PKA GB

The martial art taught by the instructors at Plumer Karate America in Green Bay is largely the vision and system learned by and taught by Sensi Paul Harris (1956-2010) of Green Bay.  Shortly after moving to Green Bay from Upper Michigan in 1973, Sensei Harris began training in traditional Korean Tae Kwon Do (Korean: “Foot Fist Way”) at the dojang of Grandmaster Ip Sop Song. Master Song taught Sensei Harris the basics of Tae Kwon Do.  Master Song also brought a young Korean Tae Kwon Do Master to Green Bay, his name was Master Byung-Kon Cho.   Upon Master Song’s retirement, Master Cho took over the Tae Kwon Do studio, and Mr. Harris (along with many of Master Song’s other students), continued their training at Master Cho’s dojang, which was a member of the International Tae Kwon Do Federation. A few months later A new Instructor moved to Green Bay. His name was Master Chung Hyon Chay , a 8th Degree Black Belt who taught the more up-to-date system of Tae Kwon Do, which was governed by the World Tae Kwon Do Federation (WTF) in Korea, with newer forms (poomse) called Palgues. Their free sparring was also more wide open, utilizing more hand techniques, similar to the jab and cross of boxing, and  kicks more conducive to a sport karate style. Sensei Harris took very well to this style, and competed (and won) in many tournaments across the Midwestern US. Many of these tournaments were sanctioned by the US Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), which was later the sanctioning body of Olympic Tae Kwon Do in the US. Sensei Harris excelled at this sport Tae Kwon Do, and became Master Chay’s senior instructor, earning his 3rd Dan Black Belt through the Ku Ki Won, the governing body of the World Tae Kwon Do Federation in Korea.

Ultimately, Sensei Harris left Chay’s Tae Kwon Do and opened his own studio in 1982, Harris Karate Academy. He along with another one of Master Chay’s students, Mr. Steven Nemetz, partnered and started getting HKA going. Sensei Harris wanted to add more punching to the technique that he was teaching, so he started training with the soaring eagles boxing club out of Oneida.  Sensei Harris’ love of sport karate led him to start the Harris Karate Academy Tournament of Champions that same year. Mr. Nemetz and Sensei’s other students typically did very well at all tournaments in which they competed, and Sensei Harris and his system gained a reputation for martial arts excellence.   Many champions were produced by HKA throughout its history, and many students excelled at large, national tournaments, like the Diamond Nationals, held annually in the Minneapolis area, with regular attendance of over 2000 competitors. Many of Sensei’s students also competed in full contact karate, and did quite well. Sensei also was instrumental in the startup of the Wisconsin Professional Karate Association (WPKA), a group of Wisconsin karate schools and instructors that set up an in-state tournament circuit that produced some of the best karate competition in the US.

Sensei Harris was very open-minded regarding the martial arts. He was always looking for new challenges for himself and his students. He would bring instructors into his dojo to teach various martial arts, including Polynesian Lima Lama and Judo.  Never one to rest on his laurels, in the late 1980s, Sensei Harris started to train in a different martial art,  an Okinawan style of karate called Shorin-ryu (Okinawan: “Shaolin School”), under the instruction of one of his WPKA associated instructors, Neil Stolsmark of Milwaukee, WI. Sensei would drive to Milwaukee a couple times per week to train in Shorin-ryu and Okinawan weapons in the style of Matayoshi Kobudo. Sensei Stolsmark trained under Master Tadashi Yamashita, who starred in many martial arts movies, such as The Octagon and American Ninja. Because of his martial arts expertise, Sensei  Harris learned these new systems quickly, and added them to his curriculum at HKA.  In the 1990s, Sensei Harris travelled twice to Okinawa to train in the Matayoshi Kobudo dojo and pay respect to the late Shinpo Matayoshi, Grandmaster of the Okinawan Kobudo system taught to the family of the Emperor of Japan.

In 1990, Sensei, Master Nemetz and Mr. Biersteker attended a seminar in Beaver Dam, WI, on pressure sensitive nerve areas to use in self-defense taught by a Filipino Eskrima master, Suro Michael Inay of Los Gatos, CA. The association with Suro Inay led to Sensei Harris learning and conquering yet another martial art. Eskrima starts with students using two or one eskrima sticks, mastering cutting, slashing and blocking techniques to simulate edged weapons. As the student progresses, they move from using weapons, to empty hand techniques similar to western boxing.  

These martial arts have all been implemented into the system taught by the instructors at PKA Green Bay. The system primarily starts with the Tae Kwon Do Sensei Harris and Master Nemetz learned as young students at Chay’s Tae Kwon Do. These are the basic techniques and combinations our students learn as they start their journey in the martial arts. As they progress, they can learn Okinawan Kobudo and Filipino Eskrima if they so desire.  After earning their 1st Dan Black Belt, they will begin to learn the wider range of technique and form of Okinawan Shorin Ryu, along with more advanced traditional forms of Korean Tae Kwon Do. Overall, Plumer Karate America in Green Bay offers  the deepest, widest range of exposure to Asian Martial Arts of any school in the area.