem-News.com team. You can send Jerry Freeman an email at this address: bearingwitness@live.com