In 1970, Sensei Morita discontinued his classes in Brooklyn and John began his study of Kempo under the tutelage of Sensei A. Sabato. In 1971, he once again became a student of Shorinjiryu Kenkokan Karatedo under Sensei Tamon Kashimoto in Staten Island, New York. Sensei Kashimoto, founder of Nanzen Kai Karatedo, awarded John his black belt in 1973. John continued his studies with Sensei Kashimoto until 1977 when he was forced to stop due to personal responsibilities. During his years of study under his two main instructors, John competed and won a number of awards.
In 1979, John founded the Shorinjiryu Kenkokai Karatedo Association after some neighborhood teenagers showed an interest in learning karate. In 1986, he co-founded the East-West Martial Arts Federation on Long Island, New York and subsequently was promoted to 4th Degree Black Belt by its boards of examiners. In 1986, he was a founding member of the Shorinjiryu Shinzen Kyokai.
In 1990, John was appointed Arbitrator of Shinzen tournaments in addition to his duties as chief referee. He served as Vice President of the Kyokai until 2002. On February 4, 1994, he was awarded an International grading of 5th Degree Black Belt in Koshiki Karate and a licensed rank of 4th Degree Black Belt in Shorinjiryu Kenkokan Karatedo by Hanshi Masayiki Kukan Hisataka, the Founder and Chairman of Koshiki and Grand Master of Shorinjiryu Kenkokan Karatedo.
John was promoted to 8th Degree Black Belt in 2000 by the Shorinjiryu Shinzen Kyokai with the title of Kyoshi. In 2014, he was promoted to 9th Degree Black Belt in Shorinjiryu Kenkokai Karatedo and awarded the title of Hanshi after nearly 50 years of dedication to karatedo.
