In any normal dojo, one always notices the sensei, the sempais, the color belts, and the white belts.  It’s natural; they’re moving and kiai-ing the whole time.  The folks one never really notices are those few who are sitting on the sidelines, just watching class.  You know, the parents or older siblings who drove the kids to practice, or perhaps a student from another class, spouses, or friends, etc.  Anyways, they’ll faithfully come and watch for so many classes and hours that they end up blending into and become part of the walls and furniture.  For example, my wife has watched karate so much, over the years, that by osmosis, she has actually become knowledgeable about many of the techniques and can generally tell if a karateka is any good, just by watching for a moment.  Anyways, I’d like to talk about one of these faithful watchers who was sometimes a member of our dojo’s sparse audience nearly twenty years ago.   Mr. Young was an elderly Chinese gentleman, who would quietly come through our dojo (by weekday, a school cafeteria) doors and take a seat at one of the long dining tables.  I probably didn’t even notice him the [...]

Hey, I just realized that this past July, our little group reached a milestone – it’s fourteen years since since the inception of the NHPC Karate ministry, now called HIS Karate Foundation.  That’s a long time for the train(ing) to be chugging along!   In the past, in the elite groups your sensei’s belonged to, placed high value on certain aspects of training, like: an agressive martial spirit, achieving high technical excellence, training for hours, three or four or even five days a week, performing hundreds of punching/kicking repetitions as a form of warmup and conditioning, doing hundreds of crunches and pushups after training as a form of “cool-down”, heavy sparring, heavy bagwork, and on and on.  Nowadays, I like to think that with age has come a changing perspective and little bit of wisdom, haha.  While those parts of our youthful karate experience were invaluable, today I really believe that the most enduring aspects of training are: humility with strength, trying one’s best in everything one does, being an example to others with one’s way of life – not just in the dojo, and…hanging in there through dogged, quiet perseverance.  I’m very proud of every member in our group; whether you [...]

The latest article on the Asai Shotokan Association International blog has an interesting perspective on the Tekki katas by Yokota Sensei; but I really wanted you to take a look at two of the photos contained therein. You’ll find the article at: http://asaikarate.com/category/asai-blog-english/ The two pics are around 3/4 of the way down into the Tekki article. The first is from an early JKA tournament showing Mikami Sensei having just launched a lightning-fast lunging gyaku-zuki, which the nimble Asai Sensei has evaded via a flying taisabaki, likely followed by one of his whip-like counters. Please note how different the jyu-kumite attacking gyaku-zuki is to the basic gyaku-zuki we teach beginners. The photo immediately following this one, is a fine example of a well-executed front thrust kick stopping the incoming attacker in his tracks. Note that this is not the basic snapping mae-geri, and that it involves throwing one’s weight forward of the supporting leg (slightly pivoted), with the hips thrusting in the hanmi position. While the throw-weight and full locking extension of the kicking leg increase the technique’s power, the foot pivot, acute angle of the supporting leg, and center-of-gravity forward shift also extend the effective distance of the kick. [...]