We currently have 3 class days per week. One of my goals is to increase that to 4 during 2019. We’re not quite at the point where that would be justified, but we will get there. Here is my “Top 10” list for regular karate class attendance, somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Not in any particular order. You will progress more quickly. When…
We started our training with the Jo last Saturday (November 17). We will continue each Saturday at or near the end of the children’s class. Eventually we will probably have entire classes dedicated to Jo practice. The younger children are using 7/8″ dowel rods cut to 45″ length. See the previous post “A short explanation of the Japanese Jo” for…
The Jo is a Japanese weapon, a short wooden staff with round cross-section, roughly 50 inches in length and an inch in diameter. (There are variations in the dimensions.) In Japan they have been traditionally made of white or red oak. It is one of the simplest of the weapons that are still studied as part of Japanese kobudo, or…
My friend Yuka invited Shuto Karate Club to give a class for a group of children that meets at her house periodically to learn about Japan and the Japanese language. The name of the group is 日本語で遊ぼう, or, roughly translated, “Let’s have fun using Japanese (language)”. We had about 14-15 children participate, with ages ranging from about 5 to 10,…
On Sunday we did our first demo, during the 50th annual Pennridge Gallery of the Arts. I was very proud watching everyone perform to the best of their ability, or close to it. It is the role of any teacher to bring out the best in each student. We developed and practiced this performance for close to two months, and…
We will give our first demonstration as a club on Sunday, September 16 between 2 and 3 PM. We were invited to do so as part of the 50th Annual Pennridge Gallery of the Arts, an art exhibition and crafts festival held on Main Street in Sellersville. Our demo will take place in the Key Bank parking lot across Main…
I only met the founder of Shuto Karate Club, Louis Rabouin (pictured above at center), once, about a year before he passed away in 2011. We had a class in our club’s headquarters dojo in Skippack (at the time there was only Skippack and Hatfield) and Rabouin Shihan sat in a chair and watched. I remember him sternly correcting my…
Our young student Praachi trains at both the Sellersville and the Skippack dojos of Shuto Karate Club. Right now she’s in India with her family, visiting relatives and the ‘home country.’ While there, she has been training at a Shotokan school in the city of Rajkot when she’s able. Her dad tells me that the classes have 20-25 students and…