Kids with disabilities are taking karate classes, performing difficult karate maneuvers, in a program that helps them improve their physical, cognitive, and emotional health by focusing on concentration and strength. Sensei Jeff Kohn of Glenview IL, recipient of the United States Olympic Committee’s (USOC) Paralympic Coach of the Year for Karate, coaches The Karate Can-Do! Traveling Team as [...]

8-year-old Jacob Soliz-Amaya used his karate lessons to save his own life from a would-be murderer. He woke up to his father’s ex-girlfriend trying to smother him with a pillow. Thinking quickly, little Jacob used a headbutt to push her away. Jacob’s father’s ex-girlfriend, Helen Marie Newsome, had apparently broken into the home and had [...]

Jesse Enkamp recently interviewed the UK’s Kata Bunkai expert Iain Abernethy. Abernethy loves analyzing and researching kata. He says kata logically and structurally records everything necessary for protection against extreme violence. He teaches his own students to “read” kata so they can reevaluate for themselves. He believes in teaching the meaning behind karate-ka or he [...]

Sensei John has students Chris Morris and Mark Moore demonstrate the double wrist grab. Chris has studied karate 5 years, Mark has studied 7 or 8 years. When your opponent grabs both your wrists, you stomp between his feet with your right foot, lift the knee up high, step back while throwing your hands up [...]

If you have been taking karate for awhile and are having trouble with Oizuiki hip rotation, this one minute instructional video might help. The instructor first shows the correct movements. Then he shows the hip rotation with the strike. Notice the care he takes to demonstrate the movement and position of his shoulder while striking. [...]

Somewhere in the Dekkan Plateau of India, one of the states have passed a mandatory regulation for school girls by the Department of Public Instruction (DPI): all government high schools must teach martial arts training to all the girls. This bold move has come about as a result of increasing reports of sexual predators committing [...]

Jesse Enkamp tires of hearing people put down bunkai because they don’t see the purpose of it anymore. His philosophy is “Bunkai should be easy.” He has designed a simple framework to learn by: The Core Premise: Karate was originally meant for self-defense; kata is a mnemonic template; the techniques of kata govern successful self-defense. [...]

He’s says he’s a sucker for quotes. Jesse Enkamp shares of his favorite “awesome” karate quotes with his readers. He likes quotes for the human connection across time, sharing thoughts and feelings we’ve all experienced. Here are a few: “To all those whose progress remains hampered by ego-related distractions, let humility – the spiritual cornerstone [...]

Without any overseeing body demanding accountability from karate instructors, karate schools, a highly personality-driven business, can attract the wrong kind of instructor, the kind who has an unhealthy addiction to power and control. Jesse Enkamp, a best-selling martial arts writer, has made some astute observations of the kind of instructors to avoid. He calls them [...]

Sensei Lori O’Connell,  Canada-based chief instructor in jiu-jitsu, gives good advice and tips in ground fighting. “On the street, the ground is a dangerous place to be. Size and strength advantages are harder to deal with,” says O’Connell. She goes on to explain the ground fighting is not about submission grappling. Defending yourself from the [...]

Chicago soul singer, Doug Shorts, a 62-year-old jazz artist shoots his first video “Don’t Sleep on my Love,” demonstrating karate moves. Having performed as an extra in TV and films he looks quite composed in front of the camera. The video background seems to be a dark, foggy nightclub. Near the end of the video, [...]

Karate was born in Okinawa, just below the mainland of Japan, and originally was made to be an education, not a just a combat sport. Most karate schools today are more interested in membership and increased revenue. The meaning of karate has almost been lost in Western culture. It wasn’t until the early 20th century [...]