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Local sensei receives national award for Instructor of the Year
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Posted by editor Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
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0 responses 0 comments On July 15, in a ceremony held in St. Louis, Mo., local Kenpo sensei Tim Sebra, owner of Mountain Martial Arts, located at in Old Town at 20290 Valley Blvd., was inducted into the United States Martial Arts Hall of Fame and was honored as Instructor of the Year.

“I was in total shock and it took about a week before it sunk in,” Sebra said after he first learned he was receiving the prestigious honor.
Sebra said that he didn’t know he had been nominated by grand master Joe Pallanzo, president of the World Wide Kenpo Karate Association, an organization that has certified Mountain Martial Arts as a member school.
After receiving a letter notifying him of the award, Tim said he had to call the hall of fame headquarters to make sure it was real.

“I’d love to say that it’s a goal I shot for, but it’s just such a high honor, I never even dreamed this would happen,” Sebra said.

According to Sebra, the award event was formal and as an honoree he was asked to wear a tuxedo.

He said that at first the other 300 honorees from a couple dozen states talked only about their different styles of the martial arts. Sebra was one of only two representatives from California. As the evening progressed, he said an easy rapport developed and they just enjoyed each other’s company as “real people.”

As the founder of San Kai Kenpo, a combination of Shaolin, American and Kovar’s Kenpo Blend, Sebra works to instill the principles of the black belt in his students: modesty, courtesy, integrity, perseverance, courage and indomitable spirit.

"I will lead by example," is the dojo’s motto, one which Sebra clearly upholds.
Mountain Martial Arts opened in March of 2004 and now has a student body of more than 50 students, approximately 20 of them are adults.

Sebra began studying Shaolin Kenpo in 1987 and by 2000 had become an instructor. When his full-time position with the CDCR required him to relocate, he started over with American Kenpo and yet another move sent him in the direction of Kovar’s Kenpo Blend, before mastering his current style of Kenpo.

“I’ve started over three times. There are so many martial arts, that if you limit yourself to studying just one then you are in fact limiting yourself,” Sebra said.

He achieved his black belt in 2003 and he now wears a third degree black belt. At the tenth degree, the title of grand master is awarded.

Traditionally Kenpo belt levels progress from white, yellow, orange, purple, blue, green to three degrees of brown, then up to tenth degree black belt. Sebra awards his students a red belt after achieving green, to provide recognition for their achievement, although it does not actually advance them toward their black belt. For juniors, some belts require specific age requirements.

The six associate instructors who help teach the “Little Dragons,” ages 4 to 6, and beginner juniors, ages 6 to 12, are also also Sebra’s students. They have either attained black belts through another system or discipline of the martial arts, or are currently working on a black belt within the San Kai system.

Sebra’s students are taught self discipline, respect, social and life skills while also learning the art of Kenpo Karate self defense, utilizing a system he calls “PCP” for praise, correct, praise.

“I start with a compliment of what the student or employee is doing right, then I tell them what I would like them to work on, in a upbeat way. Next, I give them thanks for listening, reassure my confidence in them and compliment them again,” Sebra said.

Sebra’s award-winning teaching ability is apparent not only in athletic skill, but in the social skills his younger students exhibit. They bow respectfully in and out of the practice ring and they also bow to their parents after each class, giving thanks for supporting their individual study of the martial arts.

The young students are regularly rewarded through a star system of patches that are sewn onto their gi, or uniform, to display their dedication and accomplishments.
Different colored stars are rewarded for reading 10 books, showing school spirit and attending special events, receiving good grades, showing charity and kindness, for perfect attendance, outstanding effort and for acts of bravery or courage.

The Kern Regional Center For the Developmentally Disabled in Tehachapi also sends several adult students to Sebra for special instruction, to help those with special needs to achieve confidence, provide physical conditioning and to help them toward a goal of leading independent, productive and satisfying lives.

Sebra has also helped his wife, Diane, to achieve improvement in her own energy levels and physical conditioning. In spite of the her physical disabilities related to fibromyalgia, Diane has recently achieved her brown belt and also assists with teaching the younger students, while continuing her own pursuit of a black belt.

For more information about Mountain  Martial Arts call 331-7339 or visit www.mtnma.com.

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