About the Author
I started studying Shuto Society Karate with C.M. Bookwalter and Dave Salyards in 1979. The class was taught at the YMCA in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania on Sunday and Wednesday evenings.
In 1981 I added Tuesday nights in Williamsburg, and in the summers I added Thursday nights in Martinsburg. I also occasionally visited the classes in Huntington on Mondays and Bellwood on Fridays. Sometimes there were special classes on Saturday mornings in Hollidaysburg as well as many tournaments, seminars and dojo nights (I went to a lot of karate - I was a teenager).
In 1984 I started teaching my own class, which I continued to do for the next 40 years. I also did a lot of cross-training in other karate styles and other martial arts.
At the end of 2024, I retired from teaching.
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While I am not currently teaching, I continue to study and learn. I rotate what I work on, from the following small set of exercises and techniques that I have chosen for myself:
Exercise Sets:
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Temple Qigong
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Head to Toe Warm-Up
Basics:
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Stances
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Front
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Back
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Cat
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Square
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Blocks with Counters
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Rising
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Inside Forearm
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Down
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Outside Forearm
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Kicks
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Front
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Side
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Cut
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Kata:
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Chonan
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I-Hon
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Kick Kata
Special Activities
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Walking
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Resistance Training
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Striking Series (on the bag)
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MY KARATE VALUES
RESPECT - Respect yourself and others. Be on time and ready to start.
SILENCE - Keep talking to a minimum. Avoid drawing attention to yourself.
FOCUS - Concentrate 100% on each activity. Avoid distraction.
DISCIPLINE - Take your practice seriously. Apply 100% of your energy to the effort.
KINDNESS - Intentional infliction of injury is prohibited. Take special care when working with a partner.
SIMPLICITY - If it's too complicated, there are more chances for failure. Keep it simple.
HUMILITY - Be humble about your triumphs and failures. No one of us is more important than another.
ENJOYMENT - Seek to enjoy your practice to make it a lifelong habit.
Any questions? Send them to oriennostalrius@gmail.com
