Notes from The Workshop
Essays, Insights & Reflections on the Art & Practice of Authentic Okinawan Karate & Kobujutsu
018 — Training Stimulus: Beyond the Count
In the dojo, we often move to the count—useful for pacing a class, but incomplete for self-preservation. Real encounters demand rapid reactions to what we see and, most critically, what we feel. This piece breaks down the three training stimuli—auditory, visual, and tactile—and shows why kakie and kakedameshi keep Gōjū-ryū rooted in reality.
006 — Kakie: The Hidden Heart of Okinawan Karate
Before sparring and spectacle took center stage, there was Kakie—a quiet, rooted exchange of pressure and presence. This ancient drill reveals the true foundation of Okinawan karate: structure, sensitivity, and spirit.
“No matter how you may excel in the art of Te, and in your scholastic endeavors, nothing is more important than your behavior and your humanity as observed in daily life.”
— Tei Junsoku (1663-1734)

