I began practicing Shotokan Karate in 1975. My sister gave me a month of lessons and a gi for my 13th birthday. Previous to that, at 8, I had taken Judo briefly. I’m not sure why she got me karate, but I’m quite sure that it saved my life.

I just returned from a training trip to Naha Okinawa, the birthplace of Karate.   This was my third trip, and by far the best, but also the most challenging as I was testing for my Yondan in front of Komura Sensei, Sanguinetti Sensei and Kimiya Sensei. 

You have all forced me to continue to improve and grow.  I thank you all.

What is a DAO?
Usually described as a path to spiritual self-development by a human being.  But essential to this is self-overcoming.

“Spiritual” refers to the human capacity to be deeply affected, to seek a meaningful connection to something beyond the usual confines of the ego, the capacity for transformation by means of commitment to some DAO of self-overcoming. (pay attention to the final slide)

If karate-do or any martial art is to be engaged in as a Do or Dao, it will not merely be development of skill in technique through training.  It must also be guided by some increasing understanding of the wider implications of such a practice and any human practice.  So reading the literature of great spiritual teachers and warriors who practiced martial arts as a spiritual Dao is an indispensable part of your training.   So let’s identify what makes fighting arts a dao and its relation to philosophy, the pursuit of wisdom.

With MMA schools almost exclusively focused on sparring and applied techniques, I can see why they would at least initially hold greater appeal for young adults interested in quickly learning self-defense and not much else.  But my own experience with karate has taught me just how rich with application our traditional art form is, and how much more TMA has to offer.

Here’s the thing about our weaknesses and imperfections, the cracks in our cups – they’re the wounds on our lives. We can dwell on them, remain broken, and allow the wound to become infected in our despair. We can let the wound fester and slowly eat away at us as we refuse to let go.

But that’s a choice.

This is my Karate. It’s good enough for me.

The fire rises. It burns hot. The water does too.

Today, the cup is empty, and the teapot is boiling over.

Your tea is ready.

We will examine the kata Gankaku to illustrate these traditional bunkai and also explore oyo for certain techniques.

We practice the physical move mindfully, with critique and self-awareness we are taught the most efficient and effective ways to move.  We refine these movements over time and continue to learn and redefine the same moves.  We are challenged every step of the way to continue to improve and refine.  Soon, through the muscle memory learned the movement becomes a natural part of us and how we move.  It becomes reflex, or response without thought. Automatic!

My studies have helped me grow as a person, a teacher, a counselor, and an advocate.  The terms I learned in academia exist on the dojo floor, but they are truly practiced.  I see experience disconnect in what I have been taught in school and the practice of my profession and that troubles me.  I experience a real acknowledgement and consistency in the study of Karate.  That comforts me and grounds me throughout my life.  Karate is a “Transferable Skill” that will never leave me.

I believe the karate we study is a type of living art, and in the study of this art, we help keep it alive.  As this living art changes throughout the years, new students are able to contribute to the continuum of this evolving art.  As karate changes and adapts to new demands of modern societies, it ensures its relevance and utility. 

The development of my character transcends the development of self confidence, the ability to defend myself, and the never ending pursuit of the proper execution of technique.  The development of one’s character is, in my opinion, the highest order of karate training, and in my opinion, is probably the most rewarding part in the pursuit of the black belt rank.

I have great respect for all of my teachers at the USKL dojo and appreciate how much they inspire me to improve myself.  I have many selfish reasons to try to follow my father’s example in pursuing a lifetime of karatedo training, and I feel very fortunate to have found a dojo in which I feel I can do so, but I also hope to carry on the small family tradition that my father started, teaching my children to live healthy lives and to always try hard, even when they have cold feet.

The movements we practice, even in isolation, are difficult to perform correctly with good power, speed, and posture.  Putting the movements to imaginary but spirited use in katas ups the ante further with greater focus on timing, distance, rhythm, and agility.  In kumite sessions, awareness, reaction, and strategy are added to the mix (along with a healthy threat of “negative feedback” for any deficiencies).  Karate is at the very least a training method, a crucible even, for developing physical and mental skills for fighting.

Shu-Ha-Ri represents a transformational process which entails: “physical discipline, self-defense, sport, artistic expression, meditation, philosophical/ethical development, and spiritual development.”

Many times during class, I will say things that have become know as Sensei Leo-isms to my students.  These are just a few of what I said during my tenure as a karate instructor.

MODESTY
COURTESY
INTEGRITY
PERSEVERANCE
SELF-CONTROL
INDOMITABLE SPIRIT

A black belt is nothing more than a belt that goes around Your waist. Being a black belt is a state of mind and attitude.”

-– Rick English.

"The journey of a thousand ri (miles) proceeds step by step, so think without rushing..."

-- Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings~

Powerful experiential exercises can be used to concretely demonstrate that each of us is completely unaware of things that are immediately present to us. This is so because our habits of mind do not permit such seeing.

The subject matter of my paper is to define and describe the meaning of Oss! I will define it through research and how it is used in the dojo. I will also give scenarios of how it applies within the martial arts and the way of life.

Funakoshi Sensei left Shotokan with twenty precepts or concepts of training. The second of these concepts is: “Karate Ni Sente Nashi” or, loosely translated, “There is no first attack in karate”1 This precept seems to be simple, and yet has hidden depths of meaning.

Preparation for an exam is something not to be taken lightly.  Do your homework and take your training seriously prior to the test, and give it your all on the actual exam but don't get too discouraged if you don't pass the first time around.  Learn from the experience, take the opportunity to improve upon your weak areas, and come back stronger the second time around.

If Karate-do is an art, then kata is the martial artist’s portfolio. Like any good painting, kata can be enjoyed on the superficial level for the sheer beauty of its movements. But as the talent of the artist grows those same movements begin to display a hidden quality, much in the way the brush strokes of a fine painter add depth to the subject. This hidden quality is the bunkai, or application of, the kata.

The very essence of karate-do is found in its kata, for it is here that all of the techniques, knowledge, spirit and philosophy have been combined, concentrated and cataloged...