This is the text of Karl's obituary that made the rounds on e-mail...
It is with great sorrow that we report the departure of Karl Edwin Geis from this world on April 7th, 2014, after succumbing to a prolonged battle with cancer.
Mr. Geis was born in Enid, Oklahoma, on October 1, 1933, the son of Martha and Edwin Geis. He is survived by his loving and devoted wife Mrs. Chamaiporn “Cha” Geis, his brother Richard Geis, his sister Virginia Geis, and his sons; Douglas Geis and Kennith Geis, and granddaughter Nina Geis.
Mr. Geis was first exposed to Judo while stationed in Japan as a member of the US Air Force in 1955. He took the opportunity to study with at the Japanese Bureau of Police and the Kodokan and embarked upon a lifelong love affair with Judo from then on. He was a profound coach and his students competed at the State, national and international levels. He was considered one of the leading technical authorities in Judo, and one of Judo's foremost master teachers. His greatest pleasure did not lie with training national champions; however, it was in training his students to have self-confidence and a sense of their own destiny. He was Judo's supreme psychologist, using his martial art as a tool like a master craftsman to sculpt confident, happy and successful individuals.
Additionally, Mr. Geis’s Judo background significantly enabled him to understand Mr. Kenji Tomiki Shihan’s Aikido system and to carry it forward in the United States. Mr. Geis took the opportunity to develop a safe, viable, and real Aikido randori system which was a unique and significant contribution to the art of Aikido. Mr Geis’s efforts were rewarded when he was promoted to 6th Dan by Mr. Tomiki Shihan, being the first, and only, foreigner to be promoted to this rank by Tomiki Sensei. Lastly, under the instruction of Tsunako Miyake Shihan, Mr. Geis internalized Mr. Takaji Shimizu’s Shindo Muso Ryu Jyodo system and, using his Judo and Aikido background, Mr. Geis created a viable weapons self-defense system.
Mr. Geis’s legacy is not limited to the accomplishments during his life. It carries forward with the very many lives he touched and his many students - who are now teachers. He was our Sensei, and we loved him.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, April 26, from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM at The Pavilion on Gessner, 2500 Gessner in Houston.
Those wishing to make a gift to Karl Geis’s memory are suggested by his wife Cha to make donations to Methodist Hospital or to a prostate cancer research organization.
American Cancer Society: https://donate.cancer.org/
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Patrick Parker
www.mokurendojo.com
