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The main activity of the Shotokan Karate Club at the UW is practice. We meet in the IMA or Hec Ed on the UW campus on Tuesday and Thursday nights. The exact time and location may vary from quarter to quarter, so call ahead for details. Please note, however, that this dojo is on the University of Washington campus and is only open to UW students, staff, and faculty. If you are not part of the UW community, you should look into one of our affiliate dojos.
Shotokan karate practice at the UW has two main parts, the Sports Skills Class and the Club. Briefly, you can think of the Class as "Beginning" karate and the Club as "Intermediate/Advanced" karate. Typically, both groups start off together with warmups and some basic techniques. They split apart at some point in the hour and the Club continues practice for a full two hours. The Class ends after an hour.
Practices usually consist of kihon (basic techniques), kumite (sparring), and kata (prearranged sets of moves choreographed together). In detail, the kihon often involves many repetitions of the twenty (or so) basic blocks, punches, or kicks, work with punching bags and focus mits, and partner drills. Kumite usually involves partner drills doing one-step, three-step, semi-free, or free sparring. Full contact attacks are often stressed for the one, three, and semi-free methods, free sparring is usually non- or light- contact attacks. Kata practice includes repetition of the 19 basic kata that are described in the book Karate-do Kyohan. After many repetitions of the whole kata, parts are usually taken out and examined for their application in combat situations. Practice schedules and content are loosely correlated for all the SKA and SKA affiliated dojos around the world on a rotating monthly basis. Thus each month a new set of basic drills, kumite drills, and different kata are emphasized.
Grading, or kyu tests come twice a year - on the anniversary of the birth and death of Ginchin Funakoshi. The test material itself is very simple. Karateka are asked to demonstrate all of the basic techniques, one or two kata, and ippon and sabon kumite (1 and 3 step sparring). There is no progression of flashier and fancier techniques. The beginning student and the advanced are both expected to know all the blocks, kicks, and punches. Advanced students will generally be called upon to demonstrate the more `advanced' kata, but there is no firm rule for any given level. Instead the karateka is examined on the basis of the quality of their techniques and their mental seriousness during practice.
Kyu testing is usually done in batches of 3 to 5 students, with the techniques being called and counted by a senior brown belt. A panel of black belts sits to one side at a table and the seniors make notes on the kihon, kata, and kumite of each karateka. After the last of the karateka have finished, the panel of black belts compare notes and discuss each student. Grades are assigned. Finally, the students are lined up and the senior black belt calls out the rank (kyu) for each student.
SKA uses a grading system based on 8 kyus and 5 dans. 8th kyu to 4th kyu are all white belt. 3rd kyu to 1st kyu are brown belt. 1st dan to 5th dan are black belt. Sorry, we don't have fancy colors and stripes for our belts.
Perhaps the most important part of Shotokan Karate is Special Training. Twice a year, typically in January and June, karateka head off to a training camp where we push ourselves to our limits. The goal is push past one's mental barriers - to push harder than you thought possible. In the words of Ron Thom, President of SKA, "The essence of Special Training is reaching a true understanding of yourself and making a sincere effort to improve yourself."
For the last several years, Special Training for the Pacific Northwest SKA and Canada West CSS dojos has been at Camp Elphinstone on the Sunshine Coast - just northwest of Vancouver, Canada. This camp is an YMCA camp in a beautiful spot in the woods overlooking the water. There are cabins, with beds and showers, and a mess hall. The mess hall and another building serve as the training halls, and during the summer we often practice on the soccer field. The remote nature of the camp is perfect. There is nothing to do but eat, sleep, and train. The food is excellent and the camaraderie is even better.
The practices themselves are organized by the senior black belts. The main feature of these practices is that the `intensity knob' is turned to way up. You punch faster, scream louder, and push harder than you would normally do - and you keep it up. And when you are so tired that you want to drop - you keep going. That is the goal of Special Training.
...work in progress...
...work in progress...
We traditionally go out for pizza and drinks after the last Sports
Skills Class every quarter. Depending on the interest, a bunch of
people occasionally go hiking or skiing or something else of the sort.