After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box.
— Italian Proverb
People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.
— Thich Nhat Hanh
If the problem has a solution, worrying is pointless, in the end the problem will be solved. If the problem has no solution, there is no reason to worry, because it can’t be solved.
— Zen Proverb
The longest journey is the journey inward.
— Dag Hammarskjöld
The object of your desire is not an object.
— Jack Gardner
In fact, the truth of Zen is the truth of life, and life means to live, to move, to act; not merely to reflect.
— D.T. Suzuki
Just as parents care for their children, you should bear in mind the whole universe.
— Dōgen
Before we can forgive one another, we must understand one another.
— Emma Goldman
Change is never painful, only the resistance to change is painful.
— Buddha
When you paint Spring, do not paint willows, plums, peaches, or apricots, but just paint Spring. To paint willows, plums, peaches, or apricots is to paint willows, plums, peaches, or apricots – it is not yet painting Spring.
— Dōgen
Direction Wanted
Not Sure Where I Am Going A very common expression in the Air Force is “Vector Check”. As those of you who took physics or were in the Air Force know, it means getting someone else to tell you were…
The baby looks at things all day without winking; that is because his eyes are not focused on any particular object. He goes without knowing where he is going, and stops without knowing what he is doing. He merges himself within the surroundings and moves along with it. These are the principles of mental hygiene.
— Zhuangzi
In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.
— Shunryu Suzuki
That our pains and longings are thousandfold and can be anesthetized in a thousand different ways is as commonplace a truth as that, in the end, they are all one, and can only be overcome in one way. What you most need is to feel.
— Dag Hammarskjöld
Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.
— Dalai Lama
Triangle Choke
Options from the Ground Last week we talked about the option of performing a kimora from the ground. To add to our arsenal of techniques that we can perform from the ground, this week we will be looking at the triangle choke.…
Water and words…Easy to pour, impossible to recover.
— Chinese Proverb
We took a bus to the nearby monastery of one of the last great Tang dynasty Chan masters, Yun-men. Yun-men was known for his pithy one word Zen. When asked What is the highest teaching of the Buddha? he replied: An appropriate statement. On another occasion, he answered: Cake. I admired his directness.
— Stephen Batchelor
A walk with a two-year-old is very Zen; it is not about the end but the journey. He needs to pet the dog someone is walking; to roll down the slight incline to the church basement, and then roll again, and again, and again; to remind me of the place where the wasps (he calls them bees) live, then zoom past it.
— Marc Aronson
If you believe everything you read, you better not read.
— Japanese Proverb
Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.
— Marie Curie
Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure. But unfortunately although it is true it is difficult for us to accept it. Because we cannot accept the truth of transience, we suffer.
— Shunryu Suzuki
I have discovered that all of mans unhappiness derives from only one source, not being able to sit quietly in a room.
— Blaise Pascal
Kimora from Ground
Fighting from Your Back One of the worst places to be in a fist fight is on the ground, on your back, with your opponent on top of you striking down at you. It is incredibly hard to generate the…
The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.
— Lao Tzu
The ultimate authority must always rest with the individual’s own reason and critical analysis.
— Dalai Lama
Defining Budo: Connection to Zen
Definition of Budo Billy Parker did an excellent job last year of explaining what budo was using some explanations by Gichin Funakoshi and by explaining the kanji. The biggest takeaway, if you do not have the time to read the full…
The spirit of defeating a man is the same for ten million men. The strategist makes small things into big things, like building a great Buddha from a one foot model.
— Miyamoto Musashi
Because you are alive, everything is possible.
— Thich Nhat Hanh
The Impact of a Teacher – Part II
Teru Hendry Born into a samurai family, Teru Hendry was my first instructor in karate and the reason I think discipline is so crucial to the art. I have talked about her multiple times on this site, but think it…
The Impact of a Teacher – Part I
8 Years of Teaching This year marks my 8th year teaching karate and my 14th as a student of the way. Something that I don’t often think about is the number of people I have interacted with over the years…
Arm Bar from Front Mount
Dominant Position The four main positions in grappling are: front mount, rear mount, side mount, and closed guard. Today’s technique is performed from the most dominant position, front mount. By being on top of your opponent, you have a better…
Three Wise Monkeys
Trip to Annapolis I know the post have been rather scarce lately and I want to apologize for that. I was recently staying in Annapolis, MD and then marched in the 53rd Presidential Inauguration. While I was there I managed to…
Simple Rotation Toss
Fluid Movements Today’s technique is a simple rotation toss (there may be a better name out there for this) that can be used as a defense against a single leg takedown, double leg takedown, or a football style tackle. The…
Different Types of Sparring – Part II
Preparing for a Real Fight In our first article in this series we looked at the two types of traditional sparring, prearranged and free sparring. Here we will look at some other options to consider. While they are similar in nature…
Hip Toss
Putting Your Opponent Down While fighting an opponent who is also standing up and throwing punches back can be a great way to relax, it is far from the ideal way to fight a serious attacker. If the attacker is…
Different Types of Sparring – Part I
Traditional Types of Sparring For most of us who practice a traditional martial art, there are two main types of sparring. The first is type is prearranged sparring (Yakosoku Kumite), but I have heard it referred to as Gohan Kumite.…
Charging for Lessons
Your Full Time Job I have discussed a few times on why you shouldn’t make teaching martial arts your full time job. Chosin Chibana talked extensively on how you would become a worse teacher when your livelihood depended on keeping students. It…
Too Old for Martial Arts
Tribute and an Answer This post is both a tribute to many of the older instructors I have had in martial arts and an answer to one of the most frequently asked questions in martial arts, “Am I too old…
Community Round Up
Round Up of the Best Stuff Today I wanted to do a round up of some of the best stuff on the web. I gathered some of the best articles and posts from around the martial arts community from December.…
Scissor Sweep Reversal
Neck Wrench From the Ground In our last article on grappling we discussed how to take an opponent who is on top of you and flip them over using a neck wrench. This is was a useful technique for getting…
How to Choose a Martial Art – Part III
Finalizing Your Decision If you have been following these posts since the beginning, you would have made a large list of all the possible schools in your area and then whittled it down to a smaller list of 5-20 schools that work for…
Neck Wrench From Ground
Neck Wrench Takedown If you haven’t seen our recent post on using a neck wrench to take an opponent to the ground, check it out over here to give you an idea of how to take someone down first. This…
New Forum and Contest
Newest Adventure Every few months I sit down and come up with a new way to frustrate myself in hopes of making this website more useful. For those of you who have been reading since last year, you may remember…
Losing Motivation
My Last Post This is a phrase I never want to see on this website. I have taken numerous breaks from writing. It is how I keep going, I take a break. I have also taken many breaks from Karate…
How to Choose a Martial Art – Part II
Get Your List In the last article on this series we discussed how to go about making a list of possible martial arts school in your area. If you have not read the article yet, go back and read it…
Per the request of Deirdre O’Rourke, all of the Pinan videos have been updated to include the sequence written out at the bottom. Feel free to print it out and use it to learn the pattern!
How to Choose a Martial Art – Part I
Three Part Series This is the first of a three part series on how to go about choosing a martial arts school. The goal of these articles is to help with the overwhelming confusion of getting into the martial arts.…
Neck Wrench Takedown
Karate as a Combative Art As I have talked about in the past, I frequently train people here for their mandatory combatives classes. Few weeks ago a few of us went down and practiced a mix of striking techniques and…
Put a lot of work into making the site mobile friendly and easier for me to update. Three articles on grappling are in the queue to be uploaded soon. Hoping to focus on all aspects of the budo lifestyle rather…
Age Uke
Translation Commonly translated as a “high block”, Age Uke is made up of two symbols. The first is “age” which translates to “rising” rather than “high” (which would be “jodan”). The second is “uke” which we have discussed before means…
Kagi Uke
Translation Kagi Uke is made up of two symbols. “Kagi”, meaning “hooking” and “Uke” meaning “to receive” or “block”. This is translated as “to hook that which is received” or more commonly “hooking block”. There are a few ways of…
Hikite
Translation Hikite is broken down into two symbols. Hiki, which means “pull” and Te, which means “hand”. Therefore Hikite can be translated as “the pulling hand”. It describes the hand that is pulled to your hip simultaneously as you punch or strike with the…
Sparring Without Pads
[sc:q5ad] Milestone with Your Training Partner One of the milestones in a relationship with a training partner in karate is the first time you realize you can safely spar with them without the need for pads. In an ideal world,…
Limited Food Intake
80 Percent Full One of the most unique parts of the Okinawan diet is the idea that you should always eat until you are about 80 percent full. This idea of not over indulging is at the core of the traditional Okinawan…
The Future of OKI
Where This Site is At As this site approaches its two year birthday, I wanted to give everyone an update of where it is at, where it is going, and how everyone can help. When I started this site in…
What To Do Before Your Test
Testing for a Belt Over the past two years, I have read numerous comments, forum posts, emails, and other blogs where people talk about the stress and anxiety of a belt test. Having gone through a few tests of my…
Grappling Statistics
Karate Effectiveness This poll was started a while back and I think we are at the point where I have gotten as many responses as I am going to get regularly. I was trying to find trends in martial artists…
Kyusho-jutsu
Translation Kyosho is translated as the vital points of the body. Jutsu is an art with the absence of philosophy. Kyoshu-jutsu then is translated as the art of the vital points of the body. This is an art that teaches…
Karate Certificates
Made My Own That big one in the banner above is my Yondan (4th Grade) certificate. It is from a template I made in 2009 for my Sandan (3rd Grade). The design is relatively simple but has a very professional…
Rank vs Years in Training
Marine Corps Martial Arts Program In my attempts to change the perception of karate from an old impractical form of fighting to a useful system combatives I often look to MCMAP to see how they train and what makes them…
Class Notes 7/20/2012
Back Home I am currently on leave from the United States Air Force Academy and made sure to stop in at my old karate school while back in Indiana. For those who don’t read my blog regularly or haven’t seen…
Promotion to Yondan
Kyu/Dan System For most of us, the kyu/dan system is the standard rank system in martial arts, but few know where it comes from. In the late 1800s Japanese swimmers began using the system and colored belts to identify the…
Why Market Karate as Something Else
Martial Arts Change There has been a pretty interesting discussion going on in the comment sections of my last two articles (Changing the Perception of Karate and Adapting Karate to the Local Culture) and I thought I would continue my thoughts…
Three Common Mistakes in Women’s Self Defense
Another Blogging Carnival This post is part of the second blogging carnival being orchestrated by Colin Wee from over at Joong Do Kwan. This month’s carnival is being hosted by Charlie over at Bunkai Jutsu. Two great blogs to check…
Adapting Karate to the Local Culture
Adapting to the Locals In my last article I talked about changing the perception of karate. Today I want to focus on what specific changes can be made to preserve traditional karate while increasing membership and public acceptance. I can’t…
Changing the Perception of Karate
Lack of Posts Lately Seems fitting that I start his article off by apologizing for the lack of posting lately on my part and give a huge thanks to all of the other writers that help make this site possible.…
Daily Karateka Workout
Daily Workout One of the keys to getting into fighting condition and being physically prepared for the challenge of karate training is having a daily workout. I find the best time to do your daily workout is in the morning. I…
Developing Strength: Sit-ups and Leg-Lifts
Abs We have already discussed how to improve your arms and thighs, now let’s work on those abs. Two of the best exercises to build up abdominal muscles are the sit-up and leg-lifts. Proper Form When doing sit-ups, be sure…
Teaching Kids – Part III: Focusing on Concepts
Lack of Attention In the last article of this series I talked about how games are an excellent way to keep kids attention while still providing them with useful skills. This trend of not being able to pay attention is…
Teaching Kids – Part II: Games
Games Specifically for Kids In my article for the Anti-Bullying Carnival I mentioned that teaching kids involves stories, games, and concepts over techniques. This article will hopefully be a good list of games that are more oriented to a group of kids.…
Developing Strength: Squats
Full Body Now that you have completed the pushup challenge, the next step is the lower body. This means its time to do some squats. To some, the word squat brings the image of a giant body builder holding a…
Developing Strength: Pushups
Building a Body While there is no doubt in my mind that those with proper training have an advantage in a fist fight, having a strong body is equally important. To quote Theodore Roosevelt Sr., “…you have the mind but…
Kihon Fukazatsu
Complexes Fukazatsu is a word that means complex. Complexes are patterns, always done with a partner, that are extremely flexible and adaptable. They do not stem from a specific kata, but rather combine many concepts into realistic practice. There are a…
Teaching Kids Part One: Stories
Collaboration This post is part of a collaboration with Colin Lee at Joong Do Kwan and handful of other bloggers taking part in a blog carnival to help do our part in preventing bullying. This is an important topic to many…
Ignorance of the West
Rant Disclaimer Occasionally I get worked up over a ridiculous comment or article I read on Karate. Today is one of those day. Karate for Jesus Every now and then I come across an organization claiming to teach Christian friendly…
Enso
Buddhist Influence I have often talked about the influence of Buddhist philosophy on Karate-do’s beliefs on ethics. Someone recently made the point that philosophy is an ever ending and ever changing idea that moves between cultures. To say that Buddhism…
Sensei
The Title Sensei When I was learning Karate, this word had a lot of significance. I remember for my 10th birthday my instructor took a good friend of mine, Maiko, and I out to get lunch at Pizza Hut. Sitting…
5 Common Questions About Karate
Light Hearted All too often karate students let the art go to their head. They can’t have a good laugh and accept that much of what we do could be perceived as amusing to non-karate students. My roomate was more than willing…
Class Notes for 04/02/2012
Kobudo While not talked about very much on this site (yet), weapons training is a large part of my curriculum when I teach and when I was taught. For many, it is an outdated tradition that isn’t practical in the…
Okinawan Style Diet
Okinawan Diet Recently there have been a few posts on eating more like the Okinawans used to. I have received a few emails asking for a list of the types of foods that would be common in an old Okinawan diet.…
Go Kenki (Wú Xiánguì)
Mystery Surrounding the Man For most karate students, the name Wú Xiánguì means absolutely nothing unless you like to read. He is rarely mentioned in books, except in passing, and his name is never discussed in classes, but the man has…
Getting Into Fighting Condition
[sc:q5ad] The Problem This morning I was looking around Google and stumbled upon this “question” on Yahoo and thought it was worth talking about. “I am 43 and have been strength training for four straight years, but have never trained…
Top Ten Mistakes Every New Student Makes
Common Mistakes I have been teaching karate for a long time to many students. The ages of my students has ranged anywhere from 6 to 60 and has included almost every demographic you can imagine. Despite this variety of students, there are…
Best of OKI
Wanted to do a quick post highlighting the most popular articles on OKI that you may not have seen before: If you think there is an excellent article that didn’t make the list, leave a comment below.
Drinking Water
Soda Consumption The average soda (soft drink) consumption for the United States is one can a day. That is 364 cans per year. The nutritional facts of a classic Coke can state that there are 140 calories. This translates into an…
Sweet Potatoes and Food Pyramids
Low Carb Diets For the past few months I have been successfully losing weight on a low-carb high-protein diet. This is nothing overly specific, I simply have been making my goal to eat more dark salad and meat rather than pasta.…
Deep Stances
You Don’t Do Deep Stances? Recently I got a lot of comments on my YouTube channel because I have higher stances than many karate schools. These were called “bad” and “incorrect”, so I would like to talk about it. I do…
A Modern Samurai’s 20 Articles
This is a modernized version of Soun Hojo’s 21 Articles for everyone who wants to feel like a present day samurai.
Class Notes for 01/23/2012
This article is the class notes for 01/23/2012. It contains: 1) Revised Testing Procedures 2) Pinan Series 3) Pinan Application 4) Sparring 5) Tegumi
Organized Instruction
Special Treat Tonight I have a special treat (hopefully) for everyone. I have been working on organizing my teaching into a more formal manual for quite some time and would like some feedback on an idea I had. The reason…
Class Notes for 01/06/2012
This article is the class notes for 01/06/2012. It includes: 1) New Testing Method 2) Rules 3) Standing Fight 4) Ground Fight 5) Realism
Counting
Guide to explain how to count to ten in Japanese and in the Okinawan dialect (Hogen). Neither is "better" for class, they are just different.
Self-Exploration and Self-Promotion
With my three year mark as 3rd Dan quickly approaching, the possibility of promotion to 4th Dan is now a possibility. How does this work for someone who isn't part of a large organization? I want to explore this and the general idea of promotions when it is just you at the top of your school.
Drinking Tea
An informal post about drinking tea and breathing to relax the body and mind. Definitely not something to be found on a karate syllabus, but an example of how karate-do affects the whole person.
Blocking
A look into the theory that, "There are no blocks in karate, only attacks." The attacks are divided into passive and active attacks. In both cases, the end goal is to strike the opponent and make them not want to attack again. There is never a point where you "block" and then wait for your opponent to make the next move.
Class Notes for 10/24/2011
This article is the class notes for 10/24/2011. It contains: 1) Budo vs Bugei 2) Zanshin 3) Tennis Ball Game 4) Naihanchi Shodan 5) Two Handed Touch Game Expanded
Class Notes for 10/21/2011
This article is the class notes for 10/21/2011. It contains: 1) Game Days Continued 2) One Leg Game 3) Russian Pushup Game 4) Push Game 5) Crane Game
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