คาราเต้เพื่อชีวิต สุขภาพ และการต่อสู้
05/08/2026
Last weekend I wanted to post a small video of something I did in the park the other day. Was thinking "Should be easy to add subtitles with this software." After 3 hours had to give up, it wasn't easy. Oh well, I will find another way and post it later. Here is a snapshot of the same session in the park. I suppose it's easy to tell which kata this is from?
15/07/2026
Ryukyu Tode Kenkyukai (Okinawa Karate Research Club) was a historical research association founded in 1918 by Chojun Miyagi and Kenwa Mabuni, the Karate pioneers behind Goju-Ryu and Sh*to-Ryu. This picture of the club from 1920's was AI enhanced and provided for sharing by Hanshi Patrick McCarthy. It shows members of the club demonstrating different kinds of old strength training equipment used by the practitioners of the art. Chojun Miyagi is 4th from the right in the picture.
Interestingly, we also see the same equipment described in Seiken Shukumine's book Shin Karatedo Kyohan from the 1950's. Although these pieces of functional strength training equipment nowadays are usually associated with Goju-Ryu, historically they have been used by many different Karate styles.
*toryu
The block - punch - block - punch we see in Kihon kata, Taikyoku and others (depending on the style) always seemed silly to me until the day it all clicked. That's when I realized the movements remind me so much of a combo I already knew from elsewhere. Actually I probably learned the main parts of the combo from Kyoshi Ante Brännbacka way back in the day in Kisahalli, Finland. Just never before made the connection. Nowadays the Kihon block-punch thing does not seem silly at all. It helps me remember this nice combo which teaches us several useful principles.
Have you ever wondered why shuto uke doesn't exist in Naha-Te styles such as Goju Ryu? Well, I believe it actually does but it's hidden. Here is an example of where I believe it can be found in Seiunchin. It's the classic shutouke strike to neck, followed by pulling the head down to create the opening for the subsequent hammer fist & knee. Plus then one more hammer fist for good measure.
12/04/2026
One to lighten up the weekend. Which uke are we fooling around with here?
One of my go-to combinations. I have come across this combo in several Karate katas, such as Chinto, Jiin, Sansai, Hakutsuru etc. The principle is simple and very classic in many martial arts. When the opponent resists, we change and use his own strength against him.
20/03/2026
RIP Carlos "Chuck" Norris. He deserves respect, and not only for his martial arts skills. He was a legendary badass with a good kind heart 🙏☯️
Doing a simple Tegumi drill with the fighting chef Marko Huusansaari in a park. Back in the day Marko fought professional MMA bouts and also fought with Muay Thai rules on the legendary Lumpinee Arena. Not everybody gets to fight there.
Tegumi drills of karate were a bit of a forgotten part of the art before Hanshi Patrick McCarthy of Koryu Uchinadi brought them back to life and made them well-known. They are two-person flow drills which help learn how to apply the techniques found in kata. For a long time they were kind of like a missing link between kata and real fighting. In addition to the obvious benefit of practicing the techniques with a partner they offer repetition, repetition and repetition which is the mother of all learning.
28/01/2026
Visited my old friend Professor Andrea Sinyorini at his no gi training a couple of weeks ago. I haven't really been rolling for almost 10 years, and I felt like a wet glove against one of his students there during the rounds. I felt a bit better about it in the evening, when Andrea was awarded his 2nd Dan by Professor Johnny Garcia, and I found out that the guy I had been rolling with was a former Asian Champion in Olympic wrestling who received his black belt in BJJ on that same occasion. There were also three other BJJ black belt promotions by Professors Garcia and Sinyorini that evening. Glad to have had the privilege of being there to witness it. Congratulations to Andrea and all the others who were promoted.
Shiho Nuki. Gensei-Ryu has forms called Shiho, or fighting in four directions. They are not Katas, they belong to a different class of techniques (Kihon Gyoki) where almost everything is done fast. There is less concern for perfect form and more interest in dishing out fist from a conveyor belt to the four winds. They teach several useful principles about fighting multiple attackers, and actually contain surprisingly realistic techniques when you scratch below the surface. They are also great physical exercise. I should do Shiho Nuki faster but at this age I start to be a bit careful with my knees when kicking in the air.