This page will deal with the practice and study of Traditional Karate - Do. "The Way of the Empty Hand."

There is a great difference between the study of of Kara-te and the study and practiice of Kara-te - Do. As you can see from the Kanji ,there are three words Kara=empty, Te= hand, Do= Way. So we have the "Way of the Empty Hand". Sounds simple doesn't it.? Not so fast my friends. The translation is an ovesimplification of a very intricate and when all is said and done personal journey. For now we are going to concentrat on the word Do. We are going to do this because the addition of the word Do to any martial practice changes it. It is changed from the study of technique or jutsu to the study of technique and culture and ethical doctrine.

The word "Do" in Japanese means road. But it has many other meanings also. For the dedicated martial artist "Do" means "the way", indeed to some it means"THE WAY". In simple terms whatevever "Do" a person follows is their way their path.

When we speak of Karate-do we must remember that there are several ryuha or "styles" of Karate-do. Technically the major classical ryu are as good as another, although I am certain I can find many who will argue that point. The older, classical styles are probably more difficult for the western student to learn if he follows the traditional ways of training. Westerners sometimes don't understand the why's and ways of the East. Traditionalists take a little longer to arrive at acertain level of proficiency. It is exactly this point that separates tru Karate-do from Sport Karate. In Sport Karate a high level of ring play is the goal. While with Karate-do a high level of combat proficiency is a by-product. The goal of Karate-do is to achieve a balance and hrmony of the Mind - Body- Spirit. In other words, Karate is the road not the vehicle!

People start of studying Karate for varied reasons. Most are trying to learn how to defend themselves . You can do this , but again it is another by-product that takes a while to become proficient. A more immediate way to self defence is Jujutsu. Others study Karate for the health benefits. Still others for the abilty to focus their minds. The practitioner of Karate - do does all of that and more . He/ She will develop a harmony of Mind - Body -Spirit. like they have before known. But to do this they have to stay on the path the "Way". It is not easy but it is doable.

As I said before, there are many styles of Karate-do. At the Budokan we study American Goju-Kempo. Go = hard, ju=soft the blending of which makes American Goju-Kempo a very interesting and once learned effective style. Uh-oh my style prejudice is showing. We also have added the study and practice of Yoga as an adjunct. Although the Budokan issues its own Certification, it does recognize the certification of other organizations where the quality of instruction is known.

The aim of American Goju-Kempo is the development of the mind and body, strong character and self confidence. The student of AGK learns to understand and appreciate the mental and physical aspects of Budo as well as the harmoniuos relationship between all Budoka. It is through the study of AGK and other forms of Budo as well as trhe code of Bushido that the student realizes the weakness and the strength of the human spirit. Through this he learns respect for his own mind ,body, and strength.

I should like to take this time to say a word about our children"s program. We don't have one. There are several reasons for this but the main reason is I and my instructors teach Martial Arts. We are not baby sitters,and the Budokan is not Little league. In forty years of Martial Arts study and practice more than thirty six of them have been spent teaching. I loved teaching children. I hated dealing with their parents especially the ones who didn't think I was promoting their child fast enough. I hated the fact that I spent a lot of time planning "feel good" tournaments for the parents so they could have a trophy for their kid. There is a "no body loses and we can all feel good" school of thought out there when it comes to kids. Well the truth is sometimes you lose. We all want to protect our kids, but Disneyland is not to be found at the Budokan. Our youngest student is fifteen. There are a lot of people who will disagree with what I have said and that's alright. At Budokan we want Budoka, followers of the way. People who have made a conscious and informed decision to study and practice Karate-do.