Posts Tagged ‘Okinawa’
Meal Blessings for a Healthier, Happier Okinawan, Japanese Meal
When we made our big trip to Okinawa, Japan, we learned some beautiful, important cultural traditions regarding meal blessings.
Read MoreA Peaceful and Free World: An Okinawan Ideal
This Guiding Principle contains some of the most powerful words in Nakamura Sensei’s instructional document. Especially considering the tumultuous struggles of Ryukyu history. Even after all of the turbulence, Nakamura O Sensei still held high the ideal of a peaceful and free world. In fact, he instructed his students (and by extension, traditional martial artists in current times) to build such a world.
Read MoreOkinawa Shuri Castle Photo a Favorite
This photo at Shuri Castle is one of my favorite group photos and general karate pictures. For me it symbolizes Ryukyu no shin – the heart of the Ryukyu Kingdom, or the heart of karate from Okinawa in current times.
Read MoreThe Okinawan Sweet Potato
The Okinawan sweet potato was one of the few things that I missed out on when we visited Okinawa. There, purple sweet potatoes are a part of the culture in the cooler months of autumn and winter. Small trucks with ovens on the back go around selling fresh roasted sweet potatoes. I hear they are…
Read MoreVeggies Please! How to Increase Vegetables
Okinawan elders live longer, more physically active lives well into old age. And later they spend less years in nursing homes at the end of life. One of the things that helps them keep robust physical health is their diet. And the most obvious difference in nutrition? Okinawans traditionally eat a lot more veggies than…
Read MoreVegetables of Okinawa: Top 10
The traditional Okinawan diet had over seven times more vegetables than the modern American diet. Why does this matter? Many tout the diet of elders in Okinawa as one of the main reasons they live active, healthy lives to over 100 years old. The biggest difference in nutrition? Okinawans traditionally fill up on vegetables (instead…
Read MoreReason to Wake up Daily
Do you have a reason to wake up in the morning? If not, now is the time to get one! The New Year is a great time to reflect on where we are, and what we’d like to do to improve upon that. Enter ikigai: it is just one of the many habits and lifestyle…
Read More9 Ways to Live Longer
We can learn a lot from Okinawan elders. Not just awesome karate, but we can all adopt their ways to live longer. Okinawa is known for having the highest population of adults over 100 years old, and more importantly, the longest disability-free life expectancy in the world, meaning they tend to live longer, higher quality…
Read MoreTODE SAKUGAWA: FATHER OF KARATE
(Kanga “Tode”) Sakugawa lived from 1733 to 1815. Tode Sakugawa was known in his youth as Kanga Sakugawa. He was an Okinawan martial artist and greatly contributed to the evolution of karate, or “Tode,” as it was known at the time. He studied under at least two separate masters: Takahara Peichin and Kusanku. Oral tradition…
Read MoreManeki Neko – Lucky Cat
A Japanese Folktale retold by Jenifer Tull-Gauger There was once a poor monk who lived in a temple out in the country. He took care of this place as best he could, but it was old and needed repairs. The monk was lucky to have rice and a little fish to eat each day. Still,…
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