O-Sensei Shoshin Nagamine Performs Yakusoku Kumite in 1983 Karate Illustrated Cover Story A recent post came across my facebook feed that included some scans of an old Karate Illustrated magazine (November 1983) with O-Sensei Shoshin Nagamine on the cover. They … Read More

Still Mind Martial Arts Masters Series (#1A) An Interview with Kyoshi Todd Keane and Shidoshi Kristen Keane Both my father and I train at the Academy of Traditional Karate in Wilmington Massachusetts. We have been training there for about 16 … Read More

I’m proud to be an American every day but even more so on Independence Day! I’m proud to be a citizen of the greatest nation on earth, founded on the principles of FREEDOM and LIBERTY for ALL! It was in … Read More

I came across an interesting article that discusses the differences between old-style Okinawan Shuri-te and Naha-te and the concepts of irimi and tai sabaki. It also described quotes from Choki Motobu and related the concepts to his kumite. It especially … Read More

I have read a couple of books written by O-Sensei Shoshin Nagamine, the founder of our style of karate – Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu. So I know a little bit about him. After O-Sensei Shoshin Nagamine retired in 1991 his son … Read More

Here is a great Yakusoku Kumite article that I came across during my online research that discusses the creation and history of Yakusoku Kumite by Shoshin Nagamine at least twenty years before the publication of his book. The Article is … Read More

Yakusoku Kumite VII shows how to control, block & counter strike a grab. It introduces the principle of checking the grabbing arm to monitor and control its position before simultaneously blocking and counter striking. This Yakusoku Kumite VII video study … Read More

Yakusoku Kumite VI shows how to bait an attacker with a false target while introducing the principle of simultaneously blocking/grabbing and striking. It also introduces the principle of shifting and rotating your body to remove the target. This Yakusoku Kumite … Read More

A bit of sad news today for Matsubayashi karateka around the world. This month they tore down Shoshin Nagamine’s Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu dojo. Shoshin Nagamine’s Dojo is Demolished. This was the birthplace of Matsubayashi Ryu where Matsubayashi practitioners around the … Read More

Yakusoku Kumite V shows how to defend against and use kicks while introducing the principle of simultaneously blocking/grabbing and reflexively kicking. It also introduces the principle of constantly changing angles and counter attacking from the sides. This Yakusoku Kumite V … Read More