Posts Tagged ‘United Ryukyu Kempo Alliance’
What are Ryukyu Kempo’s Core Principles?
Our dojo, East Valley Martial Arts, is a member of the international United Ryukyu Kempo Alliance (URKA). The URKA is a unique martial arts organization for many reasons. One of the things that makes us unique are the Core Principles taught by our instructor Amor Kaicho. He learned them from his teacher Oyata Taika who…
Read MoreU.R.K.A. Summer Camp Favorites
The biggest event of the year for the United Ryukyu Kempo Alliance is the Summer Camp at the Headquarters dojo. I attended the U.R.K.A. Summer Camp for the first time in 2002 and I was totally impressed. Here are my top five favorite things about it. U.R.K.A. Summer Camp and Camaraderie The people, the brotherhood…
Read MoreRyukyu Kempo’s Core Principles 4-5
In the United Ryukyu Kempo Alliance, we apply five core principles to our martial arts training. These principles also help us to be more effective and successful in other areas of life. In my last blog, we covered the first three principles with both martial arts and life examples. Here we will finish up with…
Read MoreRyukyu Kempo’s Core Principles 1-3
The U.R.K.A. is a unique martial arts organization for many reasons. One of them is its promotion and use of Ryukyu Kempo’s core principles to enhance training. With understanding, these concepts become ingrained in practitioners and allow them to improve their lives in all areas. Here are the first three of five core principles and…
Read MoreBogu Kumite Sparring for Self Defense
Bogu kumite are Japanese words describing the type of full contact sparring studied by the United Ryukyu Kempo Alliance. Bogu is talking about armor, it’s made up of the words bo: protect, and gu: equipment. If you are going to participate in full contact sparring, it is vital to wear the right protective gear. Kumite…
Read MoreAZ Spring Karate Camp Favorites
The Spring Karate Camp that we host is definitely one of our dojo’s annual highlights. There is just so much to love! Practitioners from high rank black belts to beginners who just started training find things to love (a lot of karate parent helpers and observers agree as well). The online buzz about our event…
Read MoreKata Builds Self Defense
If you have ever seen several martial artists doing the same series of moves together, that was likely a kata. With the correct understanding, this type of training helps the student build the correct form, or body positioning. When done properly, as intended in a life protection art, kata builds self defense. It is the…
Read MoreKarate Kid Fun: Glimpse into Dojo Hilarity
One of the perks I have as a martial arts instructor is seeing karate kid fun first-hand. Kids say and do the some of the funniest things. We run a tight, disciplined ship in class, but we have fun too. Your perk today? You don’t have to put in the hard work, sweat, concern, tears…
Read MoreSummer Camp: 5 Favorite Memories
I unexpectedly saw one of our black belts at the beginning of summer and our conversation turned toward Summer Camp. We naturally spoke of our travel experiences to headquarters, both recent and in years past. We have been fortunate – or as some people put it, we have made the sacrifice – to attend so…
Read MoreTop 10 Reasons Black Belts Quit Karate
As an instructor, it breaks my heart when yudansha pull their support and attendance from the dojo. It also disappoints me when I learn that one of the U.R.K.A. black belts quit. I don’t even like to hear that black belts I know from other styles stopped training. When I shared the title of this…
Read More