Student

“Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.”

“Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.” ~ Chinese Proverb . Great teachers are important. They can give you amazing insights and help point you in the right direction. But the real question is: What will you do with all of that great instruction? It’s not enough to just take a karate […]

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“Karate makes true friends.”

“Karate makes true friends.” – Naka Tatsuya 7th dan Shotokan JKA . Too often some instructors ruin their legacy, and the legacy of others, due to their ego. They rely on their own ideas too much, avoid useful criticism, and can even bully their students into silence. Their self-centered attitudes and approaches create a stressful

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“It’s important to keep and pass on the traditions.”

“The word tradition is used in many areas of our life, and I believe it is an important thing, many things change and evolve in this world, but even in the midst of those changes it’s important to keep and pass on the traditions. That is why in Okinawa, traditional karate is practiced first….. I

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Always do your best.

“ ‘Ishiki’ (意識) is very important. ‘Awareness – Take more attention and focus’. Without ‘Ishiki’: you wouldn’t realize what is happening here and there. By doing it you see and realize things happening. During everyday training with more attention and focus you will see and realize how your stance, form and technique are. Do not

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To be a master you must be a great & humble student.

I have learned that you cannot teach someone who doesn’t want to learn or grow. Without that desire, there is no use in advising or coaching them, because it just won’t work. People reach a particular level of knowledge because their interests and motivations bring them to a point, but then they don’t want to

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Knowledge is knowing the right answer. Intelligence is asking the right question.

Knowledge is knowing the right answer. Intelligence is asking the right question. ?? . . “The world is full of people who are determined to be somebody or to give trouble. They want to get ahead, to stand out….” ~ Bruce Lee . Everybody wants to progress, everyone wants to wrap themselves in another black belt,

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We learned karate that was to be used in real-life situations.

  “Traditional karate is what we learned from the time we started, traditional Okinawan karate. As did our elders. We learned karate that was to be used in real-life situations. If you don’t continue to train with that sense of there being a real opponent, you won’t be able to respond in that kind of

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Fake black belts and McDojo’s; Should We Get Angry?

Imagine the fear. You have been training in your dojo for a few years, but a weird feeling is slowly creeping up on you, giving you that uncomfortable sensation in the pit of your stomach. . You gradually start noticing things. You start seeing stuff in a new light, and day by day you realize

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The most advanced thing you can do, are the basics.

“The most advanced thing you can do, are the basics, consistently.” ~ Morio Higaonna 10th Dan Goju Ryu . Train your basics everyday to improve in your karate training; it sounds so logical and makes so much sense. Now, it’s up to you, the student(s), to rise to the challenge. . It’s true, through daily

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“In karate, hitting, thrusting, and kicking are not the only methods..”

“In karate, hitting, thrusting, and kicking are not the only methods, throwing techniques and pressure against joints are included.” ~ Gichin Funakoshi . Many students, and instructors, who stand toe-to-toe and exchange techniques, forget (or should that be neglect?) that at some point in a self-protection/self-defense scenario, you will undoubtably end up in a clinch.

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You must get up, must train.

“Fighting may not kill you. Opponent may not kill you. Couch will kill you. Food will kill you, the chair, the traffic, the office. You must get up, must train.” . . Dedication and commitment are what transfer dreams into realities. For the sincere student, it mustn’t be enough to simply understand karate. We must

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