Sanchin Kata
Kata (exercises or forms) are performed in many styles of martial arts. With the help of these particular forms of exercise, many diverse techniques...
Quest For The Truth: The Origin of Tang Soo Do’s Forms
Hwang Kee, founder of Tang Soo Do, claimed to have brought the art's Pyong Ahn forms back from China in the 1930s. That was...
The Other Way of Sanchin Kata
Many karate systems teach the Sanchin kata as an external training method to strength-condition practitioners with a series of breath-controlled tensions. This mainstream understanding...
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....
Nunti Bo: The bo with the sai on the end
In Isshin-ryu we have three bo (long staff) kata. About 20 years ago I was pondering a particular characteristic of one of them. Let...
There is Nothing Peaceful About the Pinan Kata Series!
In this article I want to challenge some of the commonly held beliefs about the Pinan kata series or the Heian series of kata....
KIAI – The Powerful Shout
KIAI - ( Exhale - the strong shout )
KI ( chi ) – inner energy
AI – uniting, joining
Kiai is the consequence of a special...
KATA – An Important Part of Martial Arts
Kata is a form of unique obligatory exercises involving a series of hand and foot techniques, of punches and kicks, connected by certain movements,...
Mike Hancock on Kata Bunkai
For centuries the martial arts have been cloaked in mystery and folk lore. The deadly techniques used by master practitioners of karate were frequently...
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...
Ju No Kata
So-called "Forms of Gentleness," as the ju no kata is referred to, is a grossly misinterpreted standard of Kodokan. As performed in modern-day judo,...
Hyung: The Hidden Secrets of Tae Kwon Do
Many black belts and students of Tae Kwon Do don’t realize the devastating self-defense applications that are hidden within every hyung (forms) taught in...
Neihanchi Kata: A Half-Century Musing On The Kata Of Okinawa
In this essay I will share my observations of the Neihanchi kata of the Isshin Kempo and Isshinryu systems. I discuss Kiko and its...
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...
Kata Naihanchi – Karate’s Most Deadly Kata?
The kata Naihanchi (Tekki) is practiced within the majority of karate styles. The word 'Naihanchi' is said to mean 'sideways fighting' due to the kata's...
Naihanchi’s Mook Jong Drills – Karate’s Hidden Wooden Dummy Techniques
Naihanchi or Tekki kata is one of several traditional Chinese-Okinawan karate katas whose origins have been lost over the centuries. While the Naihanchi kata...
