Coastal Virginia Karate

09/18/2026

🥋 ATTENTION CoVA KARATE STUDENTS!

We have an upcoming opportunity to train with special guest instructors through the NKJF.

All belt ranks are welcome and encouraged to attend.

📅 Seminar Check-In: October 23, 3:00–5:00 PM
💵 Cost: $30 per person

🏨 Hotel Information

Sleep Inn Lake Wright
1521 Premium Outlets Blvd
Norfolk, VA 23502
757-461-6251

Room Rate: $109 + tax
Breakfast included
King or Double Queen rooms available

⚠️ Hotel reservation cutoff: October 1, 2026

The hotel is only 3.4 miles from Norfolk International Airport and offers a FREE airport shuttle. Premium Outlet shopping is also just ½ mile away.

📞 Point of Contact

NKJF Vice President Johnnie B. Felton
757-717-7293
[email protected]

Preregister link in the first comment

CoVA Karate students: If you can attend, I strongly encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity to train with instructors outside our normal classes and experience more of the NKJF community.

🥋 Open to every belt rank.

09/17/2026

I like this ... It is a core concept that we are always preaching..

HARA — 腹
The Centre That Does Not Hurry

In Budō, hara is more than tanden.

Tanden (丹田), particularly seika tanden (臍下丹田), refers more specifically to the lower abdominal centre cultivated through posture, breathing and movement.

Hara is broader.

It describes something about the organisation of the whole person around that centre, physically, mentally and emotionally.

Under pressure, the inexperienced practitioner often rises. The shoulders tighten. Breathing becomes shallow. Movement becomes muscular. The mind begins to hurry.

Budō teaches the opposite.

Drop the weight.
Settle the breath.
Release unnecessary tension.
Maintain structure.
Move from the centre.

This is why the Japanese expression hara ga suwatte iru 腹が据わっている is so revealing: the hara is “settled.” It describes someone composed, resolute and difficult to disturb.

In Zazen, we learn to settle.

In Budō, someone eventually tries to disturb that settlement.

That is when hara becomes more than a concept.

Can you remain centred when someone else is trying to take your centre away from you?

Daidō Kokū Budōkai
Zen of Budō

09/17/2026

Your body can move forward.

But can it still move comfortably sideways, turn, shift weight, change direction, and regain balance?

Movement variety matters.

As we get older, it's easy for our daily movement vocabulary to get smaller without realizing it.

One reason I value traditional karate is that it continually asks the body to move, coordinate, adjust, and respond in different ways.

You don't have to train like you're 20.

You do need to keep practicing the abilities you want later in life.

TRAIN FOR 70.

https://covakarate . com/audit

09/13/2026

As an adult how often do you move sideways, most adults are either sitting or moving forward....

You can either wait until you lose your ability to move and coordinate your body or train today for the body you want when you are 70 ( and beyond Gene Adkins )

Register to audit Cova Karate in the first comment

09/13/2026

Choosing a dojo shouldn’t require a blind commitment.
CoVA Karate now offers a new way to experience our program.

You can start with one free class and experience an actual CoVA Karate training session.
Or, if you want more time to evaluate the program, choose our 2-Week Audit for $50.

The audit gives you the opportunity to attend up to four classes over two weeks. Watch how we teach. Step onto the floor. Train with us. Ask questions. See whether the environment and approach are right for you.

Then make your decision.
Try it. Audit it. Join it.
CoVA Karate
Traditional Okinawan Karate for adults in Virginia Beach
covakarate(.)com [ Link in first comment ]

09/12/2026

Most people don’t think much about their feet until balance starts becoming a problem.

In traditional karate, we train barefoot.

That means the feet and ankles have to keep making small adjustments as you step, turn, shift, and stabilize. Over time, that helps improve balance, coordination, body awareness, and your ability to recover when your weight shifts unexpectedly.

That matters more as we get older.

This is one reason I see karate as more than punches and kicks.

It’s a way to train the body to stay capable, responsive, and adaptable.

Not just for today.

For the body you want at 70.

TRAIN FOR 70.

If you’re in Virginia Beach and want to experience it for yourself, come audit 2 classes.

CoVA Karate
Virginia Beach