tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19390873010682307592011-12-11T10:43:34.406+11:00musings on karate by a newly-minted shodan.Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.comBlogger481100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-67029096500801283382011-12-11T10:28:00.001+11:002011-12-11T10:43:34.420+11:00

I was introduced to the following article on a couple of internet fora, where people were getting up in arms about the author's contention that karate is weak and watered down: UFC 140: karate is overrated. The author's contention is that because of McDojos, teaching children and antiquated techniques, karate is weak and past its use-by date.  It is deliberately a polemical piece, but one that

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-68959774788995757942011-11-24T14:29:00.001+11:002011-11-24T14:29:54.592+11:00

Recently, I have found that I am becoming less active in putting material on this blog, and wish to apologise to my few readers about this.  The two reasons for not putting content on have been the busyness of work and the birth of my third daughter, which has been hectic to say the least. Conversely, the birth of my daughter is also the impetus for me to begin posting again.  In order to

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-80780187116616128292011-08-23T14:56:00.000+10:002011-08-23T14:56:02.538+10:00

Or, why it's not a bad thing if you don't get it right all at once. Two years ago, I learned my first bo kata, shuji-no-kon.  I learned it in a weekend and took notes and videos and have practised it regularly ever since.  These last couple of weeks, we have revisited this kata and in just two run-throughs with my sensei, I picked up two major, fundamental flaws in how I was moving and half a

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-889862576790361892011-08-17T11:18:00.000+10:002011-09-03T16:27:44.001+10:00

This is now a multi-part series.  You can find Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 here The final movement in each shikodachi step is a two-handed, open-handed soto uke followed by a slow retraction with the lead hand to the hip that is paired with a palm-up nukite to the front (not across the body as is done in a number of other schools). I have been shown two basic interpretations for the technique. 

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-80327176969987813622011-08-02T14:40:00.000+10:002011-08-02T14:40:24.497+10:00

When I started karate I thought after orange belt that I knew a bit and was pretty good. Then, a couple of years later I got my brown belt and knew everything my school taught.  And I thought I knew a lot and was pretty good - especially compared to the me of a few years ago. Then, I also did some other martial arts and after a while in those I felt like I knew a bit more and was pretty good

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-24850706368876550032011-07-31T22:14:00.000+10:002011-07-31T22:14:26.398+10:00

I had a silat suffian seminar yesterday with Guru Maul Mornie and was once again deeply impressed by his skill, the depth of thought and care put into the seminar's content and by his art. What follows are some of my impressions, observations and thoughts on the seminar.  I was only able to attend Saturday's class, which was primarily concerned with basic drills that were to form the foundation

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-86220217776217775372011-07-30T09:19:00.000+10:002011-09-03T16:27:25.464+10:00

This is now a multi-part series.  You can find Part 1 Part 2 Part 4 here Continuing on from Seienchin Part 2, where I had only made it part-way through the first three arm movements in the first step of the kata. I originally learned as an application for this second movement of Section A, to deflect, grab and throw an incoming kick.  It is a good technique, but to my mind is definitely

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-34429288451159011762011-07-20T23:09:00.000+10:002011-09-03T16:26:57.556+10:00

This is now a multi-part series.  You can find Part 1 Part 3 Part 4 here So, finally, I have found some time to think some more about seienchin. As usual, my reason for doing these posts is to help myself make sense of what is happening in the kata and to explore different possibilities.  I am expecting to make mistakes and to pursue leads which go nowhere, but that's what happens when we learn

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-88126217884384725622011-07-13T19:32:00.000+10:002011-07-13T19:32:35.420+10:00

I did some sanchin training with my instructor today - checking out stance, transitions and turns.  My body structure is improving, but needs a little more work on extending/lengthening my spine.  Stepping, I am bobbing a  bit much from the knees, and punching I am not extending enough, with a slight disconnect between my body and arm. In fact, extension is the main thing I need to improve on

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-25239371302473475792011-05-15T11:18:00.000+10:002011-05-15T11:18:19.799+10:00

I have been attending some silat seminars recently and, with my sensei becoming increasingly involved in learning silat, I have made myself some training knives. It seems a waste to go to a seminar and then not practise the techniques or principles learned - a waste of money, of my time and of the instructor's time. So, at the last silat seminar we did some golok (machete) work - no "techniques"

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-84090206666174902432011-05-14T09:11:00.001+10:002011-05-14T09:14:12.749+10:00

One of the perennial questions in the martial arts is "What is chi/qi/ki?"  Does it really exist, what does it do, how does it work? There have been a few posts on this topic on forums I frequent, and I'm posting here an expanded response I made on one of them. I identify different ways of defining ki/chi/qi. Ki that is a visualisation aid or metaphor for what the body is doing ("sink your ki

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-32975458651871577672011-04-28T08:37:00.004+10:002011-09-03T14:35:40.983+10:00

This is now a multi-part series.  You can find Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 here I have been doing a lot of seienchin (seiyunchin) lately - it's my kata of the month, and one that I've identified as needing a bit of work on anyway. This is the first in a series of posts on how I view seienchin; the principles it contains, the applications that can be associated with/extracted from it (both those I

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-71063262413809750502011-04-05T17:13:00.001+10:002011-04-08T19:20:16.809+10:00

Recently (the last year or so), I started doing something different when effectively applying a technique.  I would get an image in my head of how the technique should feel - mostly as some sort of flowing line, combined with sensations along parts of the line.  Depending on the technique, there might be loops, a fulcrum or two, or branching or steps. It's very weird, but whenever I do the

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-70793627497462240892011-03-22T12:10:00.001+11:002011-04-08T19:16:34.602+10:00

I had the good fortune to attend a 2-day seminar this weekend with guru Maul Mornie of Silat Suffian Bela Diri.  It's a Bruneian martial art and mostly weapons-based. This weekend, we did knife-knife, knife-hand and machete work.  It was my first time working with machete (apart from my teen years hacking acres of blackberry) and although we didn't progress much beyond the fundamentals with it, I

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-62623749752888126742011-03-18T11:32:00.002+11:002011-03-18T11:32:48.715+11:00

Now that I've been going for a couple of months, my thoughts and attitudes to daily training are changing.  Organisation of time is so important - without my weekly schedule, I would waste each session by frittering away my time wondering what to do next.  But more organisation is needed within session.  Without someone else to motivate me, I need to break my sessions down in more detail so I

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-73346312642800106772011-03-17T11:44:00.000+11:002011-03-17T11:44:57.558+11:00

A brief update on my New Year's Resolution to train at least once every day of the year.  Well, I have failed.  Not miserably, but I missed training on Saturday. In my defense, I did 6 hours of gardening - shifting soil and mulch, pruning and mowing; and then went out for dinner and a movie.  However, I knew that this was going to happen and didn't plan around it (Actually, I had intended to get

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-82472046832150061002011-03-13T22:36:00.002+11:002011-04-08T19:18:20.726+10:00

Karate and Evolution. Over on the Blitzmag forum, I have been peripherally involved in a few conversations recently regarding karate, its efficacy, what constitutes "real" karate, and the concept that much karate that is being done is either not true to its origins (either okinawan, or if talking about okinawan karate, to China), or not true to the principles of "real" karate. What follows are my

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-39171968169067944242011-03-09T21:35:00.001+11:002011-04-08T19:17:33.553+10:00

As part of my ongoing efforts to fix my body structure (which can be pretty poor), I have been trying to get my posture correct for sanchin - head being pulled up from the top, no swayback, not hunching.  My problem is, while I have changed my posture in the last little while (and for the better too), my sensei still keeps telling me that I have some of these issues!  And no matter how I try and

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-85205588654384109592011-02-24T15:15:00.001+11:002011-04-08T19:15:53.033+10:00

Doing is easy, learning is hard.  In the martial arts, the teaching structure can too easily convince the student that how they are taught is how they should learn.  The act of participating can be confused with the act of learning. The Shorin-ryu practitioner, Pat Nakata highlights this issue in a recent post on Charles Goodin's blog, where he talks of the difference between training, and

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-10621260742491009332011-02-10T11:04:00.000+11:002011-02-10T11:04:42.849+11:00

More and more, I see (or have pointed out to me) similar techniques across different kata.  They are not all identical, but have the same intention or principles behind them. Some of the ones I have encountered recently are: Head/neck grab and crank: saifa, sepai, seisan, sanseru (seienchin as well, but not in the tradition I am training in) standing arm bar: seienchin, saifa, shisochin different

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-9904472552069443682011-02-06T14:58:00.001+11:002011-04-08T19:15:08.505+10:00

February is the month for me to concentrate on sanseru and tensho kata.  So, here is me performing sanseru, shot early last month. For those who know this kata, you probably notice several differences in performance.  The most notable (apart from my general poor form) are: two punches per step at the start.  This is the variant we commonly practice, but we also have the more traditional option

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-33966798509418093372011-02-06T14:15:00.000+11:002011-02-06T14:15:21.111+11:00

I was having a conversation about the effectiveness of traditional blocking techniques the other day on the blitz martial arts forum ( here ), when something that I should have realised years ago dawned on me. The goju blocks (and those of most other styles of karate) move towards the centreline with the first arm, and then away from the centreline with the second arm.  The first arm intercepts

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-51837649845352211912011-02-02T13:39:00.000+11:002011-02-02T13:39:25.668+11:00

Well, that's January gone, and 100% success in training! Some of the things I noticed this month were: finding time to practise.  On almost everyday there was a period of time (usually after dinner) that I could put aside for training organisation is king.  Even though I didn't always stick to my weekly training structure, it gave me a framework to guide me and keep me on-track.  No training

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-16038825036851284042011-01-31T15:40:00.001+11:002011-04-08T19:04:47.729+10:00

There seem to be three ways to get meaning from/into kata:  "sensei says", reverse engineering, and "that looks like..." In "sensei says", the movements in kata have a certain meaning because the instructor/organisation says they have that meaning.  And the meaning might be bloody good, effective and easy to apply under pressure (Or it might be in the "jumping over swords" category).  It is just

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-10419270613570125732011-01-26T21:40:00.000+11:002011-01-26T21:40:32.524+11:00

For Australia Day, my training consisted of doing kata 26 times - 21 x saifa and 5 x sanchin. It was interesting doing the same kata so many times in a row.  I performed saifa in 3 different ways: half speed with deliberate emphasis on each movement; soft and flowing with no real kime, but keeping proper structure; and as fast as possible while keeping structure and techniques coherent. Doing

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-23685858877372978372011-01-23T21:12:00.001+11:002011-07-13T19:25:35.108+10:00

Anyone who has read my post on how I am dividing up my training this year will know that I am focusing on saifa and sanchin kata this month.  Well, I'm meant to be, anyway. The reality is that I have spent a fair amount of time doing saifa, and also because of the summer training I have been doing with my sensei I have worked quite a lot on seisan, shisochin and happoren (if only to get them

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-70113849042319920462011-01-22T12:56:00.001+11:002011-04-08T19:03:57.177+10:00

Two things my sensei has been talking about recently that have struck a chord with me are to do with how we develop as karateka. The first is regarding how we perform techniques.  As beginners we learn full, large movements; three-hip punches, the formal setup and execution of mawashi-uke, chambering of kicks and punches.  These are to train us in correct form and power generation.  As we

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-47260651066150626682011-01-21T15:18:00.001+11:002011-04-08T18:59:26.686+10:00

Currently I'm doing summer training a couple of times a week with my sensei and a few other students.  We are primarily going through 3rd dan curriculum material (I'm 1st dan, and won't have to worry about a 3rd dan grading for quite a few years yet), so am in the peculiar situation of having exposure to a major component of my style's technical content without the pressure of needing to recall

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-42899508875001827952011-01-17T09:47:00.001+11:002011-04-08T18:57:27.753+10:00

When people talk about how to extract meaning from the movements in kata, they often refer to how the physical actions can be directly translated into a technique.  Often, this is the case, but is opposite to how kata were designed (technique first, kata second). Kata is 'written' in shorthand, to assist with solo practice of techniques.  Not everything in them is meant to be taken literally.  I

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-23704123335092825432011-01-14T21:29:00.001+11:002011-04-08T19:03:26.123+10:00

I'm concentrating on Saifa kata this month.  Here is me doing it as a reference point to compare to at the end of the year. Since taping this, I have improved about a dozen things with it, relating to power generation, driving off the rear leg (instead of pulling with the front as you should be able to see me doing in the first few steps) and weight distribution.

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-60469770624490537272011-01-14T21:19:00.000+11:002011-01-14T21:19:06.510+11:00

The first fortnight is complete, with no missed sessions!  I'm in the groove at the moment, and haven't had any real difficulty in fitting in at least half an hour each day. All this in spite of torrential rain, holiday throngs on the beach, air so muggy you could bite it and two little kiddies. So far I have:  started learning happoren, done some serious throwing practice with my sensei, gone

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-66523537259832429992011-01-11T14:53:00.000+11:002011-01-11T14:53:54.854+11:00

Current things I need to work on:weight distribution - between front and rear feet, and between heel and ball of feet.  I'm all over the shop, with too much on the ball of one foot using the appropriate leg to move myself - more tenshin ho! connection of the arms with the torso when performing techniques - my arms tend to "float" too much carriage of the upper body - I have computer user's stoop

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-8986110413237988022011-01-09T21:38:00.004+11:002011-04-08T18:56:04.282+10:00

Monday blackjack + isolated kata training Tuesday Regular Training + makiwara Wednesday kettlebell + kata review Thursday Regular Training + makiwara Friday blackjack + isolated kata training Saturday kicks + 2nd dan kata + makiwara Sunday taichi and weapons Kata focus:January - saifa and sanchinFebruary - sanseru and tenshoMarch -

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-18148179287799106162011-01-09T21:11:00.000+11:002011-01-09T21:11:33.021+11:00

The first week is done, and I trained on every day.  It was an interesting experience.  I have fallen into a pattern of training in the evening after dinner, as with two small children this is the only "me" time I can generally find.  It hasn't been too hard to motivate myself so far. This week, we went down to the beach at Anglesea for a few days, so I did kata on the beach as the sun was

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-36809249071385264162011-01-09T21:03:00.000+11:002011-01-09T21:03:54.452+11:00

As is the fashion at this time of year, I have made a few new year's resolutions.  The most significant one though, is to do some karate training on every day this year.  So far, two days in, and it's going great! In reality, I'll be pretty happy if I get in over 300 days, which will be around 200 days more than I did last year. My rules are pretty simple:  1/2 an hour minimum in one session

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-71918932024696885962010-06-07T20:54:00.001+10:002011-04-08T18:54:53.441+10:00

I have made a makeshift makiwara, loosely based on designs garnered from the internet, but also from Mike Clarke's book "Hojo Undo".  Compared to some of the makiwara out there, it's quite springy, and compared to others, it's a bit woosy.  I like to think of it as "my-first-makiwara", and the intention is, once I've broken myself in to using it, I'll replace it with a stronger one. It is made

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-58717674461562024752010-06-04T15:38:00.001+10:002011-04-08T18:53:36.319+10:00

Last month, I attended my first Silat seminar, run by Maul Mornie of silat suffian bela diri.  It was possibly the most enjoyable seminar (martial arts or otherwise) I have ever attended. So, what is it?  Silat Suffian Bela Diri is a Bruneian martial art (about the only one I've heard of, at that).  It is the family art of Maul Mornie, who took the seminar.  From my impression, it is an

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-817545962010447352010-05-06T10:04:00.003+10:002011-04-08T18:50:09.018+10:00

I managed to return back to training for the first time this year a couple of weeks ago.  My goodness how I had missed it! Good points from the session:I retained my overall fitness, and finished the session tired, but not too drained The work I had put into sanseru over my break actually paid off, and I was able to keep up with the others, and work the applications to a similar

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-1240028133334384582010-03-05T14:00:00.002+11:002010-03-05T14:02:32.594+11:00

This is my own current understanding of what is going on in saifa, based on my experience of it solo and the bunkai I have learned from it.  I haven't had a chance to talk about any of this with my instructor yet, so in a later post, I may change my views (or maybe not - I can be quite stubborn at times). Saifa can be broken down into 6 (7 with the mawashi uke at the end) technique sequences. 

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-77135738453431628222010-02-20T10:43:00.000+11:002010-02-20T10:43:00.086+11:00

My current focus of training is the kata saifa.  I know, I know, sequentially it is the first "real" kata in most goju schools and could be viewed as a poor cousin to its more glamorous and senior katas such as kururunfa or sepai, but I really, really like it.  (I haven't learned sepai yet either, so that rules that out) Coming from a shotokan background (and an eclectic one at that:  the only

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-56970711800882480822010-02-16T11:49:00.001+11:002010-02-16T11:50:27.414+11:00

This is actually the first piece of DIY training equipment I made.  It's just over a year old now.  I have long been attracted to the mook jong (wooden dummy of Wing Chun kungfu, and have often thought it would be useful somehow to a karateka.  But until I started doing goju, with its emphasis on close-range technique, I hadn't been able to quite work out how.  While the primary inspiration for

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-54301358763585124462010-02-12T21:17:00.000+11:002010-02-12T21:17:33.593+11:00

Because I am doing karate, it follows that I am also doing kata.  It is one of the few things that all karate styles, schools and organisations have in common (daido juku notwithstanding).  It doesn't seem to matter as to what use you have for them, but if you're not doing kata, you're not doing karate. Beyond the definitional usefulness, why do kata?  For most karateka, there will be several

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-5929850031377888932010-02-06T15:10:00.002+11:002010-02-06T15:16:57.595+11:00

I first got the idea for this from an article by Michael Clarke in Blitz Magazine, and have since refined it after purchasing and reading his book "Hojo Undo - Power Training for Traditional Karate" (a book I would highly recommend, by the way). It's a wrist and forearm conditioner.  You hold it between the hands, and roll the weight up, then down.  After 2 or 3 times doing this, while trying to

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-37089420394876845252010-02-02T11:12:00.001+11:002010-02-02T11:12:41.927+11:00

Being of a frugal and handy nature, I have made many of my training aids myself.  One of the first that I constructed was a heavy punching/kicking bag. New ones of any size cost around $150-$250.  This is money I don't have, and couldn't really justify at this point in time anyway.  So I scrounged around and found enough material to make a functional bag. I used an old brazilian hammock (without

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-33118744094615262502010-01-27T20:40:00.001+11:002011-04-08T18:52:45.745+10:00

In stereotypical Japanese karate, the three pillars of karate education are said to be kihon, kata and kumite.   Okinawan karate has a different emphasis, with greater regard being given to things such as hojo undo and analysis of kata technique/principles.  Still, common to all is the practice of isolated techniques such as punches, blocks and kicks: kihon. In English, I often see kihon

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-41123540938044312822010-01-25T12:00:00.008+11:002010-01-25T12:00:01.365+11:00

Currently I am solo training.  My last karate lesson was my grading in December.  While classes begin again next week, I won't be attending for at least another 2-3 months, as my youngest daughter was born only 4 weeks ago.  Until she is sleeping, and my wife and I have worked out a stable routine, I'm on my own. Training alone has certain advantages and disadvantages, and it is the

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-71691618229187271082010-01-23T14:21:00.002+11:002010-01-23T20:58:16.074+11:00

Why do we need another blog on karate on the internet?  There are many people with decades more of experience than me, who have trained with famous people or who have had more frequent encounters with "the real world" of violence.  So why bother? There are a few reasons, I suppose.  Firstly, I think my thoughts and experiences have merit, at least enough to put out there to the rest of the world

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1939087301068230759.post-73038685046769805282010-01-23T14:18:00.000+11:002010-01-23T14:18:28.687+11:00

Hello everyone (assuming anyone's reading), My name's Michael and I'm a shodan (first level black belt) in goju karate.  That's why I've called this blog "First Steps" as I've just taken mine.  As part of my grading, I was asked what gaining shodan meant, and I replied that it was that I was to take responsibility for my own karate learning.  This blog is the intellectual part of that

Mike Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16508403156780094058noreply@blogger.com0