Kobukan Karate Club

Training for the New Year starts next Thursday 8th January 2026. 7:30pm at the Windsor Dojo, New Windsor Community Centre, Hanover Way.
We 'kick off' the New Year with the January Challenge, a gradual build up of press-ups, sit-ups and plank together with our usual basics and kumite. By the end of the month we hope to achieve 20 press-ups, 30 sit-ups, 30 second side planks and 60 second front plank. A modest challenge, geared to blow away the Christmas & New Year excesses 😇 😂
Two focus kata for January: Seipai & Nijushiho, both kata have the same embusen based on the figure Y
Seipai is a Goju Ryu kata brought into SKIF by Kanazawa Soke, unusual for Shotokan practicioners as it features shiko dachi along with sanchin dachi and some rather tasty applications.

Last night’s session concentrated on the breathing katas from Shotokan and Goju Ryu. Hangetsu and Tensho. The discussion points centred on how to develop power in the techniques with no recognised hip twists found in zenkutsu dachi and fudo dachi.
In both hangetsu (half-moon) dachi and sanchin (hour glass) dachi, power comes from the floor as tension arises through a turning motion in the legs, culminating in a focus in the lower abdomen (hara). The glutes and pelvic floor muscles are also engaged to facilitate the development of power. The legs and feet feel like they are screwing into the ground. There’s a lot going on when performing these two katas. OSS!

For many of us the Shotokan path to senior grade level has enabled us to train our bodies to master stance, zuki and geri. The regulated syllabus of kihon, kumite and kata is a very efficient system of body development and martial expertise. However, the typical karate class maybe considered to be quite militaristic in its approach. Students line up in (perfectly) straight lines and then proceed to advance across the dojo performing oi zuki; after five repetitions, there is a resounding kiai (shout) before the class moves backwards performing age uke (upper rising block). The kumite is performed in two lines and is called out by numbers e.g. ‘kihon ippon jodan number one’ (basic sparring with a face attack and an upper rising block with a reverse counter punch). Has it always been taught this way? The militaristic slightly robotic approach to training probably came into being when karate was introduced to school children in Japan.

I am not a robot! For many of us the Shotokan path to senior grade level has enabled us to train our bodies to master stance, zuki and geri. The regulated syllabus of kihon, kumi

Training with Rick Hotton Sensei on Saturday with HDKI. A highly entertaining and informative seminar with Rick demonstrating his amazing dynamic karate 😊🥋

As an addition, Nick invited Sensei Will Manion to his Celebration at the Harrow Leisure Centre. Some of you might remember Will, he is one of Soke’s original students and embraced Soke’s introduction of Tai Chi into SKIF. I reminded Will that the ‘Centred Mind’ videos he did of Kanazawa Sensei performing all 26 Shotokan katas in the nineteen eighties are still the YouTube standards for all SKIF karateka, and act as a definitive reference for our training. He was quite chuffed to realise that. Will is in his eighties and still trains OSS!

I met up with my karate instructor, Sensei Nick Adamou yesterday at the Harrow Leisure Centre, for a celebration of his 60 years of training and teaching Shotokan Karate. Hadn’t seen him for 40 years. I trained with Nick from 1976 to 1984. Well, he’s pretty much as sharp as ever, superb technique and kime at 78 years old. His black belts told me they still can’t get near him in kumite. An amazing array of demonstrations from his UK students and a stunning team from the Czech Republic.
Nick is Chief Instructor of IASK. The International Association of Shotokan Karate. OSS!

Training re-starts tomorrow, Thursday 28th August 7:30 at the Windsor Dojo.

11th September, Roger Carpenter will be running a Yudansha at Windsor and overseeing Dan grade assessments for November

Sensei Tanaka Course on Sunday 23rd November at the Windsor Girls School: 12:30-2:00 and 2:15 - 3:45
Dan grading 4:00 onwards
£40 Seniors
£25 Juniors
Contact Kyoshi Carpenter for tickets

All Shotokan instructors and teachers emphasis kime when practising punching, blocking and kicking. Put simply, kime is the ability to focus power for a split second at the point of delivering your technique. As I understand it, kime is a whole body focus.

I would explain this by referring to gyaku zuki in zenkuzu dachi stance (reverse punch in front stance). Firstly, the body must be relaxed, front knee bent, hips at 450 back leg slightly bent, left arm reaching out in front (hand open), right fist resting on right hip.

https://doi.org/10.3390/sports13070218

This diagram gives you an idea of the muscle groups involved in delivering the reverse punch. The right foot pushes from the floor, the hips twist, the left hand pulls back (hikite) as the right punches. All this is done with speed and a sharp exhalation, culminating in a tensing of the muscles and a squeezing and contraction of the lower abdomen (hara, or tandem, or dantian) and pelvic floor muscles.

Kime and the art of Tameshiwari All Shotokan instructors and teachers emphasis kime when practising punching, blocking and kicking. Put simply, kime is the ability to focus power for a split s

This blog is my reflection on the changes within Shotokan over the past 60 years. You may agree or disagree, either way I welcome your comments.

The evolution of Shotokan This blog is my reflection on the changes within Shotokan over the past 60 years. You may agree or disagree, either way I welcome your comments. It is now ge

Nijuhachio kata (28 steps). This kata was introduced into the SKIF syllabus by Soke Kanazawa. It is very similar to the Sh*to Ryu kata Nipaipo. Nijuhachio is probably SKIF's most advanced kata along with Unsu and Hyakuhachio. Many Dan grades are opting to perform this for Rokudan (6th Dan). It has elements of Shotokan, Goju Ryu, Sh*to Ryu and Tai Chi. An eclectic mix of styles which makes for an interesting study. We don't have many examples of Nijuhachio performed by Honbu dojo instructors. This Youtube clip was filmed on mobile phones in Argentina and put together to show 2 views of Kancho Nobuaki Kanazawa' s demonstration.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1OaRy6avrU&t=15s

Good training for left and right sides, utilising kihon ippon jodan #1

Euan Jones with Kancho Nobuaki Kanazawa a couple of years ago