In October 1908, Master Anko Itosu wrote a letter, “Ten Precepts (Tode Jukun) of Karate,” to impress
upon the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of War in Japan, on the benefits of karate practice.

Ten Precepts of Karate

Karate did not develop from Buddhism or Confucianism. In the past the Shorin-ryu school and the Shorei-ryu school were brought to Okinawa from China. Both of these schools have strong points, which I will now mention before there are too many changes:
1. Karate is not merely practiced for your own benefit; it can be used to protect one’s family or master. It is not intended to be used against a single assailant but instead as a way of avoiding a fight should one be confronted by a villain or ruffian.
2. The purpose of karate is to make the muscles and bones hard as rock and to use the hands and legs as spears. If children were to begin training in military prowess while in elementary school, then they will be well suited for military service. Remember the words attributed to the Duke of Wellington after he defeated Napoleon: “The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eaton.”
3. Karate cannot be quickly learned. Like a slow moving bull, it eventually travels a thousand miles. If one trains diligently every day, then in three or four years one will come to understand karate. Those who train in this fashion will discover karate.
4. In karate, training of the hands and feet are important, so one must be thoroughly trained on the makiwara.[2] In order to do this, drop your shoulders, open your lungs, take hold of your strength, grip the floor with your feet, and sink your energy into your lower abdomen. Practice using each arm one to two hundred times each day.
5. When one practices the stances of Tang Te, be sure to keep your back straight, lower your shoulders, put strength in your legs, stand firmly, and drop your energy into your lower abdomen.
6. Practice each of the techniques of karate repeatedly, the use of which is passed by word of mouth. Learn the explanations well, and decide when and in what manner to apply them when needed. Enter, counter, release is the rule of releasing hand (torite).
7. You must decide if karate is for your health or to aid your duty.
8. When you train, do so as if on the battlefield. Your eyes should glare, shoulders drop, and body harden. You should always train with intensity and spirit, and in this way you will naturally be ready.
9. One must not overtrain; this will cause you to lose the energy in your lower abdomen and will be harmful to your body. Your face and eyes will turn red. Train wisely.
10. In the past, masters of karate have enjoyed long lives. Karate aids in developing the bones and muscles. It helps the digestion as well as the circulation. If karate should be introduced beginning in the elementary schools, then we will produce many men each capable of defeating ten assailants. I further believe this can be done by having all students at the Okinawa Teachers’ College practice karate. In this way, after graduation, they can teach at the elementary schools at which they have been taught. I believe this will be a great benefit to our nation and our military.
It is my hope you will seriously consider my suggestion.
Anko Itosu, October 1908

Karate Training – How Often Should I Practice?

Normally, someone new to Karate will attend one session per week in the beginning, as the student progresses this will obviously increase.
I personally recommend training at least two sessions per week, as soon as possible, but once per week is ok for the first three to six months, after this, a minimum of two lessons per week is essential.
There is so much to learn and practice, if after six months you are only training one session per week, not only will your progress be slow, you will also struggle to keep up with others in your class and because you will struggle there is a good chance you will become disillusioned and quit. In fact, I have never known anyone reach black belt from practicing one class per week.

These numbers obviously vary from person to person, we have members who go straight into unlimited training and members who only train one session per week but practice karate regularly at home, everybody is different and everybody has different circumstances.

The important point to remember is that if you Continue Reading

Shotokan Karate Soto Uke Outside Block

Soto ude uke, or outside forearm block is one of the basic shotokan karate moves. A difficult move to begin with because it contains both linear and circular arm movements, this karate move should be first practiced in shizentai (natural stance), with feet approximately shoulder width apart and toes facing forward as in the video below
 

Shotokan Kihon Gyaku-zuki

Shotokan's Gyaku-zuki is a very strong punch. Here is a video with some tips to help with this karate technique.

Karate Classes And Kihon

 Karate Kihon

Kihon is a Japanese word meaning “basics” or “fundamentals.

So, what is karate kihon and why do we do it?

Kihon is the basic karate techniques of stances, blocking, punching, striking and kicking.

Repetition of basic Karate kihon holds all the secrets!

Basic karate moves, or simple combinations, is all that’s needed to achieve a very high understanding of karate. But I must emphasise, when it comes to repetition, correct form, both physical and mental is essential. Bad habits can develop quickly and can take years of correcting and can even cause injury and that’s just the physical side, if the state of mind and attitude is wrong, it can unleash a whole plethora of problems, some of which, can never be fixed.

This is why I always recommend joining a really good karate dojo, but if you are unable to train at a karate dojo, then take heed of the words in this article and get your mind, body and soul right for karate!

An incredible inner focus and determination can develop, when practicing very basic karate techniques, over and over again. Levels of understanding continually reveal themselves, as your karate practice continues.

Here’s a quote from the late and great Bruce Lee ~
I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.

Master Masahiko Tanaka 8th Dan, was once asked what the secret to his success was, he replied, ‘basics, basics and more basics!’

Learning Karate A Good Focus Pads Exercise

Here is a really good shotokan karate exercises that can be practiced on the striking pads. This exercise works on speed, distance, accuracy and timing. Starting with the left leg in front, the first person attacks with kizami-uki, gyaku-uki, then quickly pulls the left leg back, then immediately attack with a right leg mawashi-geri, landing with uraken, gyaku-zuki, followed by a left leg mawashi-geri, gyaku-zuki. As you land with the gyaku-uki, skip up with the right leg and finish with a left leg mawashi-geri and gyaku-zuki.

There are many other shotokan karate exercises that can be practiced on the focus pads, but this one does cover some important shotokan karate kihon fundamentals.

Shotokan Exercise Three Stance Combination

A simple shotokan karate exercise utilising three stances. Starting in kiba dachi with a left tate shuto, drive off the right leg and turn 45 degrees and perform a right arm gyaku zuki (reverse punch). Then strongly pull the right hip and body back at the same time as you pull the right gyaku zuki arm back. Then perform a left choku zuki (straight punch) in Kiba dachi (horse riding stance), immediately followed by a right choku zuki. Next, drive off from the left leg and turn 45 degrees and perform a left arm gyaku zuki (reverse punch). Then strongly pull the left hip and body back at the same time as you pull the left gyaku zuki arm back. Then perform a right choku zuki (straight punch) in Kiba dachi (horse riding stance), immediately followed by a left choku zuki. Then pull the left hip and left side of the body back as you perform a left shuto uke (knife hand block) in Kokutsu dachi (back stance), immediately start to pull the right hip and right side of the body back as you perform a right shuto uke (knife hand block) in Kokutsu dachi (back stance). Slowly return back to the starting position with a left tate shuto in kiba dachi, then repeat the exercise.