Mas Oyama : Have We Forgotten his example?
This is one of Sosai Mas Oyama’s quotations that is frequently shared among karateka. It appears on social media, posters,…
Discipline Isn’t a Feeling
Discipline isn’t a feeling. It’s consistency – what keeps you moving forward when motivation doesn’t show up. It’s action, repeated over…
Before the Blog: A Beach Training Story from 1997
While going through some old magazines recently, I came across the July 1998 issue of Kyokushinkai Magazine. It included two…
Shoshin and Shodan: Why the Journey Is Just Beginning
Tucson, Arizona. June 6th, 2026. Three days of seminar under Shihan Mike Monaco had just ended in a formal grading…
We Are Reflections of Our Teacher
Recently I found myself watching one of my students work with a beginner. What struck me wasn’t the techniques he…
The Value of Experience
Competition as Part of Training One thing I have noticed over the last few years attending Kyokushin tournaments is how…
What Shihan Bobby Lowe Told Me
In today’s Kyokushin world, it sometimes seems that every year brings another organization, another split, or another debate about who…
What Made Kyokushin Different?
When people first encounter Kyokushin Karate, they often come away with misconceptions about what they are seeing. Beyond the Misconceptions…
Whatever Happened to the Kyokushin Family?
I’ve been training in Kyokushin for over 46 years now. In that time, I’ve belonged to just two organizations: the…
In Time Our Senses May Be Alert
One of my earliest blog pieces was built on a response to a Facebook post about the first line of…
