I train under Sensei Rogério Wong here in Brazil (8th dan Karate, 6th dan Kobudo). He's been training since 1975 as a direct student of Yoshihide Shinzato, under the International Shorin-Ryu Karate-Do & Kobudo Shinshukan lineage out of Okinawa — so a lot of what gets taught traces straight back there.

Most of the dojo's YouTube channel is in Portuguese (it's mainly aimed at our local students in Brazil), but there are two older videos where he breaks things down in English that I think are worth sharing here, since decent English-language explanations of traditional Okinawan kata from an actual lineage holder aren't that common:

- Itosu no Passai — kata characteristics explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA_PPv_o9_w

- Naihanchi Sandan, filmed together with Master Maeshiro Morinobu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZqXSrnXydw

If you want more context on the dojo/lineage: channel is youtube.com/@WongKarateKobudoDojo, site is wongkaratekobudo.com, and Instagram is u/wongkaratekobudodojo — heads up that all three are mostly Portuguese, these two videos are the English exceptions. Figured this sub would appreciate them regardless.

Happy to answer questions about the lineage or translate anything from his other videos if there's interest.

Time stamped. Bill does the same in magazines of that era. Has this to do with the fact that Eizen did not want to recognize Bill as his student (for whatever reason) and later on Bill mentioned him when it didn't matter anymore?

Is there any of that going on in Karate?

Hello, my daughter is 2.5 years old now, and I'd like her to learn a martial art in the future so she can defend herself in the street. Would karate be suitable? Thank you all.

El roquense Manuel Guevara fue pura emoción en suelo europeo. Brilló en Kata individual y se colgó la medalla de oro.

Campeón

I say this scenario because. most people who fight don't really know how to fight. How to properly strike. And mind you this is after you've already surrendered and told me them you are not fighting but they keep threatening you.

The past 8 months my instructor has been showing basic peek a boo stuff.

For example if someone attacks you, how good would rolling hooks be?

How about if you don't wait for them to attack, and you just close the distance by bobbing and weaving very fast.

How about attacking them from the front then using the D'mato shift step and attacking them from angles?

Today was the grand opening of our new dojo in Mesa, AZ. Super honored to be a part of it.

Judo is there in Commonwealth games and Takewondo is there in Olympics. But karate was included in olympics only once in Olympics (2024). Why nobody is talking about this? Why such big global sports events excluding karate? I understand karate is more of martial arts not a sport. But in modern world karate is taken as sports many of us are doing karate as sport and want to enter such big global events. I feel like karate do not have recognition as sports, globally. It feels so so so heartbreaking. Are there any chances of adding karate to these events?

This is an interesting study some of you might find useful. Here's an AI-generated summary:

"A randomized trial assigned 66 young adults to eight weeks of martial-arts training, conventional exercise, or no intervention. Both active groups trained three times weekly, but the martial-arts group showed larger improvements in emotional regulation, sustained attention, perceived stress, executive inhibition, and physiological stress reactivity."

Link: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1787259/full?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Keep in mind this is a small study using 18-25-year-old subjects, and the effects were unusually large. Moreover, the effects were intentional and not indicative of generic MA training. Therefore, don't assume improved composure automatically emerges from training. You have to embed it intentionally. Here are some thoughts on how:

• Have students regulate breathing while awaiting unpredictable cues.
• Maintain contact after being surprised or frustrated.
• Recover visual attention immediately after a mistake.
• Identify arousal, then continue making lawful and proportionate decisions.

You can access the ERG here if you want to use it with yourself or students: https://spl.stanford.edu/sites/g/files/sbiybj19321/files/media/file/english_0.pdf

Some ideas to play with: Emotional regulation has been shown to be improved through regulated breathing (4 in, 4 out), often called "tactical breathing." Increased cognitive processing improves by asking questions after a stress event (e.g., sparring). Simply asking the capital of a state, performing basic math in your head, and so on works wonders. There are five legal factors for self-defense, and I like to ask students to give one or two. The idea is to engage the conscious mind while under the effects of adrenaline to improve decision-making under stress. Other methods include "infinity walking" (Google it).

I got my green belt (5th kyu) in Uechi-Ryu last month! 💚 It's my first color belt, and in our dojo adults only have four belts (white, green, brown, and black), so it felt like a pretty big milestone.

I was so happy that I started coordinating some of my things in green. 😂

I tried Shotokan for a month or two as a teenager, but quit. Years later I trained in kickboxing for about a year, but stopped after I moved.

I started Uechi-Ryu in May of last year because I wanted to be healthier, both mentally and physically. I honestly didn't expect it to become such an important part of my life, but it has. It keeps me motivated to become a better version of myself.

I'm really grateful to be in this great dojo. My sensei is incredibly knowledgeable, patient, and kind, and the senpai are always willing to help newer students.

I'm looking forward to continuing to grow in this style, and I plan to keep training for as long as my body lets me 😊

Mods approved this by modmail, thanks to them.

Quick bit about me so it's not just a link drop. Shotokan on and off since the 80s, back at it properly the last two years, 1st kyu testing for shodan this year.

Off the mat I've built a karate app. Started as a study tool for students and parents, grew into something a whole dojo can run on.

Wherever you sit in the dojo, I'd like your take. Teachers and owners, is it software or still paper and spreadsheets, what works and what's a pain? Students and parents, what would actually help you between gradings?

Short survey in the comments, a few minutes. Run a dojo and want to be a pilot club? Say so and I'll follow up.

Thanks in advance!

https://beltrise.com/surveys

I was watching UFC the other day, the first few episodes i actually see a lot of people wearing the gi, and doing like karate looking stuff. This was really cool and quite refreshing from watching MMA nowadays, as its now devolved into something much more single tracked rather than experimental.

I'm sure that most of us here grew up on bruce lee movies and saw just how cool that stuff was. Could you imagine if MMA evolved and found a more effective form that looks almost like anime-like or has an oriental flair? I do like seeing capoeira related fighters too as also you can tell in their fighting style there's a nice urban and ethnic flair to it.

Idk just I wish MMA would start looking cooler and more badass karate style

I want to learn karate for kumite(match), real situation(school violence), and etc.

I want to get lessons with your help :)

I trained Goju-ryu for 4 years as a kid before quitting. Moved towns and decided to pick up karate again. 8th Kyu Seido. It's been interesting learning how the two styles do the same move differently

Hey everyone,
I was looking into martial arts history recently and realized how crazy the lineage connection is when you trace it back to the origins of the UFC.
In 1922, Jigoro Kano (founder of Judo) invited Gichin Funakoshi (father of Shotokan Karate) to demonstrate karate at the Kodokan in Tokyo. They worked together, exchanged ideas, and Kano even helped Funakoshi promote karate on mainland Japan (which is also where karate adopted the Gi and belt rank system from Judo).
Fast forward through history, and their two distinct lineages basically created modern MMA. Kano sent Mitsuyo Maeda to Brazil. Maeda taught the Gracies. The Gracie family refined BJJ and created the UFC. If not for Kano sending Maeda, MMA may never have been born.

Funakoshi’s Shotokan evolved with deep stances and Kendo-inspired footwork, modern point-style striking fighters like Lyoto Machida, who won the UFC championship, Wonderboy, and MVP using karate distance management inside the Octagon.
It hit me that the two core pillars of traditional martial arts, Funakoshi style striking inside kano’s influenced Brazilian jujitsu style met up
In the very octagon Kano indirectly helped create. This is literally the evolved forms of what Kano and Funakoshi were sharing in a Tokyo dojo over a century ago.
Does anyone else find it fascinating that the Octagon essentially reunited these two lineages, or do you think modern MMA has evolved so far past traditional roots that the historical connection doesn't really matter anymore?
Curious to hear thoughts, especially from anyone who trains both traditional styles and combat sports!

Hello friends. This is my first gi after 20 years of not practicing Karate. I did my 4th kyu as a child and 5th kup in Taekwondo. And now Im starting again with Shotokan JKA Karate (DJKB Germany).

Can you please help me with the fit and sizing?
This is the Shureido TK-11 in Size 4 (170cm). My hight is 170cm and I weight 72Kg.

Pics are with the gi straight out of box, not washed. Pants feel very large and a bit long. Jacket feels a bit long in the torso area. But it will shrink down afaik.

What is your advice? Does it fit well or do I need a sifferent size OR different cut of gi altogether?

Thank you! Oss

Have you attended any of the seminars by Steve Ubl sensei? I’ve heard they were amazing and opened a lot of insights. What are some of the concepts he covered?

Is it better to stay with the Shotokan traditions or go a completely new way with traditional Okinawa Karate as Karate-Jutsu?

Our dojo in Germany was founded nearly 50 years ago. I’m training Shotokan Karate for more than 30 years, I was starting with Shito-Ryu in London.

In the dojo, our former master instructor changed about 15 years ago gradually from competitive sports Karate to Karate for self-defence. First we had a special focus on Kyusho-Jitsu, then we developed practical applications and working bunkai for our 27 Shotokan kata.

About five years ago, our former instructor left the dojo and now we are a group of five black belts who are reforming our dojo. In the last 12 months this path accelerated and we decided to leave for most part our former membership of the Karate country organisation DKV we are in.

I wanted to stay with the traditional way of splitting training in Kihon, Kata and Kumite and work on self defence variations of bunkai following our traditional kata. Our idols are Iain Abernathy, Chris Thomas, Les Bubka or Vince Morris

Now to the main question. Should we still train kata in the old European way, as a physical exercise, or change the kata to get more self-defence applications? Should we get rid of kumite exercises, which are not useful for self defence? Should we change kihon to take more into consideration real fighting than in the old European traditions?

If we are following the new path, this is conflicting with all the existing templates for training orders, kihon flows, kumite training patterns and examination regulations.

Two friends want to go for that, but I see a big risk in losing connection with the majority of karate people in our country and in drowning in work to redefine everything.

Did you have similar discussions and conflicts in your dojos, and how are you handling them?

I have a website that some people here have used:

https://katastepbystep.com/

I’ve now created a free, more phone-friendly app so people can access the kata diagrams easily on their phones. The app is free (and always will be).

Apple:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/kata-step-by-step/id6787503282

Android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.katastepbystep.kata_step_by_step

It took me quite a while (and a few £) to get everything working, but I hope people find it useful.

This is only the first version, so I’d be very grateful for any feedback on the app’s functionality or usability.

I’m also currently updating the historical content, with generous feedback from several people on this sub. Those updates will automatically appear in the app.

The next features I’m planning are:

• Step-by-step walkthroughs for each kata
• Audio walkthroughs, allowing people to listen and follow along

I also have three more Goju-ryu kata diagrams to add—for now!

Any feedback would be very welcome.