Women who are looking for a form of exercise or a lifestyle hobby that has many benefits to offer, need look no further than Karate. People usually associate hard core training and hitting or punching bags with a male dominated environment. Gone are those days. Karate is unisex in that the best ways to kick or punch have no bearing on if the student is male or female. A push up is a push up, and students are taught the… Read More »Why karate benefits women
Karate is based on the straight punch. Understanding the physics behind how this punch works and the method of this punch, will bring the next level of depth to your karate practice. Principles to improve your punch Straight The shortest distance between 2 points is the straight line. We use this understanding in Karate to get the maximum speed in a punch. We aim to punch straight. Corkscrew Along with this, Karate uses the corkscrew method in the… Read More »The Straight Punch in Karate
Jesse Enkamp is quoted as saying: “Comparing two equally technical fighters, my money is on the stronger one. Comparing two equally strong opponents, my money is on the more technical one.” This brings up the different role’s ‘technique’ and ‘strength’ or power play in karate. And it also leads us to question what we mean by strength. “Strength is for me more internal,” explains Sensei Leo Ming. “Physical strength is applicable in Karate and self-defence, but the downside is one… Read More »Technique vs Strength for Self-defense in Karate
Patience; discipline; respect; control; effort; etiquette. These are some of the qualities student learn in our taiji or karate classes. Part of the foundation of martial arts, is developing a high degree of ethics. This is emphasised in kobujutsu karate training, due to the nature of the physical skills that karate teaches us. Charles C. Goodin explains how integral ethics is in martial arts, by looking at a significant karate hand gesture: “A clenched fist represents the destructive potential of… Read More »Ethics in Karate
Get to know your Sifu Did you know that your Sifu, Leo Ming, is into cars? He has a penchant for old Porsches, and has recently become the Karate, or “Carate” man in the latest series of Toyota motor vehicle adverts. Here they are for you to enjoy. (We’ll be adding each one as they are released by Toyota) Toyota Mastery Advert: To get to know your Sifu, Leo Low Ming, contact him on 0833780468. Other blogs in our “Get to know… Read More »Karate and Cars
Tai chi may have very early roots in China, yet it has and still is spreading in popularity all over the world. This is due to the many benefits it provides. Here is a short clip that explains taijiquan and it’s wealth that we can enjoy. It also has some interesting footage of Chen village– where we recently visited on our tour to China. The video covers: What is the link between Wújí and taijí? And tai chi and ying… Read More »The Wealth of Taijiquan
Get to know your Sifu Did you know that your Sifu, Leo Ming, offers consulting for choreographing Martial Arts fight scenes for movies? And he often acts in the scenes himself. He’s in a new movie that will be coming out soon, so watch this space! In the meantime, here he is in another TV commercial for Tastic Rice. This advert won a Loerie Award: To get to know your Sifu, Leo Low… Read More »Tastic Rice Ad
Has your child been labelled with ADHD? Martial Arts, and specifically karate, is a useful activity to supplement any other strategy you are considering to help your child. Karate has many benefits for children. Specifically for children with ADHD or Asperger Syndrome or any similar challenges, martial arts activities can help them develop skills that can be translated positively into many areas of their lives. Karate is not a team sport and yet it is social. So the dojo becomes… Read More »Children with ADHD benefit from Karate Classes
Get to know your Sifu Did you know that your Sifu, Leo Ming, started training in karate when he was a child? And that since then he has focused his training and experience in Kobujutsu karate and tai chi, training under masters all over the world in places like in China, Athens, Boston, Toronto, Taiwan and Japan? And did you know that he is known to make appearances in TV commercials once in a while? Like this funny one, for Castrol… Read More »Kung Fu Castrol Ad
“In most if not all martial arts, there is some form of integrative meditation component that forms the building blocks of a balanced yet formidable martial artist… half the battle is won and lost in the mind,” says Nicholas Bruce in his in depth article in the Business Day, May 2018. The article explains how martial arts like karate and tai chi can help us develop the ability to prevent ourselves going into the fight/flight response. When we don’t have… Read More »The Science behind why Martial Arts Meditation leads to Stress Free Living