Our Seibukan National Training and Hall of Fame Awards Banquet begins on Friday, May 6th, at 2:00 pm. We will have two portable makiwara on display. Sensei Charles Ray made the portable makiwara and the attached video will assist in guiding our Seibukan members to make their own, portable makiwara.  The makiwara, or striking post, is an important part of Seibukan training. The makiwara is not for making the knuckles bigger but to develop the forearm and hip strength needed to insure you can make the best punch possible. Punching the air creates speed and the resistance of the makiwara increases strength. The combination of will develop the best punch.  There is a long buffer before the video starts playing.....the video is 14 minutes long. We will post a shorter video soon.... Gambatte Dan Smith...

I met with Soke Yasushi Matayoshi, Itokazu sensei and Hatta san while I was on Okinawa to edit the final English documents for the Matayoshi Kodokan Kobudo World Tournament and Seminars. The attached video was made in the Matayoshi home above the Kodokan Dojo. In October of 2010 Soke Matayoshi, the son of Soke Matayoshi Shinpo, Itokazu sensei, Shimabukuro sensei and myself met several times to develop the plans for these events.  The decision was made to invite all Matayoshi method of kobudo practioners to the tournament and seminars.  October 2011 is a great time to visit Okinawa. October 9th the Annual Naha Giant Rope Pull will be held. This event draws over 280,000 annually to watch and participate. The morning of the event there are parades and karate/kobudo demonstrations along the famous Kokusai Dori. The Uchinan Chu Tai Kai or Okinawan Peoples Festival will be held the week after the rope pull culminating on October 14 & 15 with demonstrations of karate and kobudo by virtually all ryu ha and dojo of Okinawa. The Kodokan seminars will begin on October  17, 18 & 19 with a karate seminar for the participants on October 20 by Hanshi Zenpo Shimabukuro (Shorin Ryu), Hanshi Seisho Itokazu (Konan Ryu) and Hanshi Yoshio Kuba ( Goju Ryu). The kobudo tournament will conclude the activities October 23....

I wanted to share a view of a typical training session at the Jagaru Seibukan Dojo. Zenpo sensei and his son, Zenshun divide the teaching between adults and youth. All train together thru basic training and then seperate for focused training. The patience but yet demanding instruction is evident along with the appreciation for the effort. Jason Quero and Stephen Herskowitz are in the video. Jason is a new member to Seibukan and Stephen was visiting with the Rengokai/CFA tour. I hope you enjoy and learn from watching the two sensei teach. Gambatte Dan Smith...

One of the great learning experiences that I receive when visiting Okinawa is watching Zenpo sensei teach. The group that sensei was teaching Ananku was made up of two new American students (the best potential I have seen in years), Jason Queor, new Seibukan member from Livermore, CA (Jason has years of experience in Shotokan and has great potential.....a very nice young man), Steve Herskowitz from Toronto who was a member of the CFA/Rengokai tour group and several young Okinawan brown belts. Watching sensei lead the group is teaching by example....is there a better way of learning from the head of Seibukan? A key learning on this video is the footwork on the elbow strike. I hope you get as much out of watching as I did. Gambatte Dan Smith ...

First, I would like to apologize for not keeping up with the daily blog that I had started when I arrived on Okinawa, March 24th. The first few days I had sufficient time but after we began the photo shoot of Hanshi Shimabukuro my time was consumed. We shot over 5,000 photos over six days....the goal is to use approximately 1,100 for the text book on Seibukan. Taking the pictures took on the average of 8 hours a day and then the review process had to be completed before the next session. So, my time was limited to blog....I will catch up now that I am back home. Hanshi Shimabukuro was presented the bo that Kyan used while I was visiting Okinawa. The research effort for the book on Kyan has opened up a considerable effort on many residents of the Kadena effort....sensei Kunio Uehara has been of great assistance. We have more information about Kyan that has not been shared in writing previously. One of the members of the research team contacted a Kayn family member and this person brought the bo to Hanshi Shimabukuro...

We began the photo session at 9:30 am with Zenpo sensei as the subject, Isagawa sensei as technical support and assisting Zenpo sensei to insure the right postures were captured and David Chambers was the photographer. We had set up the dojo with a back drop, lighting equipment (Murphey's Law overcome) and tables for the computer equipment, etc late on the 30th so we were ready to shoot the photos. After a brieft review of the lighting, distancing from the camera we began the next ten hours of taking photo of all of the kata of Seibukan. Seisan kata took about an hour and a half....we had to get the process down of taking the photos that Zenpo sensei wanted....angles, breakdown of some movements and capturing his very fast kicks in a way that he wanted them to be. After the first round of photos...Zenpo sensei would review on the computers and identify photos for re-shooting...he also identified the postures he...

The tale of today can only be fully appreciated if you knew how much preparation David Chambers (publisher/editor of Classical Fighting Arts Magazine and I  had put into being prepared to complete our project on time. Many of you know my penchant for detailed plans, etc so hopefully you will appreciate this story. Joy and I had ordered lighting for the photography session as David had not been able to find lighting to rent on Okinawa. The lighting was delivered on schedule and when I arrived I went thru the packing list to make sure everything was shipped.....well everything on the packing lisg was shipped....but when David Chambers arrived and began setting up the equipment he noticed that one slight detail....no bulbs in the lighting equipment.....a slight panic at this time especialy since we had spent our noon hour looking for three way adapters for the two prong electricial plugs used on Okinawa....I never needed the three prong...yes for my PC friends a Mac does not require a ground. It was difficult...

Just as I was getting over the jet lag and sleeping well I heard my computer signal I had recevied an e-mail at 5:30 am this morning. Being the anal retentive person that I am I had to look and see what it was....maybe a message from home...there were several e-mails but one was from Jason Quero assisting with information about the video not being complete on the blog....well the use of the Mac struck again...the PC world just will not cooperate. Two hours later the problem was solved and now their is video that I am sure you will want to watch....Be Sure To Click on Read More to get to the video...if it is slow starting up wait it out...More later today...the weather has cleared up so I am headed for the beach for my workout.

Gambatte from Okinawa

Monday March 28 was a typical day for Seibukan members on Okinawa....wake up early from jet lag....go to workout at 8:00 am...return to the condo by 11:00 am for catching up on e-mail, washing your gi, and finding some time to take a nap. Tuesday March 29....same daily routine but today Hanshi Shimabukuro needed to go to Naha to a 'karate" organization meeting which gave me a chance to go to Shuriedo...I spent about an hour visiting Nakasone san (owner of Shuriedo) who I first met in 1969 in his first shop that was about 1/10 the size of Shuriedo is today. What an amazing business story of taking a product on a small island and having your brand recognized world wide as the standard for karate dogi. Headed back north to Chatan around 3:30 to meet with Isagawa sensei and then over to Zenpo sensei's office. We talked about the old days for an hour or so then went out to run errands...the video clip is of the errands and then dinner at the Four Seasons Resturant...one of the best meals I have had in years..no...

The Okinawa Ken Karate-Do/Kobudo Rengokai 2011 National Youth Tournament was held on Sunday March 27th in Urasoe City. Zenpo sensei and the Seibukan Dojo on Okinawa; Jagaru Dojo, Ozato Dojo and Isgawa Dojo had approximately 20 competiors participate in the kata only tourname for elementary, junior high and high school students. There were over 500 competitors entered in the tournament. The competitors were from Okinawa and mainland Japan. The "Rengokai" as it is referred to is virtually the same group of sensei that led in the 1996 Olympic Karate event, the 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2003 Okinawa world tournament events. During the "Bento" box lunch break Zenpo sensei and I identified close to half of the "Rengokai" members as people that have visited our Seibukan dojo in America. Many of these "Rengokai" members participated in the two "Masters Tour" sponsored by Seibukan  in the U.S. The tournament was well run and coordinated by sensei Yoshio Kuba, the managing director of the "Rengokai". Isamau Arakaki,...