[8] In 1946 Robert Trias, a returning U.S. Navy veteran, began teaching private lessons in Phoenix, Arizona.

[9] Other early teachers of karate in America were Ed Parker (a native Hawaiian and Coast Guard veteran who earned a black belt in 1953),[10] George Mattson (who began studying while stationed in Okinawa in 1956), and Peter Urban (a Navy veteran who started training while stationed in Yokosuka in 1954).

It was through Mitose that one style of Kenpō (Kosho Shorei Ryu) was introduced to the world through William Chow, one of his black belts, who then went on to modify it and train Adriano Emperado, Ed Parker, Ralph Castro, and a host of other future grandmasters, some of whom brought the modified art to the U.S.

In the 1950s and early 60s several other Asian karate teachers began arriving in America to seek their fortunes, and to aid in the popularization of the art.

In spite of the presence of these Asian instructors, karate was primarily spread in the early days by American-born teachers.

[12] They included Trias (called the "Father of American Karate"), Don Nagle, Parker, Mattson, and Urban, plus pioneers like Harold Long, Steve Armstrong, Allen Steen, Ernest Lieb, Pat Burleson, Chuck Norris and Joe Lewis.

[21][22][self-published source] No individual can truly claim to be the founder of "American Karate" because it is an eclectic mixed martial art of systems and styles.

He also gained fame for defeating Chuck Norris and Joe Lewis in a single evening to win Ed Parker's Long Beach International Karate Championships in 1966.

His United States style blended Japan and Korean techniques, weapons training, and Tameshiwari, (breaking - Rhodes felt physical and psychological confidence were instilled in his upper ranking students because of this test and trial) along with adherence to Gichin Funakoshi twenty precepts, brought unity between many practitioners and schools.

Many fellow law enforcement officers adopted Rhodes effective self defense and Tonfa techniques in the United States.

In 1964 he opened his Bushidokan dojo in Kansas City where he competed, trained several regional and national champions, and hosted major tournaments.

[33] Following the inclusion of judo at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, there was growing mainstream Western interest in Japanese martial arts, particularly karate, during the 1960s.

[34] By the 1970s, martial arts films (especially kung fu films and Bruce Lee flicks from Hong Kong) had formed a mainstream genre and launched the "kung fu craze" which propelled karate and other Asian martial arts into mass popularity.

However, mainstream Western audiences at the time generally did not distinguish between different Asian martial arts such as karate, kung fu and tae kwon do.

[36][37][38] American Karate is still popular and can hold its own with other martial arts like Taekwondo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and MMA because today it offers many of these same techniques.