I’ve spent most of my 55 years in Shotokan Karate-Do training and teaching right here in the islands. The exception was the several years I spent on active duty with the Air Force in California. While there, I was fortunate to discover a sensei with several Shotokan dojos in the area. I joined immediately and was able to continue practice and help teach amongst my new dojo mates. Eventually, I became friends with the head senpai there. George was a tall, lanky, and quiet man who was several years my senior. We often trained together outside of the dojo, exchanging ideas about the art. He had achieved his black belt in two karate styles but eventually settled on Shotokan as his preferred art. After a couple of years, I was forced to cut back on my karate time – I had become a new father and was also attending graduate courses at night (no computers or online classes back in the 1970s). The last time I saw George, he dropped by my home to say farewell. He and his family were leaving for their next Air Force assignment. I later heard that he’d retired from the service and settled with [...]

Today, I’m attaching a short pdf (see link below) about something that we do all the time at practice but rarely discuss – the benefits of a strong kiai. This article is from Senpai Merle’s vast martial arts library. In it, I was surprised to learn that the incorporation of kiai into karate was not from ancient times. The Founder (Gichin Funakoshi) would focus most of his classes on practicing kata – in silence. This is the way katas were practiced in Okinawa in the past. Apparently, early Shotokan students at the university would hear kiais coming from the adjacent kendo/judo classes. Moreover, many of the karate students already had previous kendo/judo backgrounds. The Founder’s son (Gigo), who had a hand in modifying Shotokan into its modern form, had also practiced kendo. In fact, Nakayama Sensei (Chief Instructor of the JKA for thirty years) was likely also familiar with the kendo kiai. Nakayama had wandered into his first karate class by happenstance, while looking for the kendo class at Takushoku University – both his father and grandfather had been kendo instructors. So in time, the kiai was adopted into katas and general practice. Other aspects of modern-day karate that we [...]

Well, my late dad’s birthday is right around the corner.  If he were alive, he’d be 102 this year.  That got me to thinking (as usual) about life and about karate, haha. Dad was active and enjoyed a good life during his retirement years.  He had retired at 62 years old and everything went smoothly until he suffered a stroke when he was 74.  He recovered and lived, albeit at a slower pace until the ripe old age of 88.  I mention this because I recall the physical therapists and nurses who guided him through therapy would sometimes comment to me about how muscular he was for his age, especially his legs.  I guess medical professionals notice things like that.  When asked, he replied that he had spent 36 years as a milk deliveryman, carrying bottles and crates filled with milk or juice.  It’s interesting to me that so much of the muscle and strength he had built over his younger years were still visible in his 74-year-old body a dozen years after he had retired. When I was young, Dad had often advised me to find a career using my brain and not my body if I possible.  He [...]