In the history of martial arts, Bodhidharma holds a special place. The third son of an Indian king in the 6th century, he left his homeland and journeyed by boat and then on foot, from South India to China. Eventually arriving near the famous Shaolin temple, it is said he sat in meditation facing a wall for nine years. Suitably impressed with his great spiritual power and discipline, the monks at the temple asked him to teach them his methods for gaining enlightenment. He began to teach them...

Nagamine Shoshin was born in Naha City, Okinawa, on July 15, 1907, the same year that Anko Itosu formulated the five Pinan kata for inclusion in the Okinawan high school physical education curriculum. One of the interpretations of the term Pinan (pronounced Heian in Japanese) is "peace." Ninety years later, Nagamine sensei stood before a packed audience at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii, and gave a memorable speech entitled "KarateDo and World Peace," the complete text...

Renbukai Dojo From the very beginning of my training all the way to the current days I can remember sweeping, dusting, mopping and cleaning the dojo. It was ingrained into Karate as much as any punch, kick or Kata are. The tradition of Soji, cleaning the dojo, is very important in terms of proper character development.In the years I have been teaching I have actually had adult students refuse to clean because they don’t feel they need to. I have had parents of kids complain because they don’t...

Shoshin: The Beginner’s Mind There is a concept in Zen Buddhism known as shoshin, which means “beginner's mind.” Shoshin refers to the idea of letting go of your preconceptions and having an attitude of openness when studying a subject. When you are a true beginner, your mind is empty and open. You're willing to learn and consider all pieces of information, like a child discovering something for the first time. As you develop knowledge and expertise, however, your mind naturally becomes more...

Repetition more repetition much more repetition Repetition is essential to most martial arts because: It deepens the relation between mind and body. Repetition gets your body better innervated for those repeated moves. That’s the mind-body bond. Your body is closer to being an expression of your mind. Besides, we already know that the mind-body relation is reciprocal, such as when posture influences your mood.