Having spent nearly forty years of my life training in and teaching the art of karate, I have nurtured several notions as to just what I was doing here. When I began, I did so simply to lose weight so I could enter the next lower class for a weightlifting …
Sensei is a Japanese term of respect. It is used when addressing teachers or professionals such as doctors, lawyers, and others. In the West many people, due to the prevailing “cultural gap”, have little experience with this word, and often use it in a way that is not correct in terms …
In these times of fitness crazes and quests for athletic superiority, it is difficult to search out materials on the subject without reading extensively about progressive resistance of one kind or another. In the world of traditional karate one will find a similar phenomenon with one major exception – there …
People take up the martial art of karate for many reasons – some for sport, some for physical exercise and others for a real need for self-defense. Statistics show that at least seven out of ten quit before receiving any in-depth training. Some of the three who continue training do …
A few years back one of the GRKB seniors came to me to ask about the appropriateness of what he had done to handle a problem that he was faced with on the Dojo floor. The story went something like this: A senior black belt had taught an advanced class …
Perhaps the two most important physical properties of Karate are speed and power. We train daily to develop our nervous and muscular systems to become more powerful and effective as we perfect our technique through sincere, arduous practice of basics, kata and special drills. The use of traditional tools such …
Tensho kata is considered the masterpiece of Miyagi Chojun, Sensei. It is derived from the Chinese Hsing called rokkisho (six-machine-palm). We are not sure what this kata looked like when Miyagi Sensei first observed it, but the accepted meaning is rotating palms, therefore he must have seen something that resembled …
Statements in reference to religion or mythology are simply for historical record. In ancient times this method of conveying information was common. The reader should understand that there is no religious connection anywhere in this offering; only a means by which we can learn the physical and mental implications of …
PHASE I Buddhism refers to the five windows or five thieves. These are simply the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. The eyes look straight ahead and slightly down while utilizing peripheral vision. The ears must not allow sound to penetrate. The nose should be used for inhaling. The tongue …