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HOME WHAT'S NEW DR. JIGORO KANO OVERVIEWITKJ LEADERSHIPMEMBERSHIPAFFILIATIONSITKJ YUDANSHAKAI ONLINE STORE MERCHANDISE
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ITKJ Leadership
Bruce R. Bethers
Secretary General & Founding Board Member Shihan Bethers "first stepped on the mat" in 1963 at the age of 13 and began his Martial Arts training in Ju-Jitsu & Kodokan Judo under his first Instructor Shihan Sensei John J. Chaffin, Chief Instructor & Founder of the American Martial Arts Society and Sensei Koichi Kobayashi, Hirosaki, Japan Buddhist Ju-Jitsu Academy. He was promoted to the rank of Shodan, 1 st Degree Black Belt in Ju-Jitsu & Judo in 1965. He also began his Karate training in 1964 under Sensei Guy Poos. At that point in Shihan Bethers' life, he was working as a physical education instructor for the YMCA where he taught Ju-Jitsu, Karate & Judo at three different "Y" branches in Oklahoma City, OK. He was promoted to the rank of Shodan, 1 st Degree Black Belt in Shihan-Ryu Karate in 1967. He began his Kendo training in 1970. He taught Martial Arts in the YMCA from 1965 to 1989, with only a four-year break due to active duty in the U.S. Army. During his college years (1968-1973), he also trained in Ching-Yi Kung Fu under Dr. Herr Yue Wong & was promoted to Black Belt in Kung Fu in 1973. While serving in Europe, (1974-1977) Shihan Bethers organized the European Armed Forces Martial Arts Association. During his four-year tour of duty in Europe, the EAFMAA held many seminars & tournaments in Germany, France, England & Greece (to include the Bi-Centennial Armed Forces Karate Championships in 1976). In 1977, Shihan Bethers trained & served as the Official U.S. Armed Forces Coach for the "American Team" at the European Tae Kwon Do Championships held in Rotterdam, Holland. He trained in Tae Kwon Do under Kim Kwang IL in Stuttgart, Germany. He received his 2 nd Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do in 1976. Upon his return from active duty in 1978, Shihan Bethers worked for the YMCA in Oklahoma first as a Program Director, then as Associate Executive Director in Oklahoma City, and later as the Chief Executive Officer of the Cleveland County YMCA in Norman Oklahoma. In 1981, Sensei Bethers coordinated the merger of the European Armed Forces Martial Arts Association (EAFMAA) and the American Martial Arts Society (AMAS) into the United States Martial Arts Association (USMAA). The USMAA was incorporated in Oklahoma in 1981. The original USMAA is now known as the USA Martial Arts Federation, www.usmaf.org. During his service as CEO for the YMCA, he planned, organized & managed the largest YMCA in Oklahoma, (building a five million dollar facility with 10,000 members & 200 programs). He conducted many Martial Arts seminars & tournaments at this YMCA from 1982 through 1989. In 1989, Shihan Bethers left the YMCA to continue his military career. From 1989-1990, Shihan Bethers organized & managed the Army National Guard Urban Warfare School, where he taught Hand-to-Hand Combat to the School's Instructors and developed the "Program of Instruction" for the Army National Guard's Urban Warfare School. From 1990 to 2003, Shihan Bethers, (now Lt. Currently, Shihan Bethers works at the Pentagon in Washington D.C. providing contract support with the Defense Contracting Command-Washington. He also conducts USJJF, USAKF and USMAF seminars throughout the U.S. and Internationally. Shihan Bethers holds a Bachelors Degree (B.A.) in Political Science from the University of Oklahoma, a Masters of Business Administration Degree (M.B.A., with Honors) from Oklahoma City University and is a Graduate of the U.S. Army's Command & General Staff College.
Shihan Bethers' Martial Arts Organization Service:
Shihan Bethers' Current Martial Art Ranks:
Shihan Bethers can be contacted at the following address: Lt. Col. Bruce R. Bethers
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Colonel, U.S. Army Ret) served as an Army Contracting Officer. In Kuwait, during Desert Storm Operations, (after the Liberation of Kuwait) Shihan Bethers provided Martial Arts training for the U.S. Soldiers stationed at Camp Doha, Kuwait (1991-1992). Lt. Col. Bethers' last military duty assignment was Chief of Contracting for the Nevada Army & Air National Guard. He retired from the US ARMY with 31.5 years of military service. 