kishimotodi


Tachimura no Naihanchi Webinar in Review

On Saturday, June 1st, 2024, I taught a webinar for the International Neoclassical Karate Kobudo Society (INKKS) on the first kata of the KishimotoDi system, Tachimura no Naihanchi. This style is at risk of dying out, with only a couple hundred practitioners, worldwide, and less than two dozen who know all four kata of the system, so it really fills […]


The Scissor/Wedge Throws of Tachimura no Naihanchi

The art of KishimotoDi (AKA, Kishimoto-Ha Karate/Shuri-Te) is an interesting look into the Shuri-classified (or Tomari-classified, if you prefer to look at it that way) karate of the past, before its popularization by Itosu “Anko” Yasutsune and his disciples. As this style is is rare, only a small number of practitioners around the world study it, so it has been […]


Head Height Changes in Kata Practice

Karate has, like all things, changed over the course of time, for a variety of reasons, from sociopolitical considerations, to sports science and movement theories, to simple aesthetics. Breaking down the myriad changes that have taken place within it would be an impossible task, but one can isolate some specific examples for study, which make for an interesting look at […]


The Five Elements of Karate

“Karate” is a broad term, which covers many different martial methodologies and styles originating on Okinawa and, later, Japan. There are a number of misconceptions about what karate is, although there has been a movement–a sort of “karate Renaissance”–in the past decade, or so, which has been making more information about karate available, and promotes a practical approach to the […]


Power Generation Methods

Karate is not a single, homogeneous practice, but rather is made up of a wide variety of styles, all of which are eclectic blends of native Okinawan arts, Japanese arts, Chinese arts, Indochinese arts, and more. While the human body only functions in so many ways, there are actually quite a number of approaches to doing most things, including generating […]


How to Bunkai

Bunkai (lit. “take apart, analyze”), in the context of karate, is the practice of breaking down kata and working on developing applications for their movements, but sometimes it can be hard for karateka to figure out how to apply kata movements on their own. This is compounded by the fact that many instructors still only teach basic “block-punch-kick” applications for […]


Announcing a Massive Martial Arts Event in 2017!

In March of 2017, our dojo will be hosting two major martial arts events, back to back! Be sure to plan ahead so you don’t miss this amazing opportunity! Click here to see the flyer for the Ryukyu Martial Arts Friendship Gasshuku! Our first ever Ryukyu Martial Arts Friendship Gasshuku was held in October of 2015, and was a great […]


Ed Sumner’s Review of the Ryukyu Martial Arts Friendship Gasshuku

The following review was submitted to me by Ed Sumner (Kyoshi, Nanadan, Goju-Ryu under the late Chinen Teruo Sensei). I have added photos, and done some minor grammatical editing. I had the opportunity to attend the Ryukyu Martial Arts Friendship Gasshuku this last weekend, hosted by Noah Legel at the Peaceful Warrior Dojo in Scottsdale, AZ.  Noah had attended our […]


Reflections on the First Ryukyu Martial Arts Friendship Gasshuku

This past weekend was our Ryukyu Martial Arts Friendship Gasshuku, which was an event I put together with the intent of getting martial artists together to learn and train in a variety of martial arts from the Ryukyu islands. The idea actually came from the Ryukyu Martial Arts Facebook Groups that were set up by Ryan Parker Sensei. There are […]