Category Archives: Videos

There are 3 basic elements to good Karate; Kihon (basic techniques), Kata (training exercises with predetermined moves), and Kumite (sparring). These 3 key foundations are also referred to as 3 K's.

Many Karate specialists say that Kumite is the spirit of Karate and Kata is the soul, but without your Kihon neither can exist. Thus an equal amount of attention must be given to all 3 basic elements in your training.

When Shōtōkan was being developed, Master Funakoshi's key area of focus was Kata and character building. With the help of his son Gigō Funakoshi, Kihon was then created to better understand Kata fundamentals and to make it easier to teach the complexities of Katas. Although Master Gichin Funakoshi did not encourage Kumite, he later allowed his son to develop this last element.

Gichin Funakoshi (November 10, 1868 – April 26, 1957) is the founder of Shotokan Karate-Do, perhaps the most widely known style of karate, and is attributed as being the "father of modern karate". Following the teachings of Anko Itosu and Anko Asato, he was one of the Okinawan karate masters who introduced karate to the Japanese mainland in 1922. He taught karate at various Japanese universities and became honorary head of the Japan Karate Association upon its establishment in 1949.

This video shows advanced Shotokan-ryu katas, among which Tekki Nidan, Tekki Sandan and Bassai Dai, performed by senior JKA instructors, under the guidance of Grand Master Masatoshi Nakayama.

This video shows the basic katas of Shotokan-ryu karate, among which Heian Shodan, Heian Nidan, Heian Sandan, Heian Yondan, Heian Godan and Tekki Shodan, performed by senior JKA master Yoshiharu Osaka, under the guidance of Grand Master Masatoshi Nakayama.