Senshu Koen Park located in Akita City, Japan, built at Kubota-jo Castle, former castle of the Satake clan, the feudal lords of Akita

The Japan training expedition – it’s not a vacation

Preparing for Your Summer Budo Gasshuku in Japan: A Guide for Participants Many Sensei and instructors have undoubtedly prepared their students for summer budo (Karatedō, judo, kendo, etc.) Gasshuku, but sometimes, written instructions can be invaluable. Some portions of this memo may be familiar to those who have access to

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Gojuryu.net Do-gi comparison chart

Big Karate Kata do-gi review

Do-gi Review for 10 Kata Model Dogi from 8 Brands Before my trip to Japan in August 2023, I decided to undertake the task of reviewing 10 Kata model dogi from 8 different brands. As someone who stands at 6'3" (190.5 cm) tall, finding the right-sized dogi is crucial, especially

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Required JKF kumite gear as of 2022

Return to Japan 2023 Week TWO

Continued from Return to Japan 2023 Week ONE August 16th, 2023 - Wednesday: Travel and Rest. Today marked a travel and rest day, although I use the term "rest" loosely. After a final breakfast at the hotel canteen, we boarded the Shinkansen to Tōkyō 東京 at 09:50 am. Despite Ōmagari 大曲市

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Vassie Naidoo Shihan (LA) Alexandra Alan (MP) Takahashi Satoru, Johnpaul Williams, Shiho Azuma Williams and Sanjit Mandal. USA representatives with Takahashi Shihan in Japan

Return to Japan 2023 Week ONE

August 7th, 2023 - Monday: En Route to Narita Airport. As I begin this first entry, I find myself mid-flight on Japan Airlines, en route to Narita Airport. Despite some minor turbulence causing the plane to sway gently, I'm pleasantly surprised by the unwavering performance of the satellite internet connection

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Group joint training with Tri-Valley Pleasanton Seiwakai Karate

Calendar updates

I've long put off posting a club calendar because there simply wasn't an efficient app that was easily updateable, so I apologize for not just making a Google sheet sooner and posting for everyone, so here we go. I'll also cross post this to the "Schedule & Calendar" so it

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2023 July update + clarified grading requirements

August 2023: As summer ends, we again leave for Japan for our annual Seiwakai training in Akita and the JKF Gōjūkai taikai (convention), in Osaka. I'll make photos available and share them through the website (Gojuryu.net) as well as our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/bayareakarate). Our special guests this year at our

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