Centered Punch by Hironishi Motonobu (L), Off-Centered Punch by Funakoshi Gichin (R) When practicing kihon (basics)–which carries over into kata practice–there tend to be two schools of thought on where to aim punches. One says that you should aim to the center, as if your opponent were standing directly in front of you, so that you can work on your […]
Traditional weapons used in Okinawan kobudo This article is going to be a bit controversial, but I feel that it is an important topic that is too often neglected. As traditional martial artists, we often learn how to handle classical weapons–swords, bo, tonfa, sai, kama, etc. This is seen as a normal part of training, and a way to enhance […]
Recently, there was a UFC event here in Phoenix, which was headlined by a very competitive fight between Junior dos Santos and Stipe Miocic. In one of the earlier fights during that event, a minor thing happened that caused some interesting discussion on some MMA forums. One of the fighters stepped on the foot of his opponent. Normally, this would […]
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 […]
Recently, Tuttle Publishing reached out to Patrick, the owner of KarateForums.com (where I am a moderator) to have people review some of their martial arts books. The book I chose was “Traditions: Essays on the Japanese Martial Arts and Ways,” by prolific martial arts author, Dave Lowry. You can find my review in the KarateForums.com Article Subforum. The book […]
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 […]
When karateka, who practice Shuri-Te lineage karate, realize that other styles utilize a different stance when practicing Naihanchi (aka Naifunchin/Naifuanchi/Tekki/Chulgi/etc.), they often seem to fixate on that difference. Most instructors who teach Naihanchi tend to emphasize the importance of the structure of the stance–some even do shime testing (as seen in the video above) to reinforce the importance of the […]
Motobu Choki (left) and Kano Jigoro (right) Kano Jigoro, the founder of judo, once met with Motobu Choki to discuss martial arts. We don’t know a great deal about that conversation, except what Motobu told to his students. According to Motobu, they talked about many things, but “…about karate, he [Kano] asked me what I would do if my punch […]
Myself with Evergrey at Wah Dojo Some of my readers may be familiar with Evergrey, the author of the old Crazy Kyokushin Chick blog. I connected with her through that blog, but we have kept up on Facebook over the years. Last week, I had to travel to her neck of the woods for work, so she […]
Slips, trips, and falls are one of the biggest causes of injury and accidental death in the United States, according to the National Safety Council. If you believe that a company, product or person cause the death of a person, then Wrongful Death Lawyer is needed to solve the case. With winter coming soon for much of the Northern […]
Every martial art, and every organization or school, within it, is going to have a different set of behavioral expectations for its students. Within Asian martial arts, especially, there are certain things that are expected that you wouldn’t necessarily think of. For someone new to martial arts, or someone visiting another school, it can be difficult to know what […]
Subscribe to get new articles, videos, and upcoming event information sent directly to your Inbox!
