Welcome to Saifa 101! This is a step-by-step walkthrough of the kata, explaining the finer points of the kata as taught in our OGKK affiliated dojo. Learn the stepping, hand techniques and subtle detail of this beautiful and deadly kata.
Tag: Goju Ryu
Video: What the Goju Ryu Dojo Kun Means
Why do we say ‘hitotsu’? Why do dojos have a dojo kun?
A short introduction to the Goju Ryu dojo kun, and what each line entails.
Video: Goju Ryu Seiyunchin Bunkai
Three moves, many bunkai – we take some signature moves from Seiyunchin and demonstrate bunkai oyo.
This is one of the twelve kata of Goju Ryu, and is usually used as a grading kata from purple belt onwards, depending on the federation.
Video: 12 Towel Training Exercises
Hojo undo is using what you have to supplement your karate. We’ve come up with 12 exercises you can teach and do using a simple towel.
Video: Saifa Bunkai
Filmed during lockdown on FB Live, this is an introduction to the more severe bunkai hidden within Saifa, and recommended for more senior practitioners.
Video: Geki Sai Dai Ichi Bunkai
Just because it is the first kata, that doesn’t mean it has boring bunkai.
Three bunkai oyo applications for the first kata in Goju Ryu, including throws! With demonstrations by karate spouses included.
Video: Geki Sai Dai Ni Bunkai
Take-downs, chokes and grabs – all hidden (in plain sight!) in Geki Sai Dai Ni.
This kata is often overlooked due to its status as a beginner kata, but for the curious practitioner, Geki Sai Dai Ni holds many fascinating bunkai.
Video: Kakie and Shisochin Kata
Kakie, the pushing hands technique, is often neglected, or used too simply as just a conditioning exercise. We chip a little off the bunkai iceberg by showing how kakie can be used to tease the bunkai out of Shisochin, a senior kata specific to Goju Ryu, and brought back from mainland China by Kanryo Higashionna Sensei.
Video: Goju Ryu Basics for Beginners
Want to learn karate? Don’t know where to start? This video introduces you to the very basics of Goju Ryu, the building blocks upon which everything is built.
But Still. I’m So Sorry.
Karate has survived two world wars, Spanish flu, numerous recessions and the worst McDojos in the world. It will survive this. I’m not worried about karate – I am worried about you. The student. The instructor. The dojo parent. Wherever you land in the constellation of people that make up a dojo, I worry. I hope you are okay. I hope you have your health and your livelihood.
