My Shotokan Karate-Do Journey

downblock: JKA Karate Masters Imamura Tomio at SAKA 2010 Karate...

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 19:56:19 -0500

downblock:

JKA Karate Masters Imamura Tomio at SAKA 2010 Karate Camp Heian Sandan Kata

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Sat, 26 Jan 2013 11:20:40 -0500

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Sat, 26 Jan 2013 11:20:18 -0500

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Sat, 26 Jan 2013 11:20:05 -0500

downblock: For those unwanted hugs

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 09:16:48 -0500

downblock:

For those unwanted hugs

downblock: What to do when someone tries to take you to the...

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 09:11:08 -0500

downblock:

What to do when someone tries to take you to the ground by grabbing your legs!

"Karate-do is a noble martial art, and the reader can rest assured that those … who boast of being..."

Sat, 12 Jan 2013 20:51:18 -0500

““Karate-do is a noble martial art, and the reader can rest assured that those … who boast of being able to perform outlandish feats like stripping flesh or plucking out ribs, really knows nothing about karate. They are playing around in the leaves and branches of a great tree, without the slightest concept of the trunk.””

- Gichin Funakoshi, Karate-Do Nyumon (via kenshihan)

Martial Arts for Everyone: The 20 Principles of Master Gichin Funakoshi 1. Karate begins with...

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 09:38:21 -0500

Martial Arts for Everyone: The 20 Principles of Master Gichin Funakoshi 1. Karate begins with...:

shihanusa:

The 20 Principles of Master Gichin Funakoshi

1. Karate begins with courtesy and ends with courtesy.

2. There is no first attack in karate.

3. Karate is an aid to justice.

4. First control yourself before attempting to control others.

5. Spirit first, technique second.

6. Always be ready to release your mind.

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Sat, 01 Dec 2012 21:29:41 -0500

Took the week off for training to go deer hunting in eastern...

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 14:41:19 -0500

Took the week off for training to go deer hunting in eastern Ohio. Got this 6 pointer on Monday. Two more days left.

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Fri, 07 Sep 2012 08:44:57 -0400

Introduction

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 14:37:17 -0400

This blog is going to be mainly about my journey through Shotokan karate with additional items that can benefit others with their martial arts goals.

For me, my martial arts career started when I was 10 years old. My brother also started with me and we were under the sai-kan style, which is of Okinawan decent. Due to circumstances beyond our control our training was sporadic until about age 14. At age 15 our sensei moved to Phoenix, AZ (from Ohio) and left his two 1st Dan black belts in charge of the school. We shared the space with another “karate” school in a health club and our school fell apart due to a disagreement between the black belts in charge. They then decided to dissolve the school and acquired an agreement with the Sensei of the other school to take their students at the same price and to keep their ranks. Only four of us took that offer and only two of is stuck it out for any decent length of time. Our new Sensei was, at the time, 6th Dan in Shotokan karate, Shihon Danny Sprague.

Sensei Sprague took a full year to get us up to speed to learn their versions of kata (pinian to heian) and basic moves. We made brown belt and eventually 1st Dan. At almost 20 years old I made, retrospectively, one of the worse decisions in my life. I decided that I was to busy for martial arts due to school and work. Ultimately during this time I married my wonderful wife and had two boys. Periodically I would run into my Sensie around town and he would try to talk me in to coming back to class and I would tell him I would think about it but never do it.

11 years after my last class I ran into my sensei again and he told me how well the school was doing and I was impressed by what he had to say. My boys were 9 and almost 6 and I thought it would be very good to get them into something besides baseball.

Sensei Sprague allowed me to keep my prior rank and now my boys have proceeded down the Shotokan path. it has been 4 months now and I am slowly relearning my kata but fortunately muscle memory is a wonderful thing so my moves and stances weren’t all that rusty. In the next couple of weeks my boys will be taking their first belt test to get their red belt. Things are going great and I hope to have a very long and prosperous martial arts career. I believe that my story is rare as most who quit usually never return. I hope to inspire and encourage those of of you who may have stopped their training to go back and continue your martial arts for the betterment of your self and your family.

I congratulate Sensi Sprague for his well over 40 years of constant and continual training and for the positive impact he has had in our’s and surrounding communities.

If you have a story to tell about your martial arts journey I would love to hear it.

Oss

martialartsmaven: Do what you’re good at doing - work hard at...

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 17:54:33 -0400

martialartsmaven:

Do what you’re good at doing - work hard at what you’re not. In time, the line between the two will blur. What you put into your martial arts training is what you’ll get out of it.

Belt Testing Time

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 23:51:24 -0400

Our club is getting ready for belt testing this week. Both of my boys are going for their 9th kyu (red belt) and should do just fine. I am confident that all testing will do well. Oss.

martialartsmaven: Maintaining good discipline can seem...

Sun, 03 Jun 2012 20:55:42 -0400

martialartsmaven:

Maintaining good discipline can seem impossible sometimes. It’s a struggle even for those who have been training for many years. But it’s essential to improving ourselves and our techniques. It’s what separates a good martial artist from a great one.

Last night class

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:36:45 -0400

All of the black belts last night worked on tikki nidan, basi sho, unsu, and jit’te (I think I got those spellings correct). So hot out my gi was drenched. But it is awesome to work on new kata and revisit ones that may have gotten rusty. I also got to run the main class for the first time in probably 12 years. It was awesome to be back in the saddle.

Unsu Kata

Thu, 24 May 2012 17:13:16 -0400

I think I have Unsu down enough to start perfecting the techniques. The spinning jump is killing me though. There is a trick to it I can’t seem to figure out PLUS I’m a bit gravatationally challenged. Any ideas out there let me know.

Unsu explained.

Thu, 24 May 2012 15:26:07 -0400

Unsu explained.

martialartsmaven: Sometimes it takes a series of small steps to...

Tue, 22 May 2012 17:28:21 -0400

martialartsmaven:

Sometimes it takes a series of small steps to reach one big goal in the martial arts. Savor the minor milestones as you hone your technique. Understand that it takes time and patience to become master of oneself.

dynamicfists07: “The ultimate aim of Kartate lies not in...

Tue, 22 May 2012 17:26:57 -0400

dynamicfists07:

“The ultimate aim of Kartate lies not in victory or defeat, but in the perfection of the character of the participant”

-Gichin Funakoshi