Monthly Archives: October 2013

Karate

Ho Shin Do Youth Project

The Ho Shin Do Youth Project is a community-based, self-help, action-oriented initiative providing support to youths from under-developed communities in Manchester.

The project is co-ordinated by sensei Stephen Sijuwade, with the assistance of his senior students.

The aim of the project is to raise the aspirations and achievements of youths by motivating them to maximise their personal potential, training them to be productive and responsible leaders of tomorrow.

The core objectives of our youth project are to empower youths of various diverse backgrounds, using martial arts and other leisure, sporting and recreational activities as engaging tools. Althour classes are based on self-defence and fitness, the emphasis is on respect, courtesy, discipline, confidence, mental and physical coordination, and patience, all important aspects of character development.

We believe that martial arts training is a key to unlocking the potential of youths, instilling a sense of belonging, responsibility, discipline and empowerment, which can be used as tools to tackle the endemic anti-social, truancy, bullying and violent gun/knife culture prevalent in our modern world.

Articles, Karate

Goju Ryu Kata

Original article by Hoshindo Karate Brisbane

Gōjū-ryū has 12 core kata in its standard curriculum: gekisai (dai ichi & dai ni), saifa, seiyunchin, seisan, saipai, shisochin, sanseiru, kururunfa, sanchin, tensho, and suparenpai. Students in most schools are required to know all of these kata before reaching sandan.

Morio Higaonna sensei writes that “Karate begins and ends with kata. Kata is the essence and foundation of karate and it represents the accumulation of more than 1000 years of knowledge. Formed by numerous masters throughout the ages through dedicated training and research, the kata are like a map to guide us, and as such should never be changed or tampered with.”

Almost all of the kata have a corresponding bunkai oyo, a prearranged two-person fighting drill. These drills help the student to understand the applications of the kata, establish proper rhythm/flow, to practice constant attack/defense, and to safely practice dangerous moves on a partner.

Read more articles on Hoshindo Karate at http://karatebrisbane.com/

Articles, Karate

Goju Ryu and its 5 Precepts

Original article by Hoshindo Karate Brisbane

Goju Ryu

There are many students of karate, all which can trace their origins back to the island of Okinawa, Japan. However, originally there existed only three styles, each of which was named after the city in which is evolved. These are: Tomari-te, Shuri-te and Naha-te. The Tomari-te and Shuri-te styles were unified to form one school known as Shorin Ryu while Naha-te remained to its true form and became known as Goju Ryu.

The Meaning of Goju Ryu

According to oriental philosophy, to achieve harmony and order in the world, everything must express a balanced nature. So there is night and day, fire and water and so on.

The founder of our style, Grandmaster Chojun Miyagi chose the name Goju Ryu based on precepts from the Chinese martial arts. Go means hard or resilient; Ju means soft or yielding. Therefore Goju Ryu translates as the hard-soft school. This refers specifically to both the technical characteristics of our style and to its underlying philosophy.

The Five Precepts

  • We are proud to study the way of Goju
  • We are courteous in manners
  • We strive to develop courage and fighting spirit (humble yet strong)
  • We cultivate fellowship and understanding (the spirit of Cooperation)
  • We respect the ideals of loyalty and honor, traditional from olden times

Read more articles on Hoshindo Karate at http://karatebrisbane.com/

Events and Outings

Lake District Summer Holiday a huge success!

The Lake District Summer Holiday proved a huge success, with more students than ever deciding to come.

Activities included football, football, more football, some hiking, some canooing, and messing about in the water, and loads of other stuff.

For some children, it was their first time away from home without their families, but you wouldn’t have known it from the way everyone enjoyed themselves.

Sensei Steve needed to sleep for a week afterwards though.