" The thing is that I really liked to learn the art of fighting for no reason. "

Jim Yabe started training in karate at the age of 16. In an interview he said, “I joined karate because I wanted to become strong, to be a proficient fighter, and to master the art of fighting. When I came to this country, myself and the other foreign students would get picked on by bullies. I wanted to learn to defend myself and others. The thing is that I really liked to learn the art of fighting for no reason." Yabe stated, "Once I started training, everything became karate. My whole life evolved around karate."

As a teenager Yabe always respected a person that was intelligent, kind and strong. That was something he inspired to be. "When I was a teenager I wanted to be like Miyamoto Musashi and Yagyu Jube."

Yabe's first real competition was at age 20 as a brown belt. He competed at the All American Karate Federation National Tournament in Los Angeles. (1961) He took first place in kata and kumite. "Competition wasn't something that I was really interested in doing. It was just a part of learning karate. It was just something we did. I felt that tournaments were just one stimulate of learning karate. Winning or losing was not as important as discipline."

Jim Yabe attended UCLA and received his bachelor's degree in Engineering. While doing his undergraduate work, George Takahashi had started the Shotokan Karate Club at UCLA. Yabe was his assistant. After one year, George had left. Yabe says, “I just fell into teaching. I just went there to train karate. Then after George left I began assisting Sensei Nishiyama at UCLA once a week." Additionally he stated,” My most memorable experience in College was, during my sophomore year. I entered the 7th JKA National Championship representing the United States. I also had the privilege to train for one month in Japan under various instructors such as: Kanazawa sensei, Yaguchi sensei, Enoeda sensei, and Shirai sensei.

In 1972 Yabe left the United States to train in Japan." I took a job to work in Japan so that I could train at the JKA schools. The teachers training class was in the day. Due to my work schedule, I was not able to attend. So at night I learned Aiado, the art of sword fighting." When he returned the United States in 1976, Yabe started a karate class at the Gardena Buddhist Church as a part of the Japanese Language School. He also taught at UCLA on Sundays and was an assistant instructor at LA Central Dojo.

When asked the question, "What does tradition mean to you?" Yabe's response was, “I think it is a discipline to master the art; to be humble and kind to others.” (Kahealani Kamahele)