history

The Evolution of Kata

This entry was posted in history itosu motobu naihanchi toyama and tagged kata on by

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 […]

The Letters of Sarah Mayer 1

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For those who don’t know, Sarah Mayer was the first non-Japanese woman to earn the rank of Shodan (first degree black belt) in judo, which she did in 1935 after less than a year of training. She is a very interesting and important figure in martial arts history, but most martial artists (judoka included) don’t know anything about her. I […]