A Note On Gankaku
Jim Sagawa, John Teramoto
This month’s senior kata is Gankaku. As announced at the practice following this year’s Black Belt Convention, we should make a change in how we execute step #11 of the kata as ...
Jion with Dom Pizoli
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkX6GEjAMVI
Godan Dom Pizoli led Jion practice in Philadelphia during March, 2016
Hip Replacement?
I am 53 years old. I started practicing in 2012.
Leading up to my Shodan testing in 2017, I practiced long and hard. I believe this led to a hip injury that my doctors tell me ...
Breathing In Practice, Kata and Combat
A student recently asked me about breathing and the notion that one should breathe continually outward while performing kata. This isn’t the first time. As martial artists, we’ve been indoctrinated fairly early on the importance ...
In Memory of Henry Wilkerson (1942–2023)
Henry Wilkerson, former SCKA/SKA senior black belt, longtime Long Beach dojo leader and champion, passed away on September 3, 2023, after a battle with cancer. Henry was born on April 3, 1942, in Tyler, Texas. ...
Summer Special Training West 2023: Two Perspectives
Summer Special Training West 2023 took place during June 14–18, at California State University Channel Islands. Below are two perspectives of the training.
As I sit down to write this a few days after wrapping up ...
Godan Dom Pizoli Visits Chicago
On the weekend of June 24, 2023, the Chicago dojo was pleased to have godan Dom Pizoli lead training for two days. After visiting Kansas City and practicing under the tutelage of godan Norman Welch, ...
2023 Midwest Jiyu Kumite Clinic
I walked into the amazing Kansas City dojo where the event would be held this year. It’s the kind of place that someone can immediately get excited about on sight. The aesthetics bode very well ...
2023 Black Belt Convention Report
For the first time in three years, black belts from Shotokan Karate of America (SKA) and Canada Shotokan Karate (CSK) were able to gather in person at the Shotokan Ohshima Dojo for the annual Black ...
2023 Brown Belt Practice at the Shotokan Ohshima Dojo
On Saturday, April 1, 2023, brown belts from around the country and Canada gathered for a pair of practices at the Shotokan Ohshima Dojo. Below are two perspectives from those practices.
“Oh...yes!” This thought flashed across ...