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Devoted to justice: Birdsall’s study of karate goes hand-in-hand with law

By: Jane Pribek//October 17, 2012//

Devoted to justice: Birdsall’s study of karate goes hand-in-hand with law

By: Jane Pribek//October 17, 2012//

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John Birdsall (left) poses with Tsutomo Oshima, who brought Shotokan Karate to the U.S. from Japan in the 1950s, during a 2010 trip to Israel. (Photo submitted by John Birdsall)

A sign on the University of Wisconsin Law School campus advertising karate lessons caught John Birdsall’s eye.

Birdsall expected he’d benefit from the workout of learning karate, and that he’d enjoy a regular, brief escape from the rigors of legal education.

What he didn’t expect was how the practice so closely would resonate with his values and career goals, and that it would become a lifelong pursuit.

Birdsall inadvertently had signed up for “Shotokan Oshima Karate,” a unique style of the martial art, which involves a variety of techniques including blocks, strikes, evasions, throws and joint manipulations.

It’s a practice that deeply engages both brain and body; the physical techniques strive to be pure expressions of the mind’s intention, and when improvement comes in one area, it only can benefit the other.

Gichin Funakoshi, widely considered the father of modern karate, expressed its purpose in a way that especially was meaningful for an idealistic law student. Funakoshi said, “True karate is this: that in daily life, one’s mind and body be trained and developed in a spirit of humility, and that in critical times, one be devoted utterly to the cause of justice.”

Birdsall graduated in 1989. A year later, he completed a black belt — something that typically takes longer than three years to achieve.

He knew he ultimately wanted a career in criminal defense. He had moved back to his hometown of Milwaukee, and in 1999 started Birdsall Law Office.

Birdsall now has tried more than 200 cases, including State v. Lewis, a 2011 homicide trial involving cold-case DNA evidence. The acquittal earned him the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense’s Martin Hanson Advocate Prize.

He’s also raised his son Jack, who is a sophomore at Creighton University.

Along the way, karate has been a central focus for any free time.

In 2000, he created Wisconsin’s first and only Shotokan “dojo,” or studio, in Whitefish Bay, where he and others practice several times a week.

In addition, he’s traveled across the U.S. to attend “special training” several times a year. It’s several days’ intense practice, resembling boot camp. Special training draws men and women from across the globe, who must comply with strict rules: no cell phones, no alcohol, no smoking. The gatherings promote camaraderie, and, more importantly, constant improvement.

Like law, he said, practicing karate entails life-long learning; completing law school is just like earning a black belt, in that both are achievements — but they’re really just the beginning of the learning curve.

In 2010, he was part of a group that traveled to Israel to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Shotokan Karate.

Even more memorable was a 2011 trip to Japan. Birdsall and others spent two weeks with Tsutomo Oshima, who in the 1950s brought this style of karate to the U.S. from Japan. They traveled across the country for frequent practice and sight-seeing.

Although Oshima now is an octogenarian, you’d never know that by watching his technique.

“He’s the humblest and most self-actualized human being I’ve ever met,” Birdsall said.

Practicing karate throughout the years has helped Birdsall maintain his health and balance, he said. It’s also reinforced the importance of making the very best effort he can.

“One of the basic tenets of karate is to push yourself,” Birdsall said. “That’s why we go to special training — to push yourself to your very limits, and to be the very best you can be.

“That translates into trial work, because to be a true advocate for a client, you have to push yourself to uncover every possible lead, every possible fact, and every possible argument you can muster up.”

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