One World: Sensei John Mirrioni

As a trailblazer in the national Stop Bullying Campaign, Sensei John Mirrione impacts lives by means of martial arts and the philosophy of meditation. He is the founder of Harmony By Karate and the chairman of the Harmony Power Foundation. He has been training in karate for 40 years. He was bullied severely, and this led to him being a lifelong teacher who focuses on the healing aspects of the martial arts. Sensei John believes that it is important to respect tradition, but places emphasis on evolving new traditions to move forward. Even as he has made substantial changes, he has preserved the traditional aspects that he perceives to be simple, practical, and direct. The positive influences that form the essence of karate have been maintained, and elements like bowing, wearing white uniforms, using Japanese terminology, and doing meditation are an integral part of the Harmony By Karate training. Harmony By Karate was founded in 1990 by Sensei John Mirrione Jr. The school's lineage traces its origin to the beginning of karate in 1733. In 2006, in his transformation to Chowakai Karatedo, known as "Harmony By Karate," Sensei John adopted the philosophy to make things simpler, and more natural. In this shift, he moved closer to how the Okinawans trained. They would spend more time working on fewer moves. Sensei John took his martial arts expertise and combined it with breakdancing, leading to him becoming a well-known solo dance performer. As an Air Force entertainer, he danced all over the country. This later led him to have four performances at the Apollo Theater, and 72 episodes of Club MTV which broadened his understanding of human equality and celebrating diversity through dance.