Kansas Seibukan Karate YMCA

We worked on kata and some self-defense. This was the first time some of them had to react to an impromptu attack. They learned how to MOVE!

So proud of the kids in the Little Tykes class at the Y. This picture shows the ones who tested this week as well as the new students this month. These kids are great and work so hard. Congratulations and keep going!

The best advice for your child is not to "follow their passion."
It is to "master their discipline."
Passion is a feeling; discipline is a superpower.
Passion is a fire that burns bright and hot, but it is unreliable.
It shows up when things are exciting and new.
It vanishes at the first sign of boredom, struggle, or monotonous hard work.
The hard reality is this:
A life built only on passion is a house built on sand.
Discipline is the bedrock.
Discipline is what gets you out of bed when motivation is gone.
Discipline is what makes you practice when you don't feel inspired.
Discipline is what turns an amateur's dream into a professional's reality.
The passionate person quits when the feeling fades.
The disciplined person succeeds long after the feeling is gone.
Don't teach your child to wait for a feeling to strike.
Teach them how to build a habit.
Passion might start the race, but only discipline will ever finish it.
Author: Arsalan Moin

This raggedy band of misfits (plus one more) had a great day at the Demura Cup karate tournament in Pittsburg, KS today. A big thank you to Sensei Otter and the Pittsburg dojo for hosting and the invitation. I'm so proud of these kids (they are all kids to me, even the 2 big ones :)). They represented Seibukan and our dojo well.

Does Karate really perfect ones character ?

Short answer:
Karate can — but only if you approach it the right way.

Longer answer:
Gichin Funakoshi (your karate grandfather, basically) said that the ultimate aim of karate is not victory or defeat, but the perfection of one’s character.

But, and this is important just doing karate techniques doesn’t guarantee that at all.

You could train for 10 years and become a beast at fighting, but still be arrogant, selfish, or even a bully.

Karate perfects character only if you consciously practice the deeper lessons: patience, humility, resilience, respect and self-control.

• When you hold stances for what feels like forever, you’re learning perseverance.
• When you bow to your opponent before and after sparring, you’re learning respect.
• When you lose a match or fail a grading and still keep training, you’re learning humility and grit.
• When you hold back your full strength during kumite to protect your partner, you’re practicing compassion and control.

Karate, at its best, challenges your ego every single day and that’s how it shapes character.
But only if you let it. Some people resist it and end up just being good at punching, nothing more.

One of my favorite Bushido sayings that ties perfectly to this is:

“Victory over others is strength. Victory over oneself is true power.”

Karate gives you the tools but you have to do the real forging of your character.

James and I learned a whole bunch at our first Matayoshi Kobudo seminar this past weekend. Looking forward to learning and training this style.

February 2025 testing.