Yoshukai Karate: What it is and How I Started

In June of 2010, I was sitting in Joel Dover's Rules of Interpretation class, and the topic moved to martial arts.  As a kid, I studied Tang Soo Do, and I had gotten pretty good at it, but as so often happens, changes in interests turned into a loss of interest.  17 years later, I was about to start martial arts again.  I asked Joel about the cost, which he informed me would not be an issue.  That evening, I visited Athens Yoshukai Karate.

If the cost hadn't caught my attention immediately, the idea of the school would've made cost moot.  Athens Yoshukai is a branch dojo of the World Yoshukai Karate Kobudo Association, and its main dojo is located as an addition to the head instructor's home.  I walked into the house expecting to see some sort of "garage dojo," which I had seen before.  What I found was a work in progress, and an impressive group of people.  I watched 90 minutes of class, and the old interest in the martial arts flooded back.  I recognized certain blocks, kicks, and strikes.  And when I got home, I told my girlfriend Blair that I was pumped to start studying when the dojo accepted new students later in the year.

Since AYK wants to make sure every student can get top quality training, we only accept new students at certain times of the year.  So, I had to wait until September, 2010 to start my training.  On my first day, I opened a door that would change a lot of things about my life and strengthen many others.  I'll tell you more about that on another day.  For right now, let me give you a little background on Yoshukai Karate.

Yoshukai Karate is an Okinawan hard-style martial art.  As a branch discipline of the more encompassing term Karate-Do (meaning "Empty-hand Way of Life"), Yoshukai Karate builds character as well as strength and technique. 

Yoshukai Karate was founded in 1963 by Grandmaster Katsuoh Yamamoto, pictured here.  Soke Yamamoto based his style of karate on Chito-Ryu Karate, which he learned directly from the art's founder, Dr. Tsuyoshi Chitose.  Since then, Yoshukai has spread throughout the world and is known for its focus on traditional forms, weapons, and full-contact fighting.  More on all of this to come later!

Founded in the year 2000, the World Yoshukai Karate Kobudo Organization is the only Yoshukai organization that is overseen by the world headquarters in Kitakyushu City, Japan with the blessing of Soke Yamamoto.



So, this is a very basic background on my beginnings with Yoshukai Karate.  In later posts, I'll describe the training process, ranking, weapons, and other assorted bits of Yoshukai info.  I'll also recount stories of Yoshukai events such as the WYKKO Summer Camp, and the WYKKO Traditional Tournament in Atlanta.

Relaunch

So, it's been a couple of years since I last wrote in this blog, and to be honest, that doesn't surprise me too much.  I ran out of things to write about, or at least things that I thought were funny and pithy enough to add to your list of internet time-sucks.  But, thankfully, now I have an entirely new topic to post about:  martial arts!

For the past 2 years, I have been studying Yoshukai Karate, Kyuki-Do, and Hapkido.  The study of martial arts has re-energized many of my interests, and it has allowed me to get into better shape while learning a new skill.  In addition to more posts about music and other random sundry topics, I'll take you into the fascinating world of martial arts and give you some stories of my involvement.

Why am I relaunching the blog after so long?  I'm glad you asked!  Partly, I've missed writing, and I'd like to get back into recording my adventures.  But, the main reason for thinking about it again is a conversation I had this week with my good friend Greer, recalling a blogging experience from our college days.  So, in short, I'd like something else besides pictures to keep as a memory of this fun time.  So, enjoy and feel free to ask questions--I'm definitely up for responding to any martial arts, music, or other random questions.

See you again soon!