Nishiuchi Sensei demonstrating tonfa Most karateka practice at least a little bit of kobudo, or they have seen it done by their sensei or dojo-mates. I will admit that I am far from an expert on kobudo–years ago, I passed a proficiency test with the bo, and nearly passed a proficiency test for sai (failed the “impractical weapon manipulation” requirement), […]
Ota Eihachi Sensei demonstrating Pinan Sandan The spinning backfist, or hammerfist, can be used in both self defense situations and sport fighting, if it’s used correctly. These are usually seen in kata as hammerfists (which I actually prefer to the backfist), and the kata tells you precisely when to use them in self defense. This brief article is going to […]
Every time I wash my obi (belts), I get mental images of countless karate instructors and practitioners screaming “never wash your belt!” When I first started training, I followed that tradition, and everything was fine. Of course, I also went up through the belt ranks pretty quickly, so I didn’t wear the first few for very long. On top of […]
Kiyohide Shinjo Sensei breaking two 1″ boards with a small surface strike Martial artists–usually of the competition-driven variety–often like to point out that certain techniques don’t work, are impractical, or simply too difficult to make work. There are certainly bad techniques out there, that simply do not work in reality, but I will often see perfectly sound techniques being lumped […]
The image, above, comes from Page 204 of Konishi Yasuhiro’s book, Karate Nyumon. I was inspired to go back and look at this publication by Victor Smith Sensei, who wrote an article on another section of the book. This book, in its original Japanese, along with many others, have been made available for free by Charles Goodin Sensei and the […]
Chudan-uke, as used in Shotokan sanbon kumite (three-step sparring) All karateka are familiar with some form of chudan-uke, although it has many names, depending on the style. Some call it soto-uke (“outside receiver,” referring to it’s movement to the outside of the body), some call it uchi-uke (“inside receiver,” referring to the part of the arm being used), and some […]
Itosu Anko, the root of many modern Shorin-Ryu styles Many karate masters of old have commented that the kata should not be changed, and this statement has been handed down to modern-day instructors. Despite that, we can look at pictures from the past and see, quite clearly, that the kata have been changed–even by people who said not to change […]
In reading through a forum on disaster preparedness, I saw a LEO (law enforcement officer) mention “perishable skills,” and it got me thinking. Some skills in life are, more or less, “non-perishable.” You can go years without using them, and then when you need them again, they still work well enough. Things like swimming, or riding a bike, would fall […]
Ryan Parker For those who are unfamiliar, Ryan Parker Sensei is a long-time practitioner and instructor of classical Okinawan martial arts, a kiko (Okinawan “iron body” training) exponent, and a karate researcher. He is also the author of the Ryukyu Martial Arts blog, and the founder of several Facebook study groups focused on various aspects of Okinawan martial arts. His […]
Kosa-Dachi (Cross Stance) Recently, on some of the martial arts study groups I am a part of, the topic of kosa-dachi (cross stance) has been coming up somewhat frequently. This stance is found in many variations, in several kata. The discussions we have been having have mostly focused on the use of kosa-dachi in Naihanchi, and similar discussions have cropped […]
Cameron (L) and I taking our written tests On Saturday, July 26th, 2014, I tested for shodan (1st degree black belt) under my Sensei, Richard Poage (Yondan). Also on my testing panel was Jeff Allred (Rokudan), Danny Bowley (Sandan), and Jim Mitchell (Shodan). I wasn’t the only one testing; three of our teen students were testing for brown belt, and […]
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