Budokai Club

Congratulations to everyone who participated in last night's belt testing. Great work! Let's practice hard over the summer and keep going in Fall 2026. Osu!

SPRING 2026 SCHEDULE
Mon/Wed 8:00-9:30pm
Fri 8:00-9:00pm
Studio F, Ramsey Center

Practices begin on Monday, January 12, and end on Monday, April 27. No practices will be held on Friday, January 16 and Monday, January 19 (MLK Holiday) or Friday, March 6 through Friday, March 13 (Spring Break).

New members are welcome! See http://karatedo.uga.edu for details.

Shorinji Ryu Karatedo Practices begin Monday, August 18, and end Monday, December 1. No practices will be held on Monday, September 1 (Labor Day) or Wednesday, November 26 (Thanksgiving Break).

Congratulations to Zacorey, Janaan, Vivian, Maja, and Emily (and Jonathan and Misael, not shown) for their promotions at the end of Fall semester!

This weekend senior Budokai members traveled to Selmer, Tennesse, for the Ogasawara-ha Shorinji Ryu Karate-do Fall Seminar. The seminar was led by three of the senior teachers of our style in the USA: our national director. Keoki Lincoln from the Goshinkan dojo in Iowa; Budokai head coach Brad Cahoon; and Alan Youngerman from the Isshinkaikan dojo, our hosts in Tennessee.

Congratulations to the Budokai's Charles Van Rees for testing successfully for the rank of Shodan (first-degree black belt) in Shorinji Ryu Karatedo. We're proud of you!

Belated congratulations to everyone who tested for promotions in April! Let's put some wear on those new belts this semester!

FALL 2025 SCHEDULE
Monday and Wednesday, 8:00-9:30 PM
Studio F, Ramsey Student Center

Practices begin Monday, August 18, and end Monday, December 1. No practices will be held on Monday, September 1 (Labor Day) or Wednesday, November 26 (Thanksgiving Break).

New members are welcome!

Send a message to learn more

Congratulations to Budokai coach Lynne Seymour on receiving the 2025 Sandy Beaver Excellence in Teaching Award! These awards annually honor outstanding faculty in UGA's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences who have shown a sustained commitment to high-quality instruction.

Thank you, Seymour Sensei, for generously sharing your knowledge with your students in statistics and in karatedo!

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... and we're back, starting tonight! We're on the same schedule as last semester.

New/prospective members are welcome! Tryout waivers are in effect until January 23, so you can sign in with Club Sports staff at Ramsey to participate now and complete the online form later.

SPRING 2025 SCHEDULE
Monday and Wednesday, 8:00-9:30 PM
Friday, 8:00-9:00 PM
Studio F (Mind & Body Studio), Ramsey Student Center

Send a message to learn more

Congratulations to the Budokai club members who earned belt promotions at the December 2 test. Let's keep training hard in 2025!

This group worked hard last night at our special training for Karate Day. Here are the kata we trained:

Taikyoku
The name Taikyoku refers to the Chinese cosmological concept of Taiji (太極), “first cause.” Three Taikyoku kata were created in the late 1930s by Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan karate, and his senior students. "... the Taikyoku kata should be considered elementary as well as the ultimate form. In fact, the Taikyoku kata is the very prototype of a karate kata ... " (Funakoshi, Karatedo Kyohan).

Heian Shodan
The Pinan (Heian, “Peacefulness”) kata were created by Anko Itosu from about 1902 to 1907, as karate was first being taught in the high schools of Okinawa. The sequence of five kata serves as a progressive curriculm. It is based in part on older kata such as Passai, Kusanku, and Channan. Versions of Pinan/Heian kata are practiced in many different styles of karate.

Sanchin
Sanchin (三戦, “Three Battles”) is a kata of Southern Chinese origin using focused breathing and muscle contraction to develop power. Sanchin was brought to Okinawa by Kanryo Higashionna (1853-1915) and further developed by his student Chojun Miyagi (1888-1953), the founder of Goju Ryu karate.

Tensho
Tensho (転掌, “Rolling Hands”) was created in 1921 by Chojun Miyagi as a sister kata to Sanchin, apparently based on the White Crane form Rokkishu and the text of the Bubishi.