Part 3 of a Six-Part Series on Using Kata (or Form) For Martial Arts Development The goal for the ancient and modern martial artist is to learn how to develop a stable, mobile and fluid platform that can move in any direction and EXPLODE arms, legs, hands and feet with tremendous force. It is easier ...

Part 2 of a Six-Part Series on Using Kata (or Form) For Martial Arts Development In the classical school, we should have processes in place to train normal people to be able to do unique and powerful things. These skills should be centered on martial abilities and not dance or gymnastic abilities…and these should not ...

  As with many of you older martial artists, I trained intensely as a young man, and tested my skills and myself many times. I believe this to be a natural process for anyone wanting to be serious about martial arts. We all want to have knowledge, and we all want to know if this ...

  If discipline is mentoring someone, then don’t you think self-discipline must be accepting that vision for your self? When the alarm goes off in the morning, it is self-discipline that makes you get up and go to work or school. It used to be your mom or dad. They were your Disciplinarian/Mentor, but now ...

  There are few subjects in American society that will raise eyebrows quite so quickly as a discussion of discipline in the classroom. Since the 1960s, there has been a distinct disagreement among Americans about what discipline is, what it should be or if it’s even important at all. Since a growing portion of our ...

Part 6 of a Six-Part Series on Using Kata (or Form) For Martial Arts Development My series of columns has presented what kata or form practice can do for you and your students; but we all know that many, if not most, don’t experience the good effect I have been describing, as a result of ...

I attended two National Traditional Karate tournaments one summer, while a friend attended a national “open” tournament. Our experiences were quite different, and I think it’s appropriate that professionals in our industry discuss those differences. The referees at the tournaments I attended were in complete charge of their rings, including the surrounding area, whether it ...

You became a martial arts instructor because you believed in a personal philosophy or vision. Your grandfather, aunts, uncles and parents didn’t push you into this career. If your relatives and friends did, then your experience is unique. Most of us believed in “something” that we wanted to pass to a younger generation. Some of ...

Part 5 of a Six-Part Series on Using Kata (or Form) For Martial Arts Development Some years ago, one of my instructors, Koyoshi Nishime Sensei (Cincinnati, Ohio), revealed to me a number of things about kata that I never understood. One of the most important concerned how the development of power was like a two-headed ...

Part 4 of a Six-Part Series on Using Kata (or Form) For Martial Arts Development. Any instructor of my age grew up watching numerous dynamic and powerful boxers (read striking artists) from the 1950’s to the middle of the 1980’s. These men were in the heyday of their sport and, until self-serving and greedy promoters ...