This site explores the biomechanics, principles, and philosophy of Traditional Karate as transmitted through the Funakoshi → Nishiyama → Rokah way of teaching. The articles here reflect my personal understanding — tested through four decades of training and viewed through the lens of physics and movement science. If you’re new, the articles below offer a guided path through the foundational ideas. They’re arranged in a sequence that builds, but each stands on its own.
1. Learning and Knowledge
Nishiyama Sensei’s warning against the illusion of knowing — and why beginner’s mind isn’t just philosophy, it’s a training method.
2. Hard Training Makes Confidence, Confidence Allows for Stable Emotions
What does it mean to give your mind away in technique? The connection between whole-body commitment and mental clarity.
3. The Deep Front Line: Why Your Posture is the Key to “Stable Emotions”
The anatomy behind the philosophy — how the body’s deep core structures connect posture, breath, and emotional regulation.
4. Fix Your Shoulders, Improve Your Technique
One of the most common structural problems in karate — and how understanding the vertical axis transforms upper body mechanics.
5. Beyond Force and Energy: From Mechanics to Mastery
Force, power, energy, strength — these words are used interchangeably in the dojo, but they describe completely different physical phenomena. Understanding the difference changes everything.
6. Fast Is Not Slow…But Faster (Part I)
Slow practice and fast practice are not the same movement at different speeds. They build different neural pathways and serve different purposes.
7. Maai — The Space Between
Distance, timing, rhythm, and mind — the integrative concept that connects physical mechanics to strategic application. This is where the training starts to come alive.