Current/Upcoming Events/Announcements: We have 14 youth Karate classes/week and 10 adult classes/week (including a few that are open to some kids as well). We also have self-defense classes and workshops, along with guest instructor events and more. See our schedule here. In our weekly kata classes on Saturday mornings, we are now back to the […]
We are now studying Tekki Nidan (鉄騎二段) in our Saturday classes. The Tekki kata came to Japan from Okinawa, based on the Naihanchi kata. Tekki means “iron horse,” referring to the characteristic kibadachi (literally “horse-riding stance”). There are three Tekki kata, which may have all been one kata at one time. The Tekki kata focus on one stance and combine a solid foundation […]
Our annual charity kick-a-thon event is scheduled to take place the week of December 13-19. As a group, we hope to once again surpass 100,000 repetitions. The finale will be on Dec 19, where the adult class participants will each try to perform 2020 kicks + 2020 punches. This year’s fundraising effort is for ChallengeDay. […]
Our annual “Shotokan Kata Review” is coming up on January 11th (Saturday), 8-10am. We will go through 27 traditional Shotokan kata, twice each. And if time permits we will review additional kata. This is a great opportunity to discover (or re-discover) the breadth of the traditional Shotokan kata syllabus. All SVSK members who know at least the […]
WTKO members from around the country gather for their annual national camp, this year held in Nashville, TN. Classes are divided by rank and this year will also involve invitation-only instructor sessions. Sensei Jon Keeling is the Director of the US National Technical Committee for the World Traditional Karate Organization. He has taught at all […]
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For many years, members of our dojo have worn pink belts in October to build awareness. Please contact Sensei Keeling if you would like to order a belt for just $5.
We are now working on the kata Unsu (雲手). This is the last in our syllabus kata, so after this we will soon start the cycle over with beginning kata (Tekki Shodan for Advanced). The name Unsu means literally “cloud hands.” You can see techniques that look like hands parting the clouds in the opening of the kata. […]
Sensei Michael Berger will again be visiting our dojo on the weekend of November 16-17. As many SVSK members already know, Sensei Berger is a very highly-regarded, highly-skilled instructor, known not only for his traditional Shotokan skills, but also for his knowledge of practical applications and Chinese martial arts. Sensei Berger trained in Japan in the […]
We are now studying Tekki Shodan (鉄騎初段) in our Saturday classes. As with the Heian kata, the Tekki kata came to Japan from Okinawa, based on the Naihanchi kata. Tekki means “iron horse,” referring to the characteristic kibadachi (literally “horse-riding stance”). There are three Tekki kata, which may have all been one kata at one time. The Tekki kata focus on […]
Bullying comes in various shapes and sizes and is a fairly complex problem with no easy, single solution. Sometimes ignoring someone is best. Sometimes reporting them to others is appropriate. Sometimes we need to physically stand up to the bullies. We sometimes discuss & practice such things in our youth Karate classes and to a […]
