Blog Posts

First Black Belt College Session of 2018

2/12/2018

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the first Black Belt College session of 2018 in Martinez on Sunday, February 11th. Special thanks to Sensei Tom Kubiak for hosting (at Family Martial Arts of America).

The theme for this session was Fluidity. Topics included:

Keri Waza
• Response timing, overtraining hip pendulum action, coordinating breath and movement
Gojushiho Sho
• Body dynamic elements and fluidity of the transition between rapid techniques
Ukemi and a few throws
• Review of rolling and falling technique, throws in self-defense situations and getting out from underneath an attacker if pinned to the ground.

The next Black Belt College session will be on Sunday, April 8th, from 1-4pm in Sacramento, to be hosted by Sensei John Leggett. The dojo has moved since last year. The new location will be Gold River Racquet Club, 2201 Gold Rush Drive, Gold River, CA 95670.

Learn More About the ISKA Black Belt College

Thought of the Day - Feb. 12th, 2018

2/12/2018

Stumbled upon a great website recently: Finding Mastery with Michael Gervais.
He has a great episode with Mark Divine, who has wide background in physical and mental training, including designing training programs for Navy Seals.

One quote from the episode really struck a chord with me:

“Mastery is a progressive process of integration refining the physical, mental, emotional, intuitional, spiritual until they emerge as one.”

5rings

Check out the episode:
https://findingmastery.net/mark-divine/
and check out one of his articles from his "Unbeatable Mind" website:
"What is Mental Toughness and Why is it Important?"
(I love "Embrace the Suck"...)

Ozawa Cup Coming up March 29th - April 1st, 2018 in Vegas

2/8/2018

For those that are interested, the Ozawa Cup is scheduled for Friday, March 29th through Sunday, April 1st this year in Las Vegas. This is a big tournament and can be fun to go as a competitor and spectator.
Please see details below.

Event Website:
http://www.ozawa-tournament.com

For more information:
Email: info@ozawacup.com
or call Sensei James Tawatao at (702) 873-0891

Why is it called the "Ozawa Cup"?
Read about Shihan Osamu Ozawa - lots of interesting karate history! Click the link below.
http://www.ozawa-tournament.com/Shihan%20Ozawa%20Story.htm

TOURNAMENT DETAILS INFORMATION

Register Online

Register by mail

Tournament Rules
• Ippon Shobu Rules
• Nihon Shobu Rules
• WKF Kumite Rules
• Kata & Kobudo Rules

Never Failing

2/2/2018

"I had mistakes, plenty, but I had no failures. We may not have won a championship every year. We may have lost games. But we had no failures. You never fail if you know in your heart that you did the best of which you are capable. I did my best. That is all I could do.

Are you going to make mistakes? Of course. But it is not failure if you make the full effort.

I told my players many times, ‘Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.’ if you prepare properly, you may be outscored, but you will never lose. I wanted our players to believe that to their very souls because I know it is the truth. You always win when you make the full effort to do the best of which you’re capable.

I also know that one one person on earth knows if you made your best effort: not your coach, not your employer, not your husband or wife, boyfriend or girlfriend, brother or sister. The only person who knows is you. You can fool everyone else.”

Kanazawa57

Kanazawa famously competed in 1957 with a broken hand. He did not let his injury be an obstacle to giving his best performance.

From “Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court” by Coach John Wooden, with Steve Jamison. Page 55.
Read more about Coach Joh Wooden and his impact on sport, sport psychology, and leadership.

CoachWooden

Coach John Wooden with his UCLA team. Image from this NYT article.

ISKA Competition Team Updates

1/31/2018

STARTING OFF THE NEW YEAR
We had a good turnout for the Competition Team training on Jan. 27th. If you didn't catch us live on Facebook as we streamed the days activities, you can check it out here and here. Our training consisted of agility ladder training, kata, and kumite drills.

Upcoming Tournaments
Coach Sensei Kevin Little is encouraging everyone to sign up for the AMAS Tournament, coming up on Sunday, March 25th in South San Francisco. This is a well-organized, medium-to-large local tournament for kids and adults featuring Kata, Kumite, Team Kata, & Team Kumite categories.
For more upcoming tournaments, look here.

Next Training Session
We will likely have two more training sessions before the March 25th tournament date. The date has not been definitively decided yet, but will likely be Feb. 24th and March 17th. Please email Sensei Little to RSVP for the trainings or with any questions. (klittle@santenkarate.com)

Current ISKA Membership Required to join Team Trainings
We request that all members have a current ISKA Membership for participation. Please make sure your membership is current. An annual ISKA Membership may be purchased for $35 online or at the event. These trainings are FREE, as a benefit to ISKA Members in preparing them for competition opportunities through precise training methods, experience, and performance feedback.

Learn more about the ISKA Competition Team.

ISKA Panamá Camp to be Cancelled for 2018

1/28/2018

UPDATE: JANUARY 28th, 2018

Good News & Bad News:

Bad News first - On account having low interest in attending this year's ISKA Panamá Camp, we have decided to cancel the 2018 ISKA Panamá Camp as of Jan. 28th, 2018. We realize that students may not be able to attend every year that we offer this amazing training experience, but we hope to try to offer it again next year, and with ongoing interest, on a multi-annual basis.

The Good News - Despite choosing to cancel the ISKA Panamá Camp for 2018, we are still proceeding with the Avi Rokah Seminar, slated for Saturday & Sunday, April 21st & 22nd, to be held in Panamá City, Panamá. So if you were highly disappointed by the cancellation of the ISKA Panamá Camp, you still have a great training opportunity in Panamá, with Kyoshi Avi Rokah. If enough people are interested, we will try to coordinate some sight seeing adventures in addition to the weekend training.

Please email us ASAP with your interest in attending the Kyoshi Avi Rokah Seminar on April 21st & 22nd, so we can begin making arrangements. Please contact us if you have any concerns or questions.

Kind Regards,

Hanshi Ricardo Llewelyn
ISKA President
rllewelyn@santenkarate.com
(510) 599-0581

Laura Lorenz
ISKA Executive Secretary
llorenz@santenkarate.com
(510) 775-1955

Click here to learn more about the Kyoshi Avi Rokah Seminar in Panamá...

ISKA Panama Camp Info Meeting - Sat. Jan. 20th, 11:30am-12:30pm

1/14/2018

18PTYCampMtg

Join us on Saturday, January 20th, 2018 from 11:30am-12:30pm at the Benicia Shotokan Karate Academy or by Conference Call to learn more about the 2018 ISKA Panamá Camp. Please email us at info@santenkarate.com to RSVP for the session or call Hanshi Llewelyn at (510) 599-0581.

ISKA Panama Camp Info Meeting Conference Call Details
Phone: +1 (786) 535-3119 Access Code: 545-232-861
Or use VOIP on computer, tablet of smartphone by clicking on this link
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/545232861

This year's camp follows an extraordinary revival of the camp last May. We are hoping to have an equally awesome camp this year and even more fun activities and sightseeing opportunities in mind for participants before or after the camp.

The ISKA Panamá Camp is THE PREMIERE DESTINATION MARTIAL ARTS TRAINING CAMP in Central America and Panamá is certainly one of the most interesting country in the region - a hub for maritime commerce, financial activities, and exchange of culture.

Learn More about the ISKA Panamá Camp

From Wankan to Unsu: Advanced Kata Review

1/14/2018

Thanks to all those that joined in the Advanced Kata Review on Saturday, January 13th, 2018 at the Benicia Shotokan Karate Academy. 👏🥋 A few others came who didn't stay until the end, and David unfortunately cannot be easily seen in the group photo. 😒...photographer fail....sorry about that. 😬
Read more below...

KataReview

It was a great session covering everything from Gankaku ➰ to Wankan👑 and Chinte✌️to everyone's favorite, Unsu ☁️🙌.

Special thanks to Sensei John Leggett for coming from Sacramento to join us and for sharing some of his expertise on some of the kata. 🙇‍♂️🙇‍♀️ osu

The kata review served to remind us about lots of techniques and transitional moves.... It's easy to forget how much variety of techniques there are in Shotokan. Many of us, especially if we have mixed belt classes, tend to focus on the beginning kata (i.e.- Heian Kata mostly) a majority of the time. More obscure kata like Wankan, Ji'in, and Meikyo often get neglected - and difficult kata like Unsu and Kanku Sho tend to get glanced over if one doesn't feel comfortable with the acrobatic jumps - but these are not good reasons to not practice them - you can always adapt - and it's good to incorporate more open handed and less linear techniques in our kata and focus on the some of the other stances besides fudodachi and zenkutsudachi - and work others like sanchin dachi, sochin dachi, and hangetsu dachi a little more. Good training stances.

#KarateEatSleepRepeat #KarateComeDuermeRepite #osu

What is your #tokuikata? Tell us in the comments below.

Black Belt College in Martinez on Sunday, February 11th

1/11/2018

Dojo Address: 835 Arnold Drive, Suite 106, Martinez, CA
Dojo Phone: (925) 370-6000
Download the flyer.

The first session of the ISKA Black Belt College is kicking off on Sunday, February 11th, 2018 from 1-4pm at Family Martial Arts of America in Martinez, CA, hosted by Sensei Tom Kubiak.
The session will feature Hanshi's Rick Llewelyn and Robert Stevenson beginning the 2018 season with more expert level training to help ISKA black belts and aspiring black belts to continue to refine your karate practice.
New this year, most Black Belt College sessions will be held on Sundays as we received a lot of feedback about schedule conflicts on Saturdays on account of Instructors teaching commitments at their own dojos. Please continue to give us feedback about what works for you and your students.
Also new this year, we are offering a special package - if you buy all 6 sessions for the year now, you will get 1 free.* Member price: $100 for 6 sessions, Non-member price $200 for 6 sessions. This is an incredible value for the type of training received - our goal is to help everyone affordably elevate their training!
*only to be used by a single individual and only good for the calendar year - not transferable to the next year.

Register Now for the ISKA Black Belt College Series

2017 Year in Review

12/30/2017

2017 was a great year - we had many new events including the ISKA Black Belt College series, Panama Camp, and Kata of the Month. We look forward to what 2018 will bring and look forward to training with each and every one of you.

Be sure to check out our Upcoming Events and other Bay Area Karate Events or email us to get onto our email newsletter.

We wish everyone a very happy and prosperous New Year! Let's Train!

Starting the New Year with Beginning & Advanced Kata Review

12/14/2017

We're starting the New Year off with reviewing the Shotokan Kata - continuing to "keep the water in the kettle boiling..."
This year, we're going to separate the review into two sessions.

We will be covering the Beginning Kata on Saturday, January 6th from 10am-1pm at the Benicia Shotokan Karate Academy. Cost is FREE for ISKA Members and we ask non-members to pay a small class fee of $20.
We will be covering as many of the Advanced Kata as we can depending on skill level, knowledge, and time provided on Saturday, January 13th, from 10am-1pm, also at the Benicia Shotokan Karate Academy. Cost for this session is also FREE for ISKA Members and we ask non-members to pay a small class fee of $20.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Email us at info@santenkarate.com.

The Benicia Shotokan Karate Academy is located at 949 Grant Street, Suite B, Benicia, CA 94510.
Dojo Phone (707) 745-1275.

Beginning Kata Review: Saturday, January 6th, 2018, from 10am-1pm

Join the Facebook Event.

Advanced Kata Review: Saturday, January 13th, 2018, from 10am-1pm

Join the Facebook Event.

2017 ISKA Black Belt College Wrap Up

12/5/2017

Thank you to all of the students who were able to join us for the for the last Black Belt College session of 2017. Special thanks to Sensei Mike O'Connor (KUGB) for joining us in Benicia and for sharing his rich karate knowledge and anecdotal stories, including many of Sensei Enoeda. Over the last three weeks that Sensei Mike has been visiting California, he has shared a lot of bunkai, kata technique, kumite strategy, and general enthusiasm for karate. His contributions to this Black Belt College session were equally rich.

This session was the finale to a series of 6 sessions this year aimed at providing more advanced training for our Yudansha, and aspiring black belts, to further refine their technique in kata, kumite, and kihon as well as character development. We intend to continue with these bi-monthly sessions next year and will continue to hold them at different locations throughout the year. We have not finalized the schedule and locations just yet, so please stay tuned for updates; The first session is tentatively planned for the weekend of February 10 or 11th, 2018. If you are interested in hosting a session, please contact us at info@santenkarate.com.

We continue to intend to keep these sessions affordable and accessible at $20 a session for ISKA Members with current memberships and $40 for Non-members. We encourage others from non-ISKA affiliated dojos to attend - we are open to anyone practicing traditional Japanese or Okinawan Karate-dō and occasionally will cover topics that do not fall strictly within our discipline, but which we feel would help develop some aspect of training in the traditional art, such as Yoga, Muay Thai, Chi Gung, Wing Chun, Strength Training Strategies, and other synergistic disciplines.

Last Black Belt College Session for 2017 this Saturday (12/2) at the Benicia Shotokan Karate Academy from 1-4pm

11/27/2017

The last ISKA Black Belt College session for 2017 is coming up this Saturday, December 2nd, at the Benicia Shotokan Karate Academy. This session will include special guest instructor, Sensei Mike O'Connor, 6th Dan with the Karate Union of Great Britain.

When: Saturday, December 2nd, 2017 from 1-4pm
Location: Benicia Shotokan Karate Academy, 949 Grant Street, Suite B, Benicia, CA 94510
Phone: Dojo (707) 745-1275, Hanshi Llewelyn (510) 599-0581
Cost: $20 for ISKA Members with a current membership, $40 for Non-Members.
(Join or renew for $35, renewed annually)

Register for the ISKA Black Belt College

ISKA Black Belt College

Benicia Shotokan Karate Academy Celebrates 25 Years

Don't forget, following the Black Belt College Session, we will be celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Benicia Shotokan Karate Academy from 6-9pm at Pizza Pirate in Benicia!
Please RSVP to the Evite if you are planning on joining us: http://evite.me/NQ5T8X4Pd7

Fremont Black Belt Training Club - Sunday Nov. 19th

11/20/2017

FBBTC 171119

Thank you to Sensei Bernardo Mercado and the Fremont Shotokan Karate Dojo for hosting another great session of the Black Belt Training Club. The session on Sunday, November 19th featured special guest instructor, Sensei Michael O'Connor, 6th Dan with the Karate Union of Great Britain.

Sensei O'Connor is visiting one his old students, Sensei Kevin Little, for a few weeks in California and we were lucky enough to receive a great 1.5 hour lesson from him. Sensei O'Connor leads the Handbridge Shotokan Karate Club in Chester, England.

Sensei Mike has trained for 50+ years, some of that with karate legends Keinosuke Enoeda, Taiji Kase, Hiroshi Shirai, Hirokazu Kanazawa, and many others. His knowledge of karate and kobudo is both deep and broad.

During this session, we warmed up with Heian Oyo (*a variation of the combined Heian Nidan, Sandan, Yondan, and Godan), Sochin kata and certain (very practical) bunkai segments.
Time flew by; it was a jam-packed hour and a half!

Thank you to Sensei Mike. He will be joining the ISKA Black Belt College on Saturday, Dec. 2nd in Benicia as well. So, if you missed this training opportunity, be sure to join us on the 2nd!

Kata of the Month for November & December: Kanku Sho

11/17/2017

mikazukitobigeri

Kanku Sho 観空小

The kata of the month for November & December is Kanku Sho. It has familiar elements of several other kata, but is unique in that is has two jumps - one similar to Empi kata (kaiten-tobi) and one somewhat similar to the jump in Unsu (mikazuki topi geri). (pictured above)

Kata Details
Number of movements: 48
Number of kiai: 2 (move #6 and move #48)
(There is some variety with number of kiai (some add a third kiai)
Related kata:
Kanku Dai, Empi, Jion, Bassai Sho, Gojushiho Sho, Unsu

Signature Techniques
kaiten-tobi – spinning jump
mikazuki-tobi-geri – jumping spinning crescent kick
oi-zuki & zenwan-hineri – lunge punch & forearm twist
tsukami-uke – hand grasping block

Click here for more info

Learn More about Kata of the Month