I write a lot about Kata, because I do love it so much, and probably because in the last style I did, practically all attention was given to bunkai of kata. However, I was reminded of something very important this past weekend, by my teacher, Sensei Steve Fogarasi. He said, “Kyokushin karate is a full-contact…
This past week I celebrated one year of Kyokushin Karate training at Contact Kicks in Toronto, and what a year it has been. When I entered the dojo last year I was still married, working in a career I didn’t like, smoking, and not at my optimal health. My how things change. Stepping into that dojo…
Friday marked 2015 KICKS at Contact Kicks Dojo. The annual kicks to start the new year, with 40 rounds of 50 kicks plus 15 to make 2015. To be honest, I was dreading it a little, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. Plus, the fun atmosphere at the…
The weather has been cold here in Toronto. Last night before class it was -17°C (1.4°F), but there was still a great turn-out of committed students. Second class after Christmas break at Contact Kicks in Toronto, and I am feeling it today. The theme of the class was basic combinations and conditioning, with the reminder that…
2014 has been quite a year, to say the least. Towards the end I didn’t post as much as I would have liked, but there was a lot going on, and still much to a degree. Looking back, without a doubt one of the greatest things was my desision to go back into martial arts.…
Reishiki refers to the example of etiquette or ‘correct behaviours’ in the traditional martial art dojo. I was just about to write a piece on dojo etiquette, as it was a strong theme from Monday’s class at Contact Kicks dojo. Sensei Steve Fogarasi was instilling in us the importance of etiquette. Not just from a formal perspective, but from…
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 19,000 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 7 sold-out performances for that many…
This past weekend marked the 2014 End of the Year Gathering and Testing at Contact Kicks Dojo. There were 38 students attending from all disciplines. Kyokushin Karate, Kickboxing and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. The event was full of demonstrations from the students and instructors, as well being focused on awarding belts and certificates to the karate students,…
Originally posted on the Kyokushin Portal and republished here in English with permission. “Uchi deshi does what others can not or are afraid.” Victor Kurylenko and Ivan Kungurov share their impressions (Rengokai) In Japan, the uchi deshi – called live-in disciple, live in the house of the teacher (sensei) or at the dojo. Besides completing the course, the responsibility of the…
In the last post I wrote about the challenges of legalizing full-contact Karate in Ontario, and about our young fighters who traveled to Quebec to compete in the 2014 Budo Giant Challenge. The fighters have returned, with trophies and an amazing experience. For two of them it was their first experience and we were all very…
Three karate fighters from Toronto, Ontario are preparing for a trip to Montreal, because Ontario won’t allow them to display their skills. Larissa Isk and Jhonattan Adames are preparing for semi-contact, and Norihiro Yoshida full-contact. All three train in Kyokushin Karate, a style founded in Japan in 1964 by Masutatsu Oyama. Kyokushin is Japanese for “the ultimate…
I know I have said that I would begin posting more in the fall, and the fall is definitely upon us, but some things have transpired that have interfered with the ability to post, and to train. I debated long and hard whether I should even mentioned it on her, but I have decided to,…
This past year has been a year of transition. There is no comparison to the previous year, and this one has become without a doubt, one of the best in history. Most of this has come from my exposure to Kyokushin Karate at Contact Kicks Dojo, an amazing teacher and philosopher, in my instructor Sensei…
It seems that summer is drawing to a near in this part of the globe. Today is Sep 1 and Autumn is right around the corner. This has been a great summer, and a great year. You know it has been really great for me, because I wasn’t posting much over the summer. It’s hard…
Today marked a new step in my journey on the Martial Way. As you know from my blog, training in Kyokushin Karate has been my focal point for this past seven months, under the tutelage of Sensei Steve Fogarasi, at Contact Kicks Dojo. I am also lucky enough to belong to a dojo that also…
The Martial Way 