he is acknowledged by other members of the martial arts community as a legitimate headmaster of a Kempo system. To this end he has sought recognition from other prominent martial artists, especially those in the training lineage of James Mitose. The back cover of his book Mastering Kempo includes quotes of endorsement from Bill Beach and Bill "Superfoot" Wallace as to the martial arts skill of Durbin. There, Bill Wallace is quoted describing him as "one of the leading practitioners of Kempo" and Bill Beach describes him as "I have studied his methods and worked and practiced with him for five years. His skills and abilities in the martial arts, especially Kempo, are fascinating." Expansion The first dedicated Kiyojute Ryu dojo was opened in 1986, and as early as 1988 additional dojo began to open with Brad Gardone going on to open a dojo of Kiyojute Ryu at the University of Louisville and later a separate dojo in Louisville away from the University. In the 1990s several more dojo would open, including Lexington, Kentucky, the University of Kentucky , Urbana, Illinois, Chicago, Illinois and Cleveland, Ohio. Training The instruction is in a family atmosphere, where students train as partners instead of adversaries. Training is relatively informal, with little ritual aside from formalized bowing to begin and end class and a formal ceremony involved with belt tests and promotions. This is done with the intention of recreating some elements of pre-Meiji era martial arts schools. Part of the family atmosphere is the practice that its dojo are not widely distributed but spread through Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois and Tennessee. Part of the atmosphere family and mutual respect of Kiyojute Ryu includes the members of the class hugging each other after class. Kiyojute Ryu Kempo has no "tournament" or "sport" aspects, and training for competitions is never conducted. Religion Durbin teaches Kempo from a Christian perspective and refers to his own dojo as the "Christian Martial Arts Association", which is also the name of the non-profit organization that Kiyojute Ryu is legally incorporated as. While he personally teaches from a Christian perspective, he states he is open to teaching students of any religion, quoting the style web site FAQ he explains how religion is handled: However Durbin also states, " A person who just does not believe in God cannot possibly reach the highest levels of the martial arts, since they are of