AKWV
History

American Karate of West Virginia was established in 1992 through a vision of Lloyd "Sam" Gwinn. 

Sam ran different schools throughout West Virginia and finally returned home to Richwood in January 2000 where the school has been operating ever since. Thanks to the generosity of Bruce Donaldson, the school is located in Four Seasons Outfitter's.

AKWV also operates several offsite locations. Katie MacElwain offers an after school program at Webster County High School. There have also been classes taught at Cherry River Elementary School in Richwood, Richwood Middle School and Craigsville Elementary School in Craigsville, WV.

In January 2008, Richwood native Jason Starcher, took over the school and continues teaching in the tradition of Sam Gwinn.

Jason says, " We use the American Freestyle  which is based off the Korean Tae Kwondo and Tang Soo Do which have been around since the 1950s. Both arts have roots that span the last 2000 years going back to the Tang Dynasty in China. We also use different martial arts to build on the foundation of our school. These arts teach a multitude of techniques to defend yourself in various situations. 

Taijutsu is from the Ninjutsu literally meaning "body skill" or "body art." Taijutsu is a term for Japanese martial arts techniques that rely on a science of body movements.

Jujutsu or Ju-jitsu literally means the "art of softness", or "way of yielding" is a collective name for Japanese martial art styles consisting of grappling and striking techniques. Jujutsu evolved among the samurai of feudal Japan as a method for dispatching an armed and armored opponent in situations where the use of weapons was impractical or forbidden. Due to the difficulty of dispatching an armored opponent with striking techniques, the most efficient methods for neutralizing an enemy took the form of pins, joint locks, and throws. These techniques were developed around the principle of using an attacker's energy against him, rather than directly opposing it, and came to be known as jujutsu.

Aikido is performed by blending with the motion of the attacker and redirecting the force of the attack rather than opposing it head-on. The aikido practitioner "leads" the attacker's momentum using entering and turning movements.