Articles

Martial Arts Concepts

 

In this section we will present a number of interesting articles on martial arts concepts in general and at times, karate specifically. Obviously there is a wealth of information available on these very esoteric subjects and we can cover only a very small part of this field and in doing so we hope you can see the relationship between the writings and the martial art we study.

Many of the concepts we present here are ones that we use daily in our dojo and if not overtly, they are understood to be at the core of what we study. It’s interesting that we find lot of this information is enjoyed by both martial arts practitioners and casual observers (non-participants) alike and the reason is that in a lot of cases, these concepts can be applied to life outside the dojo in one’s personal or business life.

We will be updating this section fairly regularly but if there’s anything that you would like to see here just let us know.

The Twenty Precepts

The Twenty Precepts

Click here to find out the meaning of the Twenty Precepts of Karate-do and how they were created.

The twenty precepts of karate-do

The origin of the Shotokan tiger symbol

The origin of the Shotokan tiger symbol

When did the famous Shotokan tiger symbol originate and by whom? Click here to find out.

The origin of the Shotokan tiger symbol

The meaning of ``karate``

The meaning of ``karate``

What does the word ``karate`` actually mean? Click here to find out.

The meaning of “karate”

The meaning of the word ``Shotokan``

The meaning of the word ``Shotokan``

Click here to find out about how Shotokan Karate got its name.

The meaning of Shotokan

The concept of zanshin

The concept of zanshin

A common thread with all martial arts is zanshin. Click here to find out more.

The concept of Zanshin

``Ossu`` what does it mean and how do we use it?

``Ossu`` what does it mean and how do we use it?

Click here to learn about the origins and use of this universally used martial arts word

“Ossu” . . . what does it mean?