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 […]
Many martial arts utilize tactile sensitivity (the ability to respond to what your opponent is doing based on touch), and train it with a wide variety of drills. Most people think of Chinese martial arts and their push hands, sticky hands, and listening hands drills, while some also think of Okinawan karate’s kakie and kakidi (hooking hands) drills. As you […]
In one of the study groups I am a part of, the nami-gaeshi (returning wave) movements from Naihanchi was brought up as one that doesn’t often have applications shown for it. This movement is also present in some versions of Passai, Kusanku, Seisan, and more! How could something so common and distinctive have no practical application? Well, it does have […]
A childrens’ BJJ competition In many martial arts schools, gyms, and dojo, there is a competitive environment. This is seen as a way to promote self-improvement through “healthy competition.” In particular, this idea manifests itself in whatever form of “sparring” that school/gym/dojo participates in–every (or almost every) sparring session is set up exactly like it would be for a competition, […]
This weekend, I recorded a few kata application videos. The first one is an application for the last few movements in our Passai Sho kata, also called Itosu Passai. In the kata, you perform a yama-tsuki (mountain thrust), followed by a turn and a sukui-uke (scooping receiver). This movement almost perfectly matches a variation of tai otoshi (body drop throw) […]
Here is a collection of video clips from Ulf Karlsson Sensei’s KishimotoDi seminar at our dojo last month. You can see some of the material he taught, most of which comes from his system’s version of the kata Naihanchi.
Tuidi in MMA – Shoulder Wrench Chibana Chosin performing the shoulder wrench in Naihanchi Sandan I make no secret about my dislike of UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Jon Jones. He is arrogant, condescending, disrespectful, and likes to skirt the edges of the Unified Rules of MMA. That said, he seems to be the most frequent user of old-school karate techniques. […]
Some of our Youth Karate Students Lately, I have come across a few discussions online about what karate material is appropriate to teach to children. From what I have seen, this discussion is always a Catch-22 situation. If you say that you teach effective techniques to children, then a bunch of people jump on you, saying that it’s too dangerous […]
Author’s Note: This essay is one that I wrote in 2012 as a poetic way of expressing my philosophy on the development of karateka over time. It has been published on other websites, before, but they have since been taken down, and I thought it might be valuable to re-publish it on my own site. Karate training can be very […]
Me in KishimotoDi Uniform Before he left Phoenix, Ulf Karlsson Sensei gifted me a keikogi (training uniform) for KishimotoDi. This uniform consists of a kendo uwagi (jacket) embroidered with the kanji for KishimotoDi, and a black, Okinawan-style, narrow-legged hakama called a no-bakama (field hakama). The older style no-bakama do not have a reinforced back plate, but this modern reproduction does, […]
Subscribe to get new articles, videos, and upcoming event information sent directly to your Inbox!
