I have a blogroll on the first page of this blog.
And I recently found a very nicely done English Shotokan blog. It has a grid with many, many kata names, which names lead to many, many videos of katas. It’s called the Selby Shotokan Karate Club Blog. That blog also has a bunch of video tutorials on topics including etiquette, makiwara use, stretching, and a bunch of other topics.
There was clearly a lot of work put into the project, and it is a wonderful addition to the online Shotokan Karate library. It’s not the entire Shotokan syllabus online for free, but it’s a very good start!
I’ve talked about a lot of other blogs previously, including one of the oldest and best Shotokan Karate Blogs, 24 Fighting Chickens, by Rob Redmond. As you will be able to tell the moment you start reading his blog, Rob is really, really smart, and has opinions. Some. A few. Many of which make remarkably good sense, when you read the intense analysis he brings to Shotokan issues which I had always taken for granted. His analysis of makiwara use is perhaps the best on the internet.
And a student of Sensei Asai, Andre Bertel of New Zealand, has a great blog as well.
And the next time I get a Round Tuit, which I badly need, I will discuss and link to about twenty others on the Net.
You know, there was a point in time when international karate simply didn’t exist; karate was a closely-held secret on a tiny, impoverished island where weapons were not permitted.
Then Sensei Funakoshi had a thought, which he expressed in the last few pages of his autobiography.
And karate missionaries went forth into the world!
They seem to have done a very good job indeed. Shows the power of thought.
Of course, the idea that Phoenix, Arizona, which was just a wide spot in the road when I was growing up, would have been favored by fortune with Sensei Shojiro Koyama…that was just good luck on our part.
Related posts:
- Andre Bertel is One Nifty Shotokan Karate Teacher! And You NEED to Visit His Shotokan Karate Blog!
- Yet Another Nifty Website with Bunkai of both Shotokan and the Higaonna Lineage Kata
- The Makiwara and Heavy Bag
- Here’s Another Nifty Shotokan Karate Blog, by "magpie"
- Rob Redmond’s Book about Shotokan Karate Kata is Priceless. Really.
