Posts by Sophia

You can only imagine the shock waves that Bruce Lee’s article "Liberate Yourself From Classical Karate" first published in the September 1971 issue of Black Belt magazine, caused within traditional...

Over the years, I’ve given a lot of thought to how grading systems are structured and how they can support students on their karate journey. I’ve written a number of posts on this blog about...

Kenwa Mabuni (1889-1952), the founder of Shito Ryu karate, was a visionary Okinawan martial artist whose immense talent and life-long dedication had a profound impact on the development of modern...

Do you have the tendency to raise your hand and ask questions during karate training when you don’t quite understand what’s being shown? Or do you prefer to stay quiet, follow as best as you can,...

This short series covers the origins and meaning of the five spirits of budo, Shoshin, Zanshin, Mushin, Fudoshin, and Senshin, and how they can be cultivated through karate training and applied to...

I recently came across some fascinating comments by Inoue Yoshimi Sensei on the importance of bunkai in the study of kata and karate. In this post, I would like to share and discuss his insightful...