Light Switches

I was recently discussing with Mike-sensei on this topic, and he recommended that I should write this out as a blog post. There are so many avenues to explore and it’s always great to get feedback and guidance, especially from my sensei! After 25+ years he’s still guiding me along. It’s a beautiful thing when

Media- Gift or Curse?

Certain topics will come to my mind here and there, and this is one of them, especially when I get a wave of newer monteis, it’s almost always asked of me where one can go to get reference materials like videos and books, etc. And true, there is a plethora of stuff out there and

The Karate Gi

I wanted to write one final blog post for the year 2023, and I wanted to touch upon a topic that resounds with newer monteis just starting their karate journey: Why do we wear this uniform we call a gi? I have narrowed it down to 4 key reasons we wear our gi: 1) For

Respect While Visiting Another Dojo

I have had the privilege of training with many martial artists from all over the world. Not all have been practitioners of Goju-Ryu. Even locally, I’ve met several people from other dojos, and it always impresses me when someone from another dojo comes in to try out what the Shindokan offers. There are common courtesies

7 Phrases for Success

I came across a post in my social media feed that I instantly fell in love with. The author put together 7 Japanese phrases that every professional should know for success in their careers; however, as someone who has trained the martial arts most of their life, these phrases aren’t just for business success; they’re