Control your emotion, or it will control you

I can't remember where I first saw this saying, but I remember I liked it and sort of latched onto it as one of those "Rules of Karate", if you will.

As karateka, we train in a potentially deadly martial art.  Our art should never be used to harm someone out of anger or really for any reason other than dire self defense situations or times when others are in need of defense.

In the dojo we train to use "kime" or focus when we perform techniques with a partner. This is because our technique could really hurt someone if we actually hit them with it.  If karateka hit each other full force in kumite practice, someone could go to the hospital or worse!  In addition to kime, we also stress that people keep their anger in check and remember they and their partner are training together.  It is not a competition and there is no room for an emotional response, no matter what.

Controlling emotions is also important in daily life.  The stakes may not be as high as physical harm, but once a bridge is burned, it may not be possible to rebuild it.

As karateka we are committed to improving ourselves physically, but it is also equally important to have emotional "Kime" if we are to become really good at Karate.

New website

Looks like the website is no longer being hosted at kishabajuku.org, so I created a new site:

http://tallahasseekarate.kishabajuku.info

"Old School" Karate

Thanks to the miracles of YouTube, I was able to make this video I shot last week look really old.  Fun tech!

Getting Ready for Demos

We're getting ready to do a couple demos at local middle schools for the Asian Coalition.  I'm looking forward to sharing a little about Okinawan Culture and our Karate class with folks from the community.

This video clip is of some of our students practicing Pinan Shodan and devising a multi-person bunkai application for the demo.

Naihanchi Through the Years

Thanks to the advent of digital cameras and digital video technology, I have been able to regularly video myself doing kata so I could play it back later and see what I could learn about where I was at at specific points in my journey. 

This video shows me doing Naihanchi Shodan each year since we started training at North florida Aikido's dojo.  I have to say, I haven't progressed as much as I would have liked.  I see myself repeating many of the same flaws despite the 6 years that have elapsed!  

I think I'll continue this process for the next 20 years or so and see if I can fix those flaws!