- Books related to karate. Depending on the age of the recipient there are different books that would be appropriate, some of which I have mentioned in previous posts. Some key words to search for would be Shorin-Ryu, Hojo-Undo, Okinawan Karate, and Bubishi.
- Training tools. The various targets, and strength building tools can become a valuable addition to a martial artists' home dojo. Some suggestions here would be various punching bags, 5-7lb kettle bells, and hand held targets.
- Quality martial arts films. Not all of these films are mindless action movies that we can't learn from. There are great martial arts films out there that not only entertain but teach the philosophies and virtues of our style of karate such as persistence, non-violence, working hard towards goals, and helping others. Some that I would suggest are The Karate Kid (1984), The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, The Forbidden Kingdom, Fearless, and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Parents please look up these movies on www.imdb.com before sharing with younger viewers. Imdb has a great feature where you can look up a movie and it tells you exactly what may be considered inappropriate right down to the level of violence shown and how many times inappropriate language may be used.
Every time the holiday season comes around the loved ones of a karate student at least considers getting them a karate related gift. This gift often manifests in the form of a tree ornament in the shape of a person in a gi, or something of the like. While these gifts are always appreciated by the karate student, they do not usually deepen the student's karate experience. Below are some ideas of karate related gifts that will aid in a student's training and karate experience in general.
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Every dedicated martial artist meditates on what they have learned and researched in their particular style. Recording one's thoughts is a great way to organize thoughts, record questions, and store ideas.
I recently went through my many notes on karate and reorganized them. In doing this I was able to make connections that I did not before, and as an added bonus it is now much easier for me to refer to my notes when training and researching in Shobayashi-Ryu. Below are some steps to creating your own karate notebook. Enjoy! Step 1: Get a 3 ring binder. Since you will be adding to this over your months and years of training, a 3 ring binder is better than a simple notebook. Step 2: Split the binder into sections. The different sections should be based on your own training/research style, but some sections to get you started are history/masters, training/hojo undo, kata notes, and nutrition. Step 3: Use what's in your notebook! This is a mistake that I initially made. I would keep my karate notes and only refer to them when training on my own. Bring your notebook to class, use it to ask your instructor questions, keep your notes in mind while watching your teacher or skilled students in class. http://www.ikigaiway.com/2012/a-historical-walking-tour-of-seisan-kata/
Above is a link to an article on a martial arts website that I frequent that resonated with what I have said to many parents and students about kata. Simply looking up the name of the kata you are practicing on youtube will not necessarily get you the same rendition of it that is practiced in our dojo. This article uses Seisan (the 6th kata taught in our dojo) as an example and shows several examples of the different versions of the kata in the different styles of karate. It is important not to think of a single version of a kata as being the "correct" one. The different varieties reflect different interpretations of the techniques. Different applications/tichiki are more prominent in certain versions so by looking at a version of a kata that may not be your own may give you clues to the meanings of different techniques. |