Brooklyn native Soke Haisan Kaleak, 68, is a Black Belt Hall of Famer, who has trained under martial artist Grand Master Dr. Moses Powell, and is the founder of Kuroshikai Jitsu Karate Do.
“Osu! Shoto! Tsuki! Warrior’s ready,” said one student as he entered the dojo at the NYPD Community Center in East New York. On one wall there’s a line of mirrors facing an arrangement of large blue mats and along the other various punching bags and equipment. Next door a dance class might be in full swing as kids run up and down the marbleish stairs. And police officers perch at the ground floor check-in desk.
Kaleak began his martial arts journey about 60 years ago, he said. He grew up primarily in Bed-Stuy, Park Slope and Brownsville with a single mother and is the oldest of his three siblings. Powell was a Harlemite boxer before he met his teacher in 1954. Powell excelled to the point of creating his own system of self-defense jiu jitsu in 1960 that he in turn taught to generations of Black martial artists, including Kaleak and actor Wesley Snipes. Powell broke color barriers as the first Black martial artist to perform at the United Nations and the 1965 World’s Fair. Powell’s system was named Sanuces Ryu, which translates to ‘simplicity and survival.
During the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kaleak weathered a personal and financial storm. Classes that were being held at the Brooklyn Sports Club in Starrett City shuttered just as Kuroshi Kai was poised to celebrate over 10 years at the facility with a grand party. “We put thousands of dollars into the preparation of that which got virtually lost because New York City had closed down and we were not able to have any gatherings at all,” said Kaleak.
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