Boise Shinjitsukan

Black Belts should correct every mistake they make from the ground up. Prior to becoming a student of the art, things are taught in pieces. The arm goes here, you step there, you look there. After black belt a mis-positioned the arm is corrected first by understanding what the feet, then legs, then hips, then torso, then back and chest were doing to put it there. This is why being a black belt is like being a tree. A leaf can't grow without nutrients from the roots and soil.

Class is canceled tonight. I'll see everyone on Sunday for Kobudo!

Please reshare. Let's blow this up! Chenoa Bronson is a blessing to us all. We need to come together for her now!

Chenoa Defense Fund, organized by Paul Holsinger Hello, I am a friend of Chenoa Bronson and we have something we need to ask. Our friend tried to c… Paul Holsinger needs your support for Chenoa Defense Fund

Expanded info on the ads we are running:

Okinawan Karate and Kobudo lessons for FREE
· Lessons are 100% Free.

o We are a Not-for-Profit school with no overhead costs. More of a club then a business.

o We teach out of a heated garage and/or backyard in a private residence.

o We desire to pass on what we learned from our teachers, because we think there is value to it.

o We teach purely for the love of the system, it’s our free time and we choose to do this with others of like mind and interests.

o We don’t sell any uniforms, weapons or equipment of any kind.

o We recommend you purchase your own uniform and equipment, and can even make recommendations if you like, but we do not carry any for the purpose of selling, nor do we have any type of arrangement to promote anything.

o We are not a babysitting class, and we are not tailored toward children.

o We are an adult centered group. While we can teach kids, we do not cater to them. Our classes are designed with adults in mind. If you feel your child could benefit from our classes that is fine, but you are required to be present for the whole class.

We teach both empty hands and weapons from a system of Karate that comes from Okinawa.

o Our focus is on personal self-protection. We do not focus on tournament prep.

o We emphasis inside fighting/standing grappling.

o Our training consists of the study of Kata and Bunkai with partner training to test the technique as close to as realistic as we can get.

o Physical, mental, and emotional obstacles are always taken into consideration and we work with you to incorporate our system to work for you as an individual.

Our current location is close to Chinden and Maple Grove, fairly close to the fair grounds. Class times are as follows:

o Tuesday 06:30 pm – 08:00 pm

o Thursday 06:30 pm – 08:00 pm

o Saturday 10:00am – 12:00pm

If Free Karate training appeals to you send us a message along with any other questions you might have, and if you are serious about attending then we can get you the location details then. Regardless of your interest please have a wonderful day.

I'm sorry to announce, Sensei Dean Stephens passed away this morning. This isn't going to be a full on obituary but I do want to say a few things.

I was introduced to Sensei Dean, who I never in all my years heard called Sensei Stephens, by Jeramy Stinnett after I came to Boise from Okinawa almost 25 years ago. I started studying from Sensei Dean at Jeramy's dojo, the largest school in the valley at the time, shortly after. I remember asking Jeramy about payment, and he explained that Dean refused to accept payment for the classes and with Dean having refused to take payment, Jeramy didn't feel right asking for money for either. Never mind the rent he was paying for the building and the fact that introducing a new art to his school was soon to have cataclysmic consequences on the number of students attending. Jeramy refused to accept payment. This was just the tip of Sensei Dean's influential shadow.

Sensei Dean never did accept monthly dues. It's not that he was rich or selfless. It's that when you were in Sensei's presence there wasn't room for money. What there was room for was karate, kobudo, and fighting...and nothing else. No compliments, that's ego and there's no room for that. Had a bad day? Leave it at the door, there's only room for karate. Didn't practice? You are probably going to regret that choice, but no room for practice now, only karate. Is it a holiday? Presidential election? Want to argue about the way someone else does it? Doesn't matter. There's no room for those things in front of Sensie Dean. Only karate, kobudo, and fighting.

It was a pure experience. Sensei Dean had flaws, but what he brought to the dojo was pure, brilliant, and alive. It was effective and that wasn't just a theory. Whether you were prepared or not, he was always happy to show you. I think it confused him to some extent that people needed to see it though. To him a technique's effectiveness was as clear as a neon sign on a wall. Same with a kata. Same with a person.

"How did that feel?" was his favorite question in class. He asked it more often than not after doing a kata with him or having him watch. Almost like he was trying to get each student to talk with their real teacher. The way something feels. He would point to the way something feels over and over, like pointing to a neon sign.

We are having class today. He wouldn't have it any other way. I encourage every person who knew him to do at least one kata today. Ask yourself how that kata felt after you do it and then I think he'd approve. Maybe not of the technique itself as he almost never did, but of practicing karate and listening to how it felt. There's really no room for his approval anyway. Only karate. He'll go first:

https://youtu.be/5w_mS-67bSw

We are teaching classes in traditional Okinawan Kenpo and Kobudo. The schedule is as follows:

Tuesdays @ 6:30pm Empty Hand Training
Thursdays @ 6:30pm Empty Hand Training
Saturdays @ 11:00am Kobudo

We are also available for 1 on 1 training sessions and consultations. Please contact us for further details.

https://youtu.be/jDqvgvKywCs

Why we don't just do our empty-hand kata with weapons Eric Sensei was was asked this question from a friend of mine, "Why do you sometimes do weapons kata empty-handed, but not empty-hand kata with a weapon." Th...

https://youtu.be/KTGl4a5eJyg

Some Grappling Bunkai of Choun No Kun This is from a discussion I'm having with martial art friends. My ukemi kinda sucks.