Mountain Martial Arts
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About the dojo

Mountain Martial Arts has taught traditional Okinawan Goju Ryu karate since 1998, first in Monroe Township and now in Old Bridge.

About thirty karateka in white gi stand and sit in rows on the wood floor of the Holmdel dojo after a seminar, under framed calligraphy including 山武道, with a small black dog sitting in front facing the camera.
Sensei Kapel holds his Kyoshi 8th Dan certificate beside Masaji Taira Sensei in front of the shrine at the Holmdel dojo, under the framed 山武道 calligraphy.
Sensei Kapel with his Kyoshi 8th Dan certificate, beside Taira Sensei.

Owner and head instructor

Mark Kapel Sensei, Kyoshi, 8th Dan

Sensei Kapel has trained in Goju Ryu for more than 40 years and is still a student himself. He travels to Okinawa to train under his own teacher, Masaji Taira Hanshi, 9th Dan, and brings what he learns there back to his students in Old Bridge.

Mountain Martial Arts is an official Shibu Dojo of the Okinawa Goju Ryu Kenkyukai under Taira Sensei. The kata and bunkai you learn here are the ones practiced in Okinawa today.

Karate students far from New Jersey learn from him too. He teaches at seminars abroad, instructors from the UK, Spain and New Zealand have come to the seminar he hosts each year, and the Okinawa Times has written about him.

Lineage

The line runs from the founder of Goju Ryu in Okinawa to Sensei Kapel in Old Bridge.

  1. Chōjun Miyagi

    Founder of Gōjū-ryū.

    The Karate Kid's Mr. Miyagi was named in his honor by screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen.

  2. Eiichi Miyazato

    Jundokan, Okinawa.

    Sensei Kapel trained under him at the Jundokan in 1998.

  3. Masaji Taira Hanshi, 9th Dan

    Head of the Okinawa Goju Ryu Kenkyukai ("research society").

    Mountain Martial Arts is an official Shibu Dojo of the Kenkyukai under Taira Hanshi.

  4. Mark Kapel Sensei, Kyoshi, 8th Dan

    Began Goju Ryu in 1981.

    Opened Mountain Martial Arts in 1998.

Studio portrait of Masaji Taira Sensei in a white gi and black belt, in a fighting stance against a black background.
Masaji Taira Hanshi, 9th Dan.

The annual seminar

Every year Sensei Kapel hosts the Kenkyukai's international seminar, traditionally called a gasshuku, in New Jersey, in recent years at the Holmdel dojo. Instructors have come from the UK, Spain, New Zealand and across the US, with students from Canada and other states. The 2014 event was the 6th.

The Holmdel dojo is Sensei Kapel's second dojo. The annual seminar, gradings and big events happen there.

A long row of black belts in white gi at the Holmdel dojo, under framed calligraphy including 山武道.
At a seminar in the Holmdel dojo, Masaji Taira Sensei blocks a kick from a black belt while a circle of students watches.
Black belts in white gi sit around a stone fire pit holding rank certificates.
A large group of adults and children in white gi pose on a street in Naha, Okinawa, on Karate Day 2025.

Okinawa

Training trips to Okinawa have been a dojo tradition for years. The most recent trip, in 2025, included:

  • Okinawa Karate Day
  • The World Budosai
  • Training with Taira Sensei and Hokama Sensei

The next trip is planned for 2027. Okinawa 2027

Train with Sensei Kapel

Your first class is free. Walk in during class hours at the Old Bridge dojo: Monday 5 to 6:30 PM, Tuesday to Thursday 4 to 9 PM.

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