Thoughts of a Master: Karl Marx


 

Kevin Schaller, Marx, Adam Spence

Kevin Schaller, Soke Karl Marx and Adam Spence.

By Christopher Thurne

          2 Corinthians 10: 3-5, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” 
          For Soke Karl Marx self defense is the most important aspect of any martial art, but self-defense is nothing if it doesn’t provide mental and spiritual training.
          Marx is the founder of Keichu-Do, a Cajun self-defense system of martial arts that incorporates elements of Judo, Karate, Jiu-jitsu and street fighting.
          “The other martial art styles were oriental and we needed an American style,” Marx said. “Other styles were, for the most part, created for men who were already tough. Keichu-Ryu on the other hand was actually formulated for women.” Keichu-Ryu is Marx’s predecessing style that would later be expanded into Keichu-do.
          Marx was the first United States citizen promoted to 10th dan, but this is not a self-assigned rank. He was promoted to that rank by the International Black Belt Association. The number of 10th dans is one of the ways martial arts has changed since Marx first began training.
          “When the father of bringing karate to the United States, Soke Robert Trias, and the father of bringing kenpo to America, Soke Edward Parker, were both ninth-degree black belts there were no 10th degrees,” Marx said, “except two east-coast fellows who promoted themselves to that high ranks.”
          Founding a self-defense system has taught Marx patience, he said. But it has also taught him to consider the self-defense training Christians need.
          “I cannot speak for other styles,” Marx said. “However, the Keichu-Do is American, and a Christian form of self-defense.”
          Translated Keichu-Do means “Devoting One’s Self Entirely to the Way, Marx said.
          “Of course, as Christians, we know that the Way is Jesus Christ,” he said. Consequently, Keichu-Do is a Christian Self-Defense system.
          “Actually we are a mixed martial art, as we have Judo, Karate, Ju-Jitsu, boxing, and weapons; including, as well, street fighting.”
          Marx said he considers self-defense both his favorite and the most important part of martial arts. But Marx doesn’t limit his students’ self-defense to physical training.
          “My advice, for what it’s worth these days, is to insist that they be taught the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of self defense,” he said. “Without the mental and spiritual aspects that leaves only the physical. Who wants to learn only one third of the techniques taught in a self-defense style?
          “Teaching all three aspects of self-defense is most important,” Marx said. “The physical body is a weapon in itself. However, even more important is the mental part.”
          Marx said students should be mentally trained to have the right mind set and attitude in any situation. Otherwise, he said, they might bring a tire iron to a gun fight.
          Still more important than the mental training, or any other training, is the spiritual training, Marx says.
          “Proper spiritual training gives one the techniques necessary to fight spiritual warfare,” Marx said. “Like the Bible teaches, we don’t fight against flesh and blood, we fight against principalities.”
          When he trains, Marx said he does not necessarily use traditional conditioning or teaching methods.
          “I discovered long ago, as a boxer, running for cardio was not in my best interest,” Marx said. “I wasn’t on the track team, so realizing that, I worked out twice as many rounds on the heavy bag. It was my first year as a professional boxer and I was training for only four round matches.
          “I think my teaching methods are a bit unorthodox,” he said. “I have one method were I have my students squeeze an object with their arms, like on a punching bag for five-minutes long to get their arms in shape. Many of the techniques I teach are Cajun and are not known by other competitors.”
          Marx says to keep Christ first in everything you do, and while he incorporates Christ in his style he recognizes not everyone supports martial arts as a ministry.
Soke Marx doing the braking

         “There are still many Christians who are so closed-minded and believe that all martial arts are based on Oriental religion,” Marx said. “They mean well; however, being as judgmental as they are makes them appear to be most unchristian.”
          Marx said he has structured his training around the Bible.
          “In Keichu-Do one must become a born again Christian,” Marx said. If not, then the students are not forced to do so, but they earn their in Keichu-Ryu instead.
          “I pray before and after each class,” he said. “Most of the time I give a little Bible study and even a message on why it pays to obey the Bible and parents.”
          “I trained and taught as a warrior using the code that my Bible taught,” Marx said. “I wasn’t always a good role model, as I was not a Christian until May 31st 1970. My life before that was a living Hell. I was a very bad guy before God set me straight.
          “Two days after I was saved and baptized I inadvertently gave my testimony to the captain of the local (Alexandria Louisiana) Salvation Army,” he said. “After I finished his haircut, he invited me to his summer camp for boys at risk. I had never given my testimony in public and I was concerned about being arrested. You see the Louisiana police grand jury was seeking to arrest me and I had a contract on my head from the organization I used to be involved with. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I went anyway.
          “You see I prayed about it and I felt the Holy Spirit was encouraging me to trust in God, so I saw a way to help 6o youths and I went,” Marx said. “I used my martial arts to get their attention and they must have been impressed because they sat there for two hours through my demonstration of self-defense along with my testimony. God only knows how that happened.
          “What really tuned me in to God’s Will for me was that the next morning all sixty of those young boys walked forward and accepted Christ as Savior, and the three Pastors in charge prophesied that I was definitely called to be an evangelist.”