“The strength of the dojo lies not within the four walls, rather it lies within the hearts of the students.” ~ Prince Loeffler Shugyokan Dojo . . Many teachers—especially new teachers—think that the way to create good relationships with their students is to make their dojo fun. Although having fun in the dojo is important,…
Month: August 2020
“The trouble is, you think you have time.”
“The trouble is, you think you have time.” This quote often related to Buddha was actually written by Jack Kornfield, in Buddha’s Little Instruction Book. The quote means that, we put off important things, assuming that we can do them later. But there may not be any “later.” Life is short; so make good use…
“You life is what your thoughts make it.”
“You must let go of the illusion of control.” . Often you end up trying to control situations around you. You try to control people’s behavior toward you. You try to control things happening in your life. The more you try to control, the more it slips from your hands. It makes you feel irritated…
“Now use head for something other than target.”
“Now use head for something other than target.” ~ Nariyoshi Miyagi Miyago-do Karate . . When people don’t understand things, they often find it easier to create their own explanations rather than to actually find out the real explanation. We see this all the time, in every part of society. . To psychologists, this behavior…
“Every kata move is designed for use in combat.”
“Every kata move is designed for use in combat.” ~ Iain Abernethy 7th dan British Combat Association . . To some karate practitioners and instructors, karate consists of two separate things: kata or kumite. Dividing your karate into only “kumite” or only “kata”, is artificial and negative for your development as a complete karate-ka. ….
A goal is not always meant to be reached.
“A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.” ~ Bruce Lee . Gichin Funakoshi’s tenth precept is; “Put Karate into your everyday life and you will find its subtle secrets.” . . There are lessons that are learnt in the dojo that we can apply…
“Gijutsu yori shinjutsu.” – Spirit before technique.
Karate is a way of life, a way of reality. I have committed over 46 years of my life to the study, practice and teaching of karate. I am convinced that karate has much to offer today in the 21st century as it did many years ago. True karate is the training of body, mind…
“You can’t demonstrate great power unless you are relaxed.”
“Smile and relax. You can’t demonstrate great power unless you are relaxed.” ~ Yoshimi Inoue Soke – Inoue-ha Shito-ryu Keishin-kai (1946-2015) . . TENSION ≠ POWER . We often associate physical tension such as a contracted muscle with power. In pure physical terms, the larger and stronger a muscle, the greater the force it can…
“The meaning of the directions in kata is not well understood.”
“The meaning of the directions in kata is not well understood, and frequently mistakes are made in the interpretation of kata movements. In extreme cases, it is sometimes heard that “this kata moves in 8 directions so it is designed for fighting 8 opponents” or some such nonsense.” . Kenwa Mabuni (1889-1952) founder of Shito-Ryu…
“You have to look more deeply to understand.”
理解するにはもっと深く見なければなりません – (Rikai suru ni wa motto fukaku minakereba narimasen) – “You have to look more deeply to understand.” ~ Kenyu Chinen 9th dan Okinawa Shorin-Ryu . . . Many martial arts masters and practitioners believe that you cannot truly understand a martial art form without understanding and respecting the country, culture and history…
Karate does not have any one style.
“Recently, some Karate men have used funny and strange sounding names for their own styles of Karate. A Karate man of this kind does not have a real understanding or knowledge of the orthodox Karate or he has no confidence in his ability as a Karate man. He uses these funny sounding names for his…
“Do you want fries with that?”
“Do you want fries with that?” . There are some students after reaching the lower dan grades of karate, who believe they have enough knowledge to teach on their own, starting a dojo or school with just a fundamental knowledge of the martial arts. While there are some who can do this, unfortunately there are…