(Approx 2 minute 40 second read) How do we use kata effectively? . I don’t mean the bunkai demonstrations you see at tournaments and in some dojo where you are attacked from many different angles by many people. I’m talking about real effective defense. . Someone recently asked me a simple question: “How do you […]
Unlocking the Combative Meaning Often Hidden in Kata. Read More »
(Approx 2 minute read) Is doing your best always enough? . In my view – yes. There’s nothing more you can do than your best. That doesn’t mean you can’t improve. It means that right now, with what you know and understand, you’re giving everything you’ve got. Your “best” is a flexible, honest commitment to
The Spirit of Karate Begins with How You Do the Simplest Things. Read More »
(Approx 2 minute 15 second read) Someone said to me recently that I keep writing about the same thing, and that this page “used to be great”. It was meant as criticism, and I’ll admit, it stung a bit. But maybe it’s true that I keep coming back to the same subject. Perhaps that’s because
Karate: A Journey Through Many Paths. Read More »
(Approx 2 minute 50 second read) Apparently, I need to “be educated”. . The saga about step-kumite will not leave me alone, it seems. Another high-ranking instructor from a well-known association sent me a Facebook message to tell me how wrong I am because, wait for it… step-kumite was never designed to be effective (in
Educating the Ignorant (That Would Be Me): Apparently, I Need to Be Educated. Read More »
(Approx 1 minute 45 second read) Sometimes you can really see why karate has been stuck in the doldrums for so long, especially when questions aren’t allowed to be asked. . I remember back in the 1970s and early 1980s, asking questions of senior instructors was just not done. “Shut up and train” was the
Are We Still Afraid to Ask? Why Karate Needs More Questions, Not Fewer. Read More »
(Approx 1 minute 55 second read) If you’ve spent any time defending the practicality of Okinawan karate, you’ve probably run into detractors. I know I have. . When karate moved from Okinawa to mainland Japan, pioneers like Gichin Funakoshi faced a challenge: how to get an unknown martial art accepted into a national system built
Are We Practicing Karate or Borrowing from Kendo? Did Modern History Shape Our Training? Read More »
(Approx 2 minute 20 second read) There is a staggering amount of misinformation surrounding the martial arts, and karate in particular. . I don’t know about you guys, but it pops up in my social media feeds every day. The fact that anyone can tell truth from fiction at all is remarkable. . Recently I
Turn Left in Kata for Traffic Control? Really? Come on. Read More »
(Approx 2 minute 50 second read) What was kata originally? A mnemonic – a way to remember, when alone, the two-person drills already learned with a teacher. . Those two-person drills would each have had a subject, a concept, to work on. For example: how to escape a clothing grab. We still do that today
(Approx 2 minute 25 second read) Kata are not just sequences of techniques, they are repositories of information, each built around a central theme. . One kata might deal with preventing grabs, breaking grips, countering when that fails, and then controlling or escaping, all from the same starting point. By studying kata this way, we
Reading the Message in Kata – The Theme Comes First. Read More »
(Approx 2 minute 35 second read) We call them the old masters, but what did that title truly mean? In an era before standardized ranks, how was genuine mastery actually measured? . Mastery in the martial arts is a touchy subject. There are self-proclaimed “masters” that we tend to sneer at. Some styles call instructors
Old Masters, New Lessons: The Endless Path, Not a Finish Line. Read More »
(Approx 1 minute 50 second read) In a recent article, I wrote about the difference between ‘sweating in a karategi’ and ‘learning karate’. The response was interesting, and it’s clear that many instructors don’t understand the distinction. . There has always been a place for conditioning in the martial arts. Okinawan karate, for example, has
Purposeful Practice: Conditioning Supports Karate – It Doesn’t Replace It Read More »
(Approx 2 minute 30 second read) Recently, a comment on one of my articles claimed that “there is no evidence apart from hearsay and legends regarding the martial effectiveness of our Okinawan karate forefathers.” . An interesting perspective, but it overlooks the historical and practical evidence showing that Okinawan karate was, in fact, a highly
