Nage No Kata And Katame No Kata Part 1
Kata? Not in this dojo. We only do fight'n Judo here. It's bad enough you have to learn some of it just before ya...
KIAI – The Powerful Shout
KIAI - ( Exhale - the strong shout )
KI ( chi ) – inner energy
AI – uniting, joining
Kiai is the consequence of a special...
Are Kata Bi-Lateral?
Lately I have been involved in some discussion on why kata (forms) do not appear to be bi-lateral. If you stop and think for...
The Torso Method Exercises Transform One’s Taiji
The last of a series of exercises developed by Jou Tsung Hwa at the Taiji Farm, the aim of these subtle, precise, and intensive...
Kata Training: Practice Kata Correctly
This translation originally appeared in Vol. 29, No. 1 of the Hiroshima University of Economics Journal of Humanities, Social and Natural Sciences.
Translator's Introduction
Over the...
The Basics of Bunkai – Part 1
Kata (formal forms) were regarded as the cornerstone of martial arts training by the past masters. However, many modern karate practitioners question the value...
Tegumi – Old Style Karate’s Two Person Exercise
Tegumi or Okinawan grappling and wrestling
Just as a great dish needs a recipe or an extensive trip needs a map, so too does the...
Kata: Why Bother
There are many differing views on the value of kata. Kata is regarded by some to be the very 'soul' of the martial arts....
The Basics of Bunkai – Part 2
In this second article, we'll be looking at the basic application (bunkai) for the knife-hand block or "shuto-uke". As we established in The Basics...
The Importance of Kata
Over the past several years I've written articles discussing various sides of martial arts training. In my article entitled, “Commercialism vs. Traditionalism” I talked...
Chuck Merriman on Kata and the Meaning of Bunkai
"The kata are the essence of karate; without them karate would be the mere learning of various fighting and self-defense techniques, expressing nothing and...
Discovering Bunkai in Kata
By Bill Burgar ~ Today kata are practiced for a variety of reasons. Some people use them as good exercise, some to practice technique,...
The Wall of Silence: Vital Points in Kata
Prior to WW II there were several publications which discussed vital points and how they could be used to knock out or kill a...
Willie Lim Unlocks Martial Arts Truths
Willie Lim likes nothing better than to unlock martial arts truths. He is demystifying martial arts, shattering illusions that many would like to keep...
The Basics of Bunkai Part 7
This series of articles explores the basics of "bunkai" (kata application). Over the last six parts we've been discussing the fundamentals of this vitally...
A Brief History of Kata
If you are interested in the effective and realistic use of the combative methods recorded within kata, it is important that you have some...