Kokondo Karate

Kokondo is a traditional karate style in which practitioners learn to maximize their body dynamics and emphasizes practical, effective self-defense. Kokondo's techniques and philosophies draw on a diverse array of East Asian martial arts, and include armed and empty-handed fighting methods developed in China, Japan, Okinawa, Burma, and the Philippines. Kokondo is classed as a Japanese karate style due to its strong emphasis on powerful body dynamics and its structured balance of kihon (basics), kata (forms), yakusoku kumite (pre-arranged sparring), and self-defense.

Karate is often identified through the emphasis that it places on striking, kicking, and blocking. The core of traditional practice of Karate is in kata, a pre-arranged sequence of self-defense that can be practice on one’s own by visualizing actual attackers. Each kata is a long fight against multiple attackers. There are hundreds of individual kata still practiced by traditional karate systems, some of which are centuries old. Many of these kata originated in China, while others were first developed in Okinawa; or more recently, in mainland Japan. In the last fifty years, as senior masters of traditional styles have relocated to introduce karate around the globe, many styles gradually introduced newer kata in additional to the established roster of older forms. In some cases, these modern forms include individual sequences borrowed from older kata for purposes of self defense versatility. In other cases, these kata have been introduced for inter style competition, or to diversify the way sensei teach basic techniques to newer students. In spite of the great variety of kata practiced internationally today, it is quite probable that many kata have been lost, and with them, valuable self defense techniques of past martial arts masters.

Traditionally, kata has universally been considered to be the core element of karate training and the most important area of development for karate practitioners. Today, whiles most of the traditional schools still practice and teach kata, many do so for purposes of competition, necessitating that greater emphasis be placed on the aesthetics of kata as a performance rather than on the self-defense techniques contained within the movements. Kokondo’s primary reason for emphasizing kata is to study the bunkai, or the translation of the kata. It is through studying the bunkai that Kokondo-ka understand and practice the often hidden self-defense applications of the kata.

By stressing point-oriented competition, most modern karate styles focus their training on long-distance fighting and on winning competitions. This encourages many karate-ka to limit their practice to basic punching, kicking, and striking techniques to score "points", followed by an immediate retreat from the opponent. While Kokondo-ka do practice jiyu-kumite (free-sparring), most real self-defense situations occur in medium and close range distances. Additionally, real self-defense does not occur in the context of a ring with judges and rules. Therefore, kokondo stresses self-defense techniques against all types of chokes and grabs, multiple attackers, ground defenses, and the disarming of guns, knives, clubs and other street weapons. For example, it is quite common to initiate a defense with a simultaneous block and retaliation, and then execute a takedown and containment.

Through the repetition and practice of the kihon (basics) and kata, practitioners of Kokondo Karate learn to maximize their body dynamics for the purpose of practical and effective self-defense regardless of size or strength.

Kokondo Karate is appropriate for youth (ages 12 + up) and adults.