Step into Frank Thomas' Shotokan karate class -- if you dare. Students from all walks of life attend on Tuesday and Thursday nights in the North Muskegon High School cafeteria. They're dressed in a karate gi ready to learn new techniques, practice old ones and take whatever Thomas dishes out. At the head of the class you'll find Thomas, who instructs one of the most demanding of all karate styles from his motorized wheelchair. Talking in Japanese and English, Thomas leaves quite an impression. "Some days you love him and some days you hate him," says 17-year -old North Muskegon senior Chris Hollowell. "He's brought everybody to tears at least once. "It's not an ordinary class for people. It's not what you see on TV. You don't just wander in here, get better and go home." Old-school teacher · He’s been trained in Japanese karate for more than 30 years. · He trained under a Japanese instructor in Chicago for 10 years and had to learn the language to survive. ·

He opened the Muskegon Karate Association in 1981 and has hosted a Japanese tourney in Muskegon. · Eight of his students have earned prestigious black belts, including four since he began teaching from a wheelchair about six years ago. · He's a registered fourth degree black belt, who recently penned a 106-page thesis on "How to Teach Karate from a Wheelchair." Thomas has cerebral palsy and credits karate for helping him get through other adversity -- divorce, spinal injury and loss of a job. "If not for my training, I wouldn't have made it through therapy," the Grand Haven native said about his spinal operation. Karate and Frank Thomas have been joined for a long time. He started after his father wouldn't let him play sports. "When I got a job, I got into the roughest sport I could," Thomas said. "Dad said I'd never make it. I've done a lot." Thomas has a way of connecting with his students, who have endured his demanding style of teaching karate. "Frank understands the physics and dynamics behind it," said North Muskegon's Mei Ling Clemens, a research engineer at Howmet. "You create a punch because you're using this set of muscles. He's able to translate it verbally." Jerry Bomay, owner of Newaygo's Bassai Karate Academy, has been a close friend of Thomas for years. The two share a passion for karate, but Bomay thinks Thomas has a true gift for teaching it. Hollowell has been a student under Thomas for four years and has already earned a black belt. Obviously, he's hooked. "If you wanted to quit, you can't," said Hollowell, who also is a North Muskegon football player. "It's so much a part of you."

Students pay a modest $40 a month for the Shotokan class, which meets for five hours per week. They must keep a handbook; take tests, do reports and practice on weekends. "It's more than punching and kicking," Thomas said. "We go into the history of karate and why we do things. I produce a good product." Thomas has six students in his current class. He won't accept anybody under 10 years old. Students don't use facemasks or gloves in their sessions. Thomas wants the training to be as realistic as possible. "That's how we know if we're doing it right," he said. "You practice all the time hitting bags, pulling punches. We have contact. It's not excessive like bloody noses or broken ribs. If you ever have to use it, they're not going to win." Thomas also conducts classes at the beach so students can work on resistance training in waist-high water. In the winter, he conducts sessions in the snow. "As long as you keep moving, you won't freeze," he said. Thomas said the Muskegon Karate Association is a non-profit organization that uses inexpensive items like inner tubes, broom handles, weights and belts during training. "I feel bad if I don't do it," Hollowell said. "It's become a way of life." Thomas' classes are a mix of serious intense work, along with light amusing moments. Last week, he asked three students to take a break and was upset when they sat on chairs. "It's Japanese and we're on the floor," he said. "Next time, we'll do 20 knuckle pushups." As class winds down, Thomas appears satisfied with his students' effort. "What did you learn tonight?" he asks each one of them. And later, he says, "Go home, enjoy your weekend, thank you very much." You sense these students are more than bodies in his class. They are the same ones who pick him up for class each week because he can't drive a vehicle anymore. "These students are family to me," a teary-eyed Thomas admits. "Karate is my life. It's me." Clemens said Thomas is an inspiration to her and the other students. "One of the things about karate is you have to have the karate spirit," she said. "In life, if you get in a tough situation, you can't give up. Frank is in a chair and he's living the karate spirit. That's the most impressive part to me."