The Real Techniques
Karate Instructor Bernie Kelly Trains Mind and Body…
Just off Gas Point Road in Cottonwood, there’s a dojo where conflict is not feared but embraced – a space where kindergartners, octogenarians and everyone in between learn to find calm in the chaos. At the heart of this peaceful place is Bernie Kelly, a fifth-degree black belt in Shorin Ryu karate and a man whose journey from inner turmoil to inner peace shapes everything he teaches.
Born and raised in Rochester, NY, Kelly carries with him the lineage of the Mohawk Nation, one of the original members of the Iroquois Confederacy. Though he’s far from his homeland these days, he draws deeply on the values of resilience, connection and thoughtful strength that he associates with his heritage.
“I’m half Mohawk and half Irish. Both of my parents share that lineage,” Kelly says. “When I was a kid, I watched that old TV show Kung Fu. The lead character (Kwai Chang Caine played by David Carradine) was mixed race, and that spoke to me. There was a safety in seeing someone like me in the world – someone peaceful but capable.”
That early connection to martial arts wasn’t just about kicks and punches. It was about identity, control and the lifelong process of mastering fear. “All humans are fearful,” Kelly explains. “We fear what we can’t control. I got into wrestling and martial arts for that reason. Along the way, I realized I had to first conquer my own fears. That meant learning to live without suffering, because suffering is what we do to ourselves.”
His approach to teaching, both in karate and in the public school system where he spent more than 20 years, is rooted in that insight. “As a teacher, I don’t tell students what to think,” he says. “I create opportunities for them to think for themselves.”
That simple but powerful philosophy – teaching how to think – fuels Kelly’s Martial Arts, his dojo in Cottonwood. Since opening, the school has trained more than 600 students, offering classes for children who have started school to retirees. Beyond traditional karate, the dojo offers yoga, women’s self-defense workshops and combat-focused training sessions. But across all programs, one idea remains central: karate is not about violence. It’s about understanding conflict and developing the tools to manage it.
“When I teach karate,” Kelly says, “I teach students how to think about conflict – how to delay it, how to disrupt it, how to embrace it when necessary. Posture, positioning, calm – those are the real techniques.”
Kelly adapts his approach to meet his students where they are, emotionally and physically. For children, it’s about building confidence and security without fear. For teens, it’s often about giving them tools to navigate a chaotic world. And for adults, it can be about rediscovering a part of themselves they didn’t know was missing.
He often reminds his students that pain is a part of life, but suffering is optional. “Pain is physical, it happens,” he says. “But suffering? That’s when we torture ourselves over things we can’t control – over mistakes, regrets. Karate teaches us to release that.”
Kelly’s path to becoming a teacher started with a small but life-changing moment while studying at Chico State in the late 1980s. A local martial arts legend, Pat Haley, invited Kelly to take over a dojo in Paradise. He was reluctant but agreed. “I didn’t know I could teach,” Kelly says. “I was just trying to help out Pat and maybe earn my karate dues. But once I started, I realized it was something I was meant to do.”
That realization led him to a long and successful career in public education, teaching math, science and history, but always with the same method: teach thinking.
“I was an unconventional teacher,” he says. “I had learning disabilities as a kid and didn’t enjoy school. So, I created environments where students could explore. I didn’t punish mistakes – I celebrated them, because that’s how we learn.”
That same mindset is at the core of his dojo, where students are encouraged to make mistakes, to stumble and recover, to grapple with challenges and rise stronger. “Teaching is emotional for me,” Kelly admits. “It’s magical to see a student struggle with something and then work their way through it. I design the learning so they’re solving problems on a human scale, step by step. Eventually, they’re ready for the deep end.”
But it’s not just about winning matches or earning belts. It’s about developing emotional resilience, especially in a world that often prizes immediate gratification and superficial success.
“Not everybody gets a trophy,” he says. “But everybody learns. And that is winning.”
There’s a quiet strength to Bernie Kelly, one forged through years of personal growth and discipline, rooted in both his Mohawk ancestry and his life as a student and teacher. His dojo in Cottonwood is more than a place to learn kicks and blocks – it’s a sanctuary for those seeking balance, agency and peace.
As his students bow in and take their stances, they’re not just learning how to move. They’re learning how to live. •
Kelly’s Martial Arts Dojo
20633 Gas Point Road, Suite H, Cottonwood
www.kellys-martialarts.net
(530) 410-2263
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Al Olson loves culinary arts, adult beverages and hiking in the North State wilderness. You may find him soaking up the scenery at one of our area’s many state or national parks or sitting in a barstool sipping a cold locally brewed craft beer.
