Introduction to Conditioning In karate, the word “conditioning” tends to be used in two ways–as it relates to fitness and as it relates to toughness. Each aspect is more or less important depending on why you train, but both have…
The Development of Partner Drills Many (although not all) martial arts styles include partner drills in their curriculum, but in some styles of karate the partner drills do not reflect effective karate at all, and this can be detrimental to…
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…
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…
From Dance to Practical Application In kata we practice sequences of techniques and choreographed steps and various stances. In the beginning we do these things because we are supposed to and we trust that they will make us better without…
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…
Commercialization Karate-do as we know it today, is a highly commercialized sporting endeavor. Whenever you see it in magazine publications or on television and movies, many times you see tournaments, or chain’s of commercial schools and cash cow brand names. Only recently…
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…
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 For many, it is an outdated tradition that isn’t practical in the…
[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…
This is a modernized version of Soun Hojo’s 21 Articles for everyone who wants to feel like a present day samurai.
This article is a discussion about the definition of "Good Karate". The sections include: 1) Comments 2) Reaction 3) Fundamental Kata 4) What is Good Karate 5) Constructive Criticism
Dokkodo 1. Accept everything just the way it is. 2. Do not seek pleasure for its own sake. 3. Do not, under any circumstances, depend on a partial feeling. 4. Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world. 5.…
This article is the class notes for 07/22/2011. It contains: 1) Sumo Wrestling 2) Rules of Sumo Wrestling 3) Uses for Children 4) Uses for Adults 5) Brackets
This article is the class notes for 05/04/2011. It contains: 1) Ian Abernethy 2) Book: "Bunkai-Jutsu" 3) Makiwara Practice 4) Naihanchi 5) Videos and Questions
This article is the class notes for 05/03/2011. It contains: 1) Naihanchi Shodan 2) Makiwara Practice 3) Overwhelm the Attacker 4) Blocking Drill 5) Spartacus Kendo
Early Life Anko Itosu was born in the Giba sector of Shuri, Okinawa in 1831. His name itself is often a source of confusion. His Okinawan name was Anko (mistakenly thought to be a nickname by some) Shishu. This can…
This article is my initial statistics findings. It highlights: 1) Trends 2) Age 3) Uniform Color 4) Favorite Technique 5) Continuing Research
Mawashi Geri (Roundhouse Kick) is one of the more common kicks used in all martial arts. It is similar to a volley kick in football (soccer) and can cause a significant amount of damage if done correctly. While in many…
The topic of how to do a good Mae Geri (front kick) came up in my class the other week, so I thought I would share my instruction with everyone on the topic. Every good front kick has four parts to it:
Ranks and promotions in martial arts are a bit of a touchy subject–many people find that they dilute the arts or do nothing but generate money, while others find that the more ranks you have in your art the better…
Karate-Do and Kobudo (“The Way of Old Martial Arts”, commonly translated as weapons) have often been linked as one. Many schools teach them as separate classes, but eventually make it a requirement to learn Kobudo in order to test for…
