Raking as Redemptive Behavior

Today, I know I speak for all of us ministry members when I say that we all had a really great time at “training” this morning. No, we didn’t do the usual donning of the karate gi, our stretching, warm-up gyaku’s and geri’s, kihon, kata and partner drills… we did our periodic yard work at Momilani Rec Center, followed by a terrific potluck. Sempai’s Robert, Rodney and I brought our weedwhackers and methodically worked the growth along the pavilion’s corner… while everyone else used many rakes to fill many trash bags with the leaves and detritus that littered the large green spaces of the Momilani Rec Center lawn. It was hot out there, we made much use of our legs, knees and backs, and time just flew. Before we knew it, the potluck dishes came out, and we enjoyed a rare time spent with our karateka ohana, sating the appetites we had worked up, drinking our cold refreshments, and just talking story amid much laughter. I am struck by the image of raking and sweeping, as recurring themes in the martial arts. You’ll see it in many of the martial arts movies… monks raking or sweeping the temple grounds. I’m [...]

Kanazawa Seminar

Nobuaki Kanazawa and Kancho Hirokazu Kanazawa Yesterday, eight of us, representing the the senior members of the NHPC Karate Ministry, had the chance to attend a training seminar taught by Shotokan legend Hirokazu Kanazawa and his eldest son, Nobuaki. It was a great fellowship, shared by our sempais, along with senior Shotokan practioners from throughout Oahu. The younger Kanazawa led us in great, extensive warm-up routines which really “stretched” our abilities. We practiced the basic tsuki – gyaku, kisami, oizuki, under his guidance, then a series of maegeri/yoko-kekomi geri combinations that challenged our balance. We spent the rest of the first half of training doing two-man punching drills. For the second half, we were divided into two groups, one led by the elder Kanazawa, the other group, led by his son. Us “middle-aged black belts (which included most of your sempais, haha) got the opportunity to learn kata from Kancho, while the younger black belts and brown belts got personal kata instruction from Nobuaki (SKIF World Champion). Needless to say, much was learned by each of us there (my personal thrill was getting to go over the first half of the little known kata, Nijuhachi). The training hall at the [...]

Submit your Favorite Links

I’d like to build a comprehensive list of Karate resources on the web. To help jumpstart this list, please submit your favorite Karate links by leaving a comment on this entry — or by sending an e-mail to info [at] nhpcshotokan [dot] com. Currently on the Karate Resources page, we have 1 link to a list of Shotokan Kata Diagrams. (It’s a start!) Check it out — we think you’ll find it very useful!