Cross & Crescent

Master Steven Franz (Vincennes 1991) began training more than 31 years ago at the age of 7 in Goju Ryu Karate.

Over the many years, he has attained Master Black Belt rank in five martial art systems along with everything from colored rank (kyu) to black belt level (dan) in 10 more.

Franz is considered one of the best traditional karate instructors in the United States today and was inducted into the International Budo Society in January 2009 to honor him for his dedication to preserving, teaching and representing only the best of the martial arts in the world today.

A nine-time Hall of Fame inductee, Franz spent his early years training and competing all over the world. He has attained World Karate Champion status a total of five times in Kumite, Kata, Weapons Kata and Self Defense and won numerous national, regional and state championship titles.

In 2000, Franz was coach for the U.S. National Martial Arts Team at the USA vs. the World event held in Waikiki, Hawaii, where the United States brought home more gold medals than any other country.

During this event, he retired from active competition to refocus on training, learning, and teaching his students to become their ultimate best.

In 1992, Franz Karate was opened as a private martial arts school in Hicksville, Ohio. Originally it was Franz’s intent to only teach people part-time and on a private basis, but word of his abilities as a teacher quickly spread and in February 1993 he opened his dojo to the public.

Over the last decade, Franz Karate martial arts studio was rated in the top 20 schools in the nation by the Professional Karate Commission for quality, integrity, and teaching the true spirit of Budo (warrior).

Early Beginnings

Franz studied computers at Vincennes University and then worked as a bouncer at a bar to pay for college.

“I met a girl who said she had been sexually assaulted and she wanted to be taught self defense,” he says. “I started teaching her, teaching more girls, teaching guys, teaching kids. Was working doing computer programming part-time….I decided to walk away and do it full-time. Karate has always been a main focus for me because it’s fulfilling.”

He has seen that students who study karate tend to have higher grades.

“It’s a great reward,” he says. “I hardly make any money but I don’t place the value of dollars with what I offer and what I do and what I get back on it.”

Franz doesn’t have a large, mass karate school that makes a lot of money so he figures out other ways to make ends meet.

“I have to do triple the work to accomplish my goals,” he says. “I always tell my students that anything worth doing, is going to be hard. You are going to have to sacrifice. You’re going to scrape your knuckles and barely get by but in the end it will pay off.”

Joining Lambda Chi

During his time at Vincennes, a chapter brother invited Franze to come to the house.

“Lambda Chi was the only one that was down to earth, not cliquey,” he says. “They were very open and honest with you….everyone seemed to be on equal terms.”

Todd Joyner, a former chapter adviser, asked if Franz wanted to join, and he accepted.

“I really enjoyed it,” he says. “I spent my first semester full-time as High Tau, which I really enjoyed but it was a lot of work. I made a lot of good friends. It was just an amazing experience.

Franz does keep in touch with the chapter brothers from his time in school.

“I talk to those guys all the time,” he says. “When we talk on the phone it’s like we’re just back in college together. I don’t think I’ve honestly ever met as good of friends. We have that common bond and that’s something I was looking for.”

“Joining Lambda Chi Alpha was definitely a pivotal part of my life,” Franz says. “I was in the Army, got injured, received an honorable medical discharge, and was very depressed. The Army was all i wanted to do.”

When Franz needed it, Joyner was there to hold his hand whenever he was doing something stupid and put him back in line, he says.

“He was a big brother but he also was a guiding light,” Franz says.

In addition to life lessons, Franz also learned how to do fundraising, which would come into play for his martial arts business later in life.

“I learned about raising money for valuable things…teeter-totter-a-thon, car washes…I do those things here in Bryan,” he says. “We donate money to the Humane Society, United Way, American Cancer Society….serve on boards.”

His black belt program is actually structured around volunteerism and service to the community. The students have to propose a project and have it approved before they can start.

“I think that’s extremely valuable,” Franz says. “One of the reasons why I liked Lambda Chi was the fact that they seemed to care about more than just about their own little world. And that was a big focus for me.”

Over the years, Franz has seen many of his students go on to lead successful lives, and then send their children back to him for instruction.

“Even though a lot of them, they’ve moved on with their lives and they no longer do karate, but they still come back to the karate school. Or they still come to my house for a cookout,” he says. “I think that ideal that Lambda Chi had on developing that bond of brotherhood and camaraderie was invaluable for me.”

Martial Arts Brothers Unite

Franz encourages other brothers involved in martial arts to contact him so they can work together to help local communities and undergraduate brothers.

“If they do or they teach it, I would like to try to get a group going through our Fraternity where we as Lambda Chis and karate instructors can benefit our communities and work together in a forum or something and just get together once in awhile,” he says.

Recently, he was in Indiana going from school to school to school, teaching five seminars, when he met four Lambda Chi brothers and black belts from Indiana University.

“I challenged them. I said you’re a black belt in karate, I know the economy and times are tough, but my question to them was, what are you doing with your skills as a black belt to help other people as a Lambda Chi Alpha member?”

Franz believes it is important for all alumni brothers to remember that if you don’t have money to give to Lambda Chi, you can help by providing your time and talent.

“If there are more guys out there who own karate schools, we should get together and work together,” he says. “There is so much we can accomplish because we all have the same Core Values. And that common bond is there.”