Eastern Karate

The various styles of Okinawan karate are not as deep & extended as Shotokan but make no mistake, this karate from which Shotokan originated from via Gichin Funakoshi, was for many centuries a genuine fighting art, not the sport or Hollywood variety seen in the West & as the film shows, it is still done that way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTTW54zKmmE

This is real karate, not sport or the Hollywood variety, not for the faint of heart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujAljKLPg9Q

Kata is not just a series of movements, it is a way to practice techniques without a partner, if you practice as if your life depended on it, kata does the job. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAOXqJBAn68

Sensei Takahashi of Shotokan Seiku Kai shows us how to excel in Karate. https://www.youtube.com/watch

Another icon from Karate's golden age has passed on, Teriyuki Okazaki of the ISKF was based in Philadelphia where he came in 1961 to spread the art, I was fortunate to attend a class at the dojo some years ago.

Sensei Takahashi still going strong at age 69, this is what karate is all about, for young & old alike

M. Yahara is known as someone for whom karate is not a game https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4N0Jyx8s-E

Karate is a lifetime endeavor, these folks are seniors & still going strong & robust at seventy or eighty. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ci4p1DnQnUk

No class this Monday as this is a long weekend, class resumes Thursday at the usual time. www.easternkarate.com

This exercise is called one step basic fighting (Ippon Kumite), novices start to learn the fighting part of karate with simple one step attack & defence moves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG_u7Pl3d_s

At Eastern Karate, one learns the various techniques so you can defend yourself, at the same time as the months & years pass, your mindset changes so you will defend yourself.

Modern karate as we know it dates back about fourteen hundred years when a monk from India by the name of Bodhidharma travelled to China to spread his new faith, Zen Buddhism. He ended up at the Shaolin Monastery (made famous by the ‘Kung Fu’ TV series) and taught the monks his combat and conditioning methods so they could stand up to the rigours of the new faith. As time went on, this fighting art spread throughout China and eventually to the Ryukyu Islands, between Japan an...d China. The rulers of the islands had banned weapons which forced the peasantry to develop empty handed fighting methods as well as the use of basic farming implements as weapons. The Chinese influence helped and a native style developed over the centuries. At the beginning of the twentieth century, karate was introduced into the Island’s school system and in 1922 the art was introduced in Japan by an Okinawan teacher, Gichin Funakoshi. He had practiced karate from childhood until well into his eighties. Funakoshi is considered the ‘father of modern karate’. He was instrumental in changing the art from an Okinawan fighting style into a martial art that would bear similar characteristics to other Japanese martial arts like Kendo and Judo. Under Funakoshi’s guidance, the word Karate became known as ‘empty hand’. This has two meanings, the realization that karate is a weaponless art and it relation to Zen Buddhist philosophy where emptying one’s mind of thoughts and fears will enable the student to achieve enlightenment and perfection in the art. Funakoshi’s dedication to the art enabled it to become established in Japan and in 1949 the Japan Karate Association was formed. It became a recognized educational institute where candidates for the instructors program are taught the physical and scientific aspects of karate. Since then, karate has spread throughout the world and has become a popular form of sport, recreation and self-defence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7wi8Oej6Wc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBp6DMVMWLY

A sad month for Karate as Hirokazu Kanazawa has passed away at the age of 88. He was a legend in Shotokan Karate, one of the first of his generation to make a mark in the karate world back in 1957 as one of the first instructors of the Japan Karate Association. In 1977 he formed Shotokan Karate International & continued the legacy. My instructor Sensei Takahashi was a student so that influence was passed on to me for which I will be eternally grateful.

The arm block in this video is a favorite, easy to apply with your body weight behind it & then flows seamlessly into the next technique. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C_cdDhIpRc

Eastern Karate will be opening the doors on Monday January 20 for the first class in Picton Ontario. Classes will be on Monday & Thursday from 6 to 7 pm The dojo will be operating at St Andrew's Church, 31 King St at the corner of Bowery St There will be a meet & greet with the instructor on Monday January 6 from 6 to 8 pm, also at St Andrew's. Come & get registration & other information where any & all questions will be answered. For additional info go to: www.easternkarate.com

This is called bunkai, where kata moves are applied for self defence purposes, while one-on-one fighting teaches strategy & tactics, if solo, one can also learn from katas if practiced with that intent in mind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE47A1BKGbE

Self-Defense Moves You Need To Know

http://www.sportbible.com//mma-rivalries-female-fighter-be

Women are not the weaker sex, you can defend yourself

This video features M. Tanaka of the Japan Karate Association, formed in 1949 by Shotokan founder Gichin Funakoshi. I attended classes run by Sensei Tanaka in 1997 after receiving the Shodan rank & again in 2001, both classes were tough as Tanaka was what is considered, a hard-ass, not for the faint of heart because his karate was old style orthodox, tough because real life physical encounters are also tough and that his how he trained & taught. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjF2NSQt-5o

The meaning of the message is that one practices karate like they mean it, no half measures because in a real combat situation, anything less then full out could cost you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W71sJlevoCc