Latest News directly from the blog

  • Older Kyokushin karateka reflecting as an instructor guides a young student with ADHD during training in a traditional dojo.

    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 more than I expected. After watching a documentary about ADHD,…

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  • Karate students practice drills with synchronized punches while vocalizing “osu” as an instructor observes in a traditional dojo.

    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 in its various forms. To someone unfamiliar with the method,…

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  • Vintage-style illustration of Mas Oyama performing a karate stance, with the quote "I have not permitted myself to be ignorant of any martial art that exists..." beside him and the Kyokushinkai calligraphy (極真会) in the background.

    Mas Oyama : Have We Forgotten his example?

    “I have not allowed myself to be ignorant of any martial art that exists. Why? Such ignorance is a disgrace to someone who follows the path of the martial arts”-…

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  • Bill Stewart in fighting stance in his home dojo, with the words "Discipline Isn't a Feeling"

    Discipline Isn’t a Feeling

    This article is part of my series on the Kyokushin Dojo Kun. In this article I discuss the importance of discipline. Read Part 1: We Will Train Our Hearts and…

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  • 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 articles, including this one about beach training I had written…

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  • Illustration of Sosai Mas Oyama overlooking a lone karate practitioner walking a stone path toward the sunrise, symbolizing the beginning of the Kyokushin journey and relationship between Shoshin and Shodan.

    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 examination, and four candidates had spent the morning being tested…

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  • Senior karate instructor watches a black belt teach a student in a Kyokushin dojo.

    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 was teaching. It was the way he was teaching them.…

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  • Young Kyokushin karate competitor waits beside a tournament ring in a gymnasium before competition begins.

    The Value of Experience

    Competition as Part of Training One thing I have noticed over the last few years attending Kyokushin tournaments is how small many fighting divisions have become, particularly in knockdown competition.…

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  • Shihan Bobby Lowe and Bill Stewart posing together at the 1995 Kyokushin Summer Camp in Honolulu, Hawaii.

    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 is right and who is wrong. It can be easy…

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  • Karate practitioner sits in seiza observing students training in a traditional dojo, with broken bricks resting nearby as sunlight streams through the windows.

    What Made Kyokushin Different?

    When people first encounter Kyokushin Karate, they often come away with misconceptions about what they are seeing. Beyond the Misconceptions One of the most common misconceptions is the belief that…

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