Sunday, September 15, 2013

A Strong Hekite


Six ways a strong Hekite (pulling hand) helps in your training. 

- Helps while doing Kihon 
(basic techniques)

- Helps pull the body into hanmi (half body position)

- Helps with maintaining kame upright correct posture

- Helps you achieve good kime (strong focused technique)
by way of equal opposites 

- Helps keep the body in proper position while in transition

- Helps with Kata 

Jrg ccdk 9/2013

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Technique, Spirit, and Chi


Strong technique awakens the spirit

Spirit activates the chi

The chi mobilizes the body

The body unites man, earth and heaven 

Jin No Kata 
Kata of Man

Chi No Kata 
Kata of Earth

Ten No Kata 
Kata of Heaven

Alignment structure energy and presents

8/3/13/jrg

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Karate is a form of Meditation


Kihon is learning Meditation

Kata Is moving meditation

Kumite Is applied meditation

1/8/13/jrg/ccdk

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Three Triads of Traditional Karate

Physical - Kihon, Kata, & Kumite

Moral - Mercy, Compassion & Justice

Ethical - Duty, Honor & Loyalty

All parts of the three triads make up nine perfections. The nine perfections are the whole rounded person focusing on human character as a whole being.

Traditional Karate provides a means to defend yourself against an aggressor. It gives self-confidence and stimulates a sense of awareness when in difficult situations. It heightens your consciences of environment and the very nature of unjust aggression.

“The ultimate aim of karate lies not in victory nor defeat, but in the perfection of the character of its participants ”

― Gichin Funakoshi

Why We Do What We Do

The first thing visitors notice about our Traditional Karate School is its atmosphere. Students bow when they walk in the door. Parents observe silence with the student body during the opening ceremony.

The attitude of the students during practice is intense, energized and focused. Day in and day out the atmosphere of our school is unvaried.

By design we work to create something different from our normal daily experience.
To certain extent the feeling of our environment is created by what exists and does not exist.

To a greater extent our atmosphere is created by the behavior and demeanor of our students, parents and guests. In a very profound sense our dojo is recreated every day by the will and intention of those who inhabit it.

The karate mindset is composed of many ingredients. If we are unfocused we create in the body an object of focus. If we are distracted we demand consistency and repetition to build mental endurance. If we are passive we cultivate responsiveness. If we are anxious we encourage analysis. In all cases we are looking to improve upon weakness, reinforce strengths and create within ourselves a baseline mentality that will serve us in all our endeavors.

From an Instructor’s perspective our training is nothing more than building, maintaining and strengthening this mindset. We are creating something practical here – something that can enhance our ability to live each day fully and successfully.

We come to the dojo to train in this mindset. By training correctly we will carry it with us when we walk out the door. We want our training to be strong and enough to withstand daily use.

Life within our society and culture presents many challenges – the greatest of which is not to be influenced to our disadvantage. To ward off the negative and strengthen the positive requires that we have a strong core, that we know who we are and are capable of moving with certainty.

The instructor uses every aspect of training to point us in the direction of ourselves. Developing a strong karate basic is nothing is nothing more than the creation of will and endurance.

The instructor measures the student’s karate by the development of these qualities. The underlying imperative of Traditional Karate is to create a mentality impervious to attack and able to prevail against insurmountable odds – in other words, to live each day full of potential.

“The Karate philosophy of calmness and confidence is the antithesis of aggression and inhumanity.”

Author Unknown