October 2019

What does F-16 Have to do With Karate?

Ruven Sharf, a European and US Champion who trained and taught at our Shotokan karate dojo for 10 years, is visiting from Israel to train with us again. Ruven shared a powerful analogy between the F-16 fighter jet, karate training, and high-level movement. He originally heard it from his Alexander Technique teacher, Meir Amit, a wise man I also had the privilege of learning from. The F-16 was the first fighter jet intentionally designed to be inherently unstable, also known as “relaxed static stability.” This unique design allowed for greater maneuverability and speed, unlike most aircraft that are built for […]

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Budo Aspect for Gaining Karate True Value

Avi Rokah

People practice karate for different reasons. Some want to master it as a martial art, others for fitness or sport, some for character cultivation, and some simply enjoy it. All these reasons are true and of great value. At our Shotokan karate dojo, we cater to every type of student, offering structured karate classes for kids as well as focused karate classes for adults. The original role of karate was to destroy an opponent’s offense power and to protect oneself. Nowadays, fortunately, we are not likely to use karate in life-and-death situations. To gain the mental and spiritual understanding of

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Once You Go Don’t Stop Until You Finish

Avi Rokah

Sensei Nishiyama used to tell us that often when we spar: “Once you go, give everything, don’t stop till finish”. I think that because we focus so much on finishing technique (todome), karate people have tendency to stop after one technique, but it is not always possible to catch the opponent with one action. This principle is something we emphasize even in our karate classes for kids, teaching them to maintain focus and flow through every movement. Sometimes I will do one technique to close the distance without giving space for counter, in order to make the right distance for

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Distance – Principles are Simple Applications Endless

Avi Rokah

We work hard to develop good, effective weapons in basics and kata training, but it is equally important to learn how to use those weapons, and it is through using timing and distance properly that can make effective use of our techniques. This is something emphasized in our kids self defense classes, where young learners practice both form and application. Try to be at a distance that you can give threat to opponent, yet if opponent attacks, you can move slightly back to be out of attack’s range. This is basic Toma (long distance). This distance is changing with each

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Practice (Keiko) and Training

Avi Rokah

Sensei Nishiyama once told me that we refer to training karate as Keiko rather than training as in other sports. The word Keiko is comprised of two characters that mean ‘to think’ and ‘the past’, and together they mean to train and study the teaching of the past. This is profound in meaning, we need to deliberate and develop reflecting on our training according to Budo theory and principles. For the beginner too much thinking is not a good thing, a beginner might copy the teacher and do repetition without much question, over thinking will cause restricted technique, but once

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Firm, Not Rigid.

Avi Rokah

Firm and soft/fluid are complimentary not contradictory. Firm to allow energy transfer. Firmness allows energy transfer. In karate training—whether in adult karate classes, childrens karate classes, or even self defense classes for kids—we learn that being too rigid blocks the flow, while being too loose causes disconnection. The balance of firmness and fluidity lets energy transfer smoothly through the kinetic chain. We are not only firm at kime but throughout the technique, even though the muscles activation is different at moving and at kime. Aiko San and sensei Nishiyama constantly told me “keep the very inside (around the sacrum) strong

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Requirements for “Whole Body Cooperating to One Line of Energy”

Avi Rokah

Whenever Sensei was teaching a seminar, he used to describe karate technique in a very clear way: “the whole body must cooperate to one direction”, or “even if one finger moves, feet make top technique.” He often explained that “total energy must be delivered in the shortest amount of time,” and also reminded students that “karate is not arms and legs training but whole body training.” These principles are essential in both karate lessons for adults and kids self defense classes because they show how every part of the body must work together. The conditions required for the whole body

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Karate Competition and Judging

Avi Rokah

Kata Look inside and not to the outside, of course, the outside form should be correct, but people have different body types, and the point is not to judge how fancy and beautiful but rather how effectively one uses their bodies, how the whole body cooperates into one purpose, using ground reaction, proper body action and muscle action, and transferring this energy to the technique. This is why kids karate classes at a proper Shotokan karate dojo focus on developing whole-body awareness from the beginning. Judges should learn to see how well one uses whole body snap, make strong and

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Thoughts About Traditional Karate

Avi Rokah

Embracing the old as a foundation from which to seek unlimited, infinite growth and development. This is what traditional is to me. The word “traditional” might imply to some people stagnation, sticking rigidly to some meaningless rituals and kata, so maybe I don’t love the word traditional, but I don’t have any other. But to me, traditional karate in a Shotokan karate dojo is using the kata as a vehicle to understand timeless principles that were discovered through many generations and building on top of that. Sensei Nishiyama used to stress that kata gives us many examples, and through those

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Increase Sensitivity and Awareness to Reduce Effort

Avi Rokah

Ruven Sharf told me another great analogy that he heard from his Alexander technique teacher, Meir. In a military bunker there were 10 soldiers, and they were always exhausted because they were almost always on guard around the bunker. A new commander came, and he put a high observation post, so one soldier was in the post, and four around the bunker, and now the other five soldiers could sleep, keeping rotation so everyone was fresh and functional all the time. We can notice that many people in kumite tend to be too tense all the time. In self defense

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