Zen, Mushin, and Awareness in Kyokushin
Over my years in Kyokushin, I’ve had many conversations about Zen and its place in martial arts. Some people see…
Why a Boxer Will Always Win Against a Kyokushin Fighter
A boxer will always win against a Kyokushin Fighter. What? You didn’t know this? We hear it on the internet…
Is Your Karate Really Your Own?
One of the things I’ve come to appreciate after more than four decades in Kyokushin is how much of our…
Giri: What We Carry on Our Gi
The Japanese word giri is often translated as duty or obligation, although neither word completely expresses what it means within…
Could Martial Arts Have Helped Me Manage ADHD?
I wasn’t diagnosed with ADHD until I was in my 60s. I had gone back to college and was struggling…
Osu During Drills: Breathing, Rhythm, and IFK Pedagogy
In IFK classes, students vocalize “osu” with each technique as it’s performed during certain drills, particularly when practicing the syllabus…
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…
