ABOUT

Harmony By Karate's Is A Leadership School That Develops Inclusive And Empathic Global Leaders. Our School Was In Partnership With The World famous Reebok Sport Club for 20 years.
We are rated in the top 7 martial arts schools in the US for children and adults.
The Harmony Power Foundation, it's charity arm made US history establishing the 1st Mandated anti-bullying program in a major city-Elizabeth NJ!

Harmony By Karate is one of the top schools for karate in the Upper West Side, known for its emphasis on inner development, spirtitual philosophy, longevity, and simple practical survior skills. The charity arm of Harmony By Karate, the Harmony Power Foundation, has established the 1st mandatory anti-bullying program in a major city in the world!

At Harmony By Karate, “harmony” is achieved through basic yoga focusing on deep breathing, yoga postures, meditation and philosophy. This helps the student develop a peaceful mind and nurtures spiritual growth. The “karate” aspect is the practice of simple, practical and fluid techniques that contribute to longevity. Students use slow Chi Fung movement that will ultimately maximize speed, power and flexibility. Martial Arts techniques demonstrate what is possible, eliminates fear, and empowers the individual to conquer any obstacle.

Sensei John Mirrione

Sensei John P. Mirrione is the founder of Harmony By Karate and the chairman of the Harmony Power Foundation. He has been training in karate for 43 years. He was bullied severely, and this led to him being a lifelong teacher who focuses on the healing aspects of the martial arts.

Sensei John took his martial arts expertise and combined it with breakdancing, leading to him becoming a well-known solo dance performer. As an Air Force entertainer, he danced all over the country. This later led him to having four performances at the Apollo Theater, and 72 episodes of Club MTV which broadened his understanding of human equality and celebrating diversity through dance.

He traveled to 17 cities to get a glimpse into the bullying crisis in the U.S. This deepened his understanding of the root causes of bullying. As a result, he founded the Harmony Power Foundation. Its mission is to “stand up to bullying and stand for human equality.” He was a featured guest on Deepak Chopra’s One World, discussing the healing aspects of empowering children on a worldwide scale.

Most recently, Sensei John set a new world record, doing 42 one arm/one-leg push-ups in 30 seconds to teach children that anything is possible when you put your mind and great consistent effort into it. His experience as a martial artist and dancer led to him living a more fearless existence as he achieved countless goals. His main goal is guiding the planet to heal itself is by empowering humanity to look deep inside and make the necessary changes to make the world a safer, happier, and healthier place to live and thrive.

In July 2022, John Mirrione was recently awarded the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his lifelong commitment to building a stronger nation through volunteer service.

Method and History

Sensei John P. Mirrione studied Shorinjiryu karate under the tutelage of his father for 26 years of his 43 years of martial arts training. Shorinjiryu is a strictly traditional style of karate developed by Kori Hisataka in 1946. This style emphasizes individuality more than most other styles of traditional karate.

In 2006, building on this understanding, Sensei John believed that there was even more room for individual interpretation and he took the philosophy to a different level by encouraging more natural movement. For example, students stand in natural postures as opposed to the traditional stances of the past, and their hands are kept softly in front of them as opposed to the more rigid hand postures. These changes enable students to move their bodies naturally, and because the posture is more relaxed, the hand and foot techniques can be executed more swiftly. Harmony By Karate emphasizes individuality, and completely honors the individual and their natural way of moving. Harmony By Karate has been open in the Upper West Side of NYC for 27 years!

“In developing my style I believe that I’m coming full circle, moving toward the simplicity of the past, and am honoring both perspectives. My hope for Harmony By Karate is that I am developing a style that leads students to their own style. There are three ideas that are basic to the Harmony By Karate philosophy. They are Individuality and Naturalness, Simplicity, and Self Development” – Sensei John Mirrione

Sensei John believes that it’s important to respect tradition, but places emphasis on evolving new traditions to move forward. Even as he’s made substantial changes, he has preserved the traditional aspects that he perceives to be simple, practical, and direct. The positive influences that form the essence of karate have been maintained, and elements like bowing, wearing white uniforms, using Japanese terminology, and doing meditation are an integral part of the Harmony By Karate training.

Harmony By Karate was founded in 1994 by Sensei John Mirrione Jr. The school’s lineage traces its origin to the beginning of karate in 1733. In 2006, in his transformation to Chowakai Karatedo, known as “Harmony By Karate,” Sensei John adopted the philosophy to make things simpler, and more natural. In this shift, he moved closer to how the Okinawans trained. They would spend more time working on fewer moves.

This teaching of learning a few movements and applying them to any situation was most famously applied by one of the greatest Samurai swordsmen of all time, best known as the author of the Book of Five Rings, Miyamoto Musashi. Musashi is known for achieving mastery over just 3 strokes of the sword. By adapting those to all situations, he was equipped to conquer all enemies. In 2006, Sensei John was introduced to Leo Fong by Adam James, his top student. This was one of Sensei John’s greatest influences was Leo Fong who was best friends and trained with Bruce Lee. Leo Fong has studied and mastered many styles of fighting and martial arts, and has developed his own style – Chi Fung. Fong’s movement is very mindful and he integrates Kung Fu, Tai Chi and Boxing. Sensei John integrated the breath and flow of Chi Fung into his method of Harmony By Karate.

Coming full circle In simplifying his system, Sensei John was also influenced by Marcos Martinez, a martial artist who developed an appreciation for the real life applications of martial arts by fighting in the war in Venezuela for 12 years and was an undefeated UFC fighter. Marcos learned that the mastery of a few powerful techniques is more efficient than the knowledge of many. If combatants get caught up in traditional postures or the application of too many movements, they can get hurt. He believes that learning a few gross motor skills makes for a better fighter. The mastery of those simple movements is what determines your survival in the moment, should you find yourself in a real fight situation. Taking a few movements and learning to apply them to any situation is a hallmark of the Harmony By Karate approach.

Sensei John Mirrione was chosen as one of the 22 authors/healers to write in this book. In April, 2019, Healer was the best selling book on Amazon in Health and Spirituality.

BOOKS

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LOCATION

Harmony By Karate is located in the heart of the Upper West Side. We’ve been thriving in Manhattan for over 27 years.

WE HAVE MOVED! Our new location is 76 West 85th Street, New York NY 10024 (Lower Level)

New address, same spirit—now a short walk from Central Park.

Tuesday	12:00-6:30
Wednesday	12:00-5:15
Thursday	12:00-6:30
Sunday	10:00-12:00

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