One Body
Author’s Note: This article is the third in a series exploring the science behind Traditional Karate as taught by Sensei Hidetaka Nishiyama and transmitted by Sensei Avi Rokah. It builds on the mechanical perspective of […]
The Inner Web: Nervous System Regulation in Traditional Karate
Author’s Note: This article explores the nervous system dimension of Traditional Karate training. It is a companion to the fascial/mechanical perspective explored in “The Continuous Web” and together they describe how consistent practice develops both […]
The Continuous Web: Understanding Fascial Training in Traditional Karate
Author’s Note This article reflects ongoing exploration of how Traditional Karate develops qualities that modern training science is beginning to understand and articulate. The fascia is one piece of a larger integrated system, and the […]
Fix Your Shoulders, Improve Your Technique.
Author’s Note This article represents my personal understanding and interpretation of traditional karate as taught by Hidetaka Nishiyama Sensei and followed by Avi Rokah Sensei. While I have endeavoured to accurately represent their teachings and […]
The Deep Front Line: Why Your Posture is the Key to “Stable Emotions”
Author’s Note This article represents my personal understanding and interpretation of traditional karate as taught by Hidetaka Nishiyama Sensei and followed by Avi Rokah Sensei. While I have endeavoured to accurately represent their teachings and […]
Beyond Force and Energy: From Mechanics to Mastery in the Nishiyama-Rokah Methodology
The language of guesswork In the dojo, we often use terms like “power,” “force,” “speed,” and “strength” as if they mean the same thing, when they describe completely different physical phenomena. For anyone training in […]
Maai — The Space Between: The Rhythm of Distance in Traditional Karate
Ma-ai — The Space Between This article reflects my personal understanding of traditional karate as taught by Sensei Hidetaka Nishiyama and transmitted by Sensei Avi Rokah. Any errors of interpretation are entirely my own. There […]
Fast is not slow…but faster: why training speed matters in Traditional Karate – Part III.
Part 3 – The Philosophy and Integration Sensei Nishiyama often reminded us, “Once you think you know, you are finished — you don’t learn anymore.” For him, philosophy was not an idea but an action. […]
Fast is not slow…but faster: why training speed matters in Traditional Karate – Part II.
Part 2 – The Solution and Application Once you recognise that slow and fast practice are not the same, your whole approach to training begins to shift. What felt like a single continuum divides into […]
Fast is not slow…but faster: why training speed matters in Traditional Karate – Part I.
This three-part series explores a simple but often misunderstood truth: techniques performed slowly and techniques performed at speed are not the same. Drawing on motor learning research, traditional methodology, and the teachings of Sensei Hidetaka […]