Category: Essays

Since around 1967, O’Hara Sensei has been teaching Goju Ryu in Bakersfield.  I began training with Sensei in 1973.  At each promotion I received Sensei has said, “More rank, more responsibility.”  During my 40 years of training I have taught and or began formal dojo in Canton-Illinois, Lindsay-California, Ventura-California, Eagle-Colorado, and Colorado Springs-Colorado …

 Recently I was reminiscing about my more than five decades as a student and teacher of karate. One of the things that I contemplated is that I once saw martial training as an activity of great interest. However, in retrospect, the “gifts” from my sensei, sempai and colleagues have, in fact, …

Teaching children karate is a very difficult task.  The instructor has to keep training safe, engaging, organized, fast paced, and relevant to the child’s age.  The instructor and the dojo members also have to practice what they preach.  In other words, be consistent in regards to what you say and what you do …

The history of karate is replete with information concerning kata. The issues are generally who did which kata, how were they developed, what is the source and what is the meaning. Most of this information is purely academic — think about it, we have what we have and what we …