The Arts in This Family
Shotokan KarateThe Shotokan hub →
- Shotokan Karate: An Instructor's OverviewIt's your third class. The instructor calls out in Japanese, the whole line steps forward into a deep front stance and…
- Shotokan Karate for Beginners: Your First 90 DaysOn your first night, you stand in the back row, because the back row feels safer. The instructor counts, ichi, ni, and…
- Shotokan vs Other Karate Styles: What's Actually Different?You move to a new town and visit the only karate dojo within driving distance. The uniforms look right. The bowing look…
- Mastering the Mae GeriYour front kick lands and nothing much happens. The pad holder barely moves. Worse, he steps in while your leg is still…
- Heian Shodan in DepthYou are halfway through the kata and the room has gone wrong. You turned, blocked, and punched, and now you are facing…
- Why Deep Stances Hurt, and How to Build a Stance That LastsHalfway down the line in kihon your front thigh is burning and your front knee has started to ache in a way that feels…
- Out of Range: The Distance Problem in KumiteYou step in for gyaku-zuki in jiyu kumite and your fist stops six inches short of your partner's chest. You stretch, le…
- What Is Kata For?You finish Heian Yondan without a mistake. Every turn lands. Both kiai land. Your instructor nods, and then a newer stu…
- All Arm, No Hip: Where Punching Power Actually Comes FromYour instructor watches one reverse punch and says what he said last month. Use your hips. So you throw the next one ha…
- The Flinch: Why You Close Your Eyes, and How Training Fixes ItIn line drills your block is clean. Your instructor has said so. Then kumite starts, your partner steps in with a punch…
- Everyone Sees Your Mawashi Geri ComingYou throw your roundhouse kick in kumite and your partner is simply not there anymore. He has stepped off, or raised a…
- The Side Kick That Hurts the Wrong LegHalfway through kihon, the call comes: yoko geri kekomi (side thrust kick), chudan (middle level). Your kick goes out,…
- Grading Day Nerves Are Not a Character FlawThree weeks before the grading, you are the steadiest student in the dojo. Your Heian Shodan is clean, your kihon lines…