Kakedameshi Seminar in Review Recently updated !
A review and testimonials of my recent seminar, Kakedameshi: The Original Kumite of Karate, hosted by Shorei Ryu Karate Studios of Bradley, IL.
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Seminar Announcement – Kakedameshi: The Original Kumite of Karate
Learn how to spar using your kata through the practice of kakedameshi, the original kumite of karate!
The Practical Karate Training Methodology: A Primer
The majority of karate schools, today, fall into two camps, both of which are almost entirely creations of Post-WW2 Japan: That said, there is a third camp that has been growing in popularity: I honestly don’t think I need to go into much detail on how the first two train, because they are so popular; they almost exclusively follow a […]
Are Karate Drills Bad?
Drills are a hallmark of martial arts training, the world over, regardless of art or style, and they come in many different forms, with different intentions. In general, though, how do we define what a “drill” is, and how do we know if they are any good?
KishimotoDi Revisited: Exploring the Shuri-Te Roots of Okinawan Karate
On February 4th, 2020, Ulf Karlsson landed in Phoenix, AZ for the first time in nearly 6 years. For those who are unaware, Ulf Karlsson is the foremost expert (outside of Okinawa) in the rare style of Shuri-Te called KishimotoDi, and is the only person to be granted a Shihan license in the art by the Bugeikan on Okinawa. On […]
Terminology Confusion
Martial arts have a great deal of terminology describing their techniques, methods, and concepts. Typically, this terminology is in the language native to the region the art came from. Karate, although Okinawan in origin, has adopted the Japanese language as Uchinaguchi (the language of Okinawa) was phased out of regular use in the Ryukyu Islands. This means that karateka all […]
Seiyunchin Bunkai Seminar
Over the weekend, I attended a Seiyunchin bunkai seminar via Skype with one of Taira Masaji Sensei’s senior students, Paul Enfield. Although I am a Shorin-Ryu practitioner, I have picked up some other kata throughout my karate journey, and Seiyunchin is one of them. The version I learned was a bit different, though, and I have been working on making […]
The Magic of Hikite 4
A “traditional karate” example of hikite (pulling hand) while punching Sometimes, I forget that the wider karate world hasn’t moved on from formalized, impractical, block-punch-kick kata applications. I was reminded when, just a month or two ago, a relatively new karateka posted on a martial arts forum that I moderate, asking about hikite (pulling hand). He commented that it didn’t […]
Naihanchi Kata Footwork Training Exercises
An enbusen (performance line) diagram for Isshin-Ryu Naihanchi footwork variations When doing kata training, it is not generally accepted to modify any part of the kata, including the footwork. That said, it is not completely unheard of. Oyata Sensei of RyuTe was known to change the footwork of his kata from time to time, to better illustrate the applications. More […]
Passai and Kusanku Oyo Bunkai – Sukui-Uke
Recently, an online friend of mine, who studies and teaches the Shinjinbukan system, has been posting video clips from Onaga Yoshimitsu Sensei’s trip through Europe. The most recent video (at the time of writing this post) is the one, above. At about 1:14, you can see Onaga Sensei demonstrate an application for a movement in Passai. We actually teach the […]
Kusanku Dai Oyo Bunkai – Kuchiki-Taoshi
Most Suidi/Shuri-Te lineage karate contains at least one version of the kata, Kusanku. This kata was, supposedly, developed to record the techniques brought to Okinawa by a Chinese envoy of the same name, as described in the Oshima Hikki. Patrick McCarthy has written about this in several books, and Jesse Enkamp posted this article about it, a while back. Itosu […]
