Who is Karate Mike?

Michael Olusczak loves the Arts; The Martial Arts, Healing Arts, Performing Arts.

Michael first began studying empty handed survival, karate, as a means of avoiding physical harm. The movie Karate Kid was all he needed as inspiration for the most expensive birthday gift his mother would ever buy him. Years later he still tells stories of how his mother encouraged him toward his personal best; “Hit him harder, Sensei!” Well, all that ‘encouragement’ must have worked because Michael went on to win, in competition and in life. Michael’s closet is full of 1st place trophies but it’s the degrees on the wall that he loves the most.

Although the wins were a sign of hard work and disciplined effort, the trophy was the knowledge of the art itself. Michael excelled not only on the dojo floor, but also in academia. He attended Arizona State University on a martial arts scholarship and graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s of Science in Finance. He returned to Florida and relocated to Miami, working for a Real Estate Investment Trust and later acquiring a Real Estate Sales License.

After experiencing the corporate world, Michael returned to the martial arts and teaching, where his intentions harmonized with his actions. Michael began teaching mixed martial arts classes in Coconut Grove in 2004. His students came to understand the true meaning of karate the hard way, they worked for it. Karate or empty hand, grants superhuman like ability to those willing to push beyond their physical and psychological limitations. Karate tempers the body against fear and corrects weakness through hard training, elevating the notion of what’s ‘possible’.

During this time, wise and persistent people convinced him to study yoga. Yoga, the science of union, helps us understand that the true nature of all physical practice is the discovery of the self. By combining the philosophies of yoga and the martial arts, one discovers many ‘universal truths’ from basic physical postures to more esoteric practices like internal power development. It is with the intention of unified understanding that Michael continues to practice and teach yoga and martial arts.

Michael has been teaching martial arts and yoga in Miami for the past 6 years. His students range from 7 to 71 years old and he learns more about the arts from all of them, every class. Michael holds several certifications for teaching in the martial arts and yoga, and is currently training Kyokushin Ha Karate Do:

4th Degree Black Belt Ki-tae Ryu (unified martial arts system)*
2nd Degree Black Belt Gyaku Nami Do (unified martial arts system)**
1st Degree Black Belt Kyokushin Ha Karate Do
1st Degree Black Belt Robert Duzoglou’s Combative Arts (unified martial arts system)

4th Level Instructor Yogic Arts (unified system of Ashtanga Yoga, Kung Fu and Thai Bodywork)
RYT Vinyasa Yoga 200 hour International Teaching Certification

*Ki-tae Ryu is the second generation of Gyaku Nami Do
**Gyaku Nami Do: Kobayashi Shorin Ryu Karate, Pai Lum Kung Fu, Judo, Aikido, Kobudo