FATHER OF KARATE IN AMERICA
1923 – 1989
In 1942, during World War II, Grandmaster Robert A. Trias was stationed in the British Solomon Islands. At this time he was a middleweight boxing champion for the United States Navy. During this same time a Chinese missionary, Master T'ung Gee Hsing, was seeking the conversion of the Solomon Island natives. After observing Master Trias training for an upcoming boxing match, Master Hsing offered to teach him Hsing-Yi in exchange for lessons in "American Boxing." At first Master Trias refused, annoyed by the interruptions during a busy training schedule. Finally Grandmaster Trias decided to teach Hsing a lesson in the ring. The exchange that followed was a turning point for Master Trias, who was unable to land a single blow. He decided to pursue the art so generously offered to him by Master Hsing. From then on, Karate became his way of life. That knowledge led to his quest to learn other martial arts.Later during the war, in 1944, while stationed in Singapore, Mr. Trias continued his training in the martial arts with his second instructor Hoy Yuan Ping at the Hock Keng Temple. Hoy Yuan Ping's instructor was Hashinosuka Fukuda, of the Tenshin Shinjo School of Kempo ju-jitsu in Japan. During that tour of duty, he learned the rare Chinese art of fusing-i chuan from kung fu master Tung Gee Hsing. Trias traveled to China, Japan, Okinawa, Hawaii, and other locations, training with the likes of James Mitose and Yasuhiro Konishi, acquiring expertise in Shuri-ryu, Shorei-ryu karate, kempo, ju-jitsu, and judo. He would later become style head of Shuri-ryu and Shorei-ryu. He was recognized as the world's top authority in those arts.
. Karate was first introduced to the United States by Master Trias in 1945. He opened the first Karate school in the continental US in 1946, in Phoenix, Arizona. A few years later, he began the United States Karate Association (USKA) with the intent of disseminating knowledge about the martial arts to the public, organizing the nation's martial artists into a cohesive, powerful body, and carrying the sport to financial health. The USKA in its glory days had more than a half-million members worldwide. After his death, his daughter Roberta Trias- Kelly took over as the head of the USKA; she dissolved it several years later in 1999.
Master Trias was not universally-loved, but whatever the many opinions about the man were, one fact remains: Robert A. Trias perhaps did more for the martial arts in the United States than any other individual, including Bruce Lee. Through his teaching, Trias carried the message of the martial arts to millions across the globe by organizing tournaments, giving seminars; he strove tirelessly to communicate karate's ideas of honor, discipline, and respect to new generations. "My purpose is to make the practitioner aware of the changes in karate, from the karate of the past to the karate of today," Master Trias said in one of his many prepared public statements.
Unfortunately, he never saw all his goals realized. Master Trias was diagnosed with bone cancer in 1987, and his body weakened as the disease spread. Nonetheless, he continued to teach and give seminars as long as his failing health would allow. Some students spoke of caring for Master Trias before seminars, giving him shots of morphine to help control his agony during demonstrations which he refused to cancel. On July 11, 1989, Master Trias’ courageous struggle ended as he passed away in a Phoenix hospital at age 67.
