Why Courageous Way?

The world is a rough place. When starting to practice traditional martial arts, one embarks on the unique journey to find who they are, both inside and out.
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Our curriculum teaches students to be confident and courageous in situations that are uncomfortable, while perfecting techniques to de-escalate confrontations. We emphasize our students to practice honor, respect, self-discipline, and inner peace while striving for their next level of individual excellence.

Our goal is to offer instruction and build an environment that fosters a strong bond of community for all students, regardless of prior martial arts experience, background, gender identity, ethnicity, and age.

Our curriculum includes:

• Kihon refers to the fundamental or basic techniques that form the foundation of Isshinryu karate. It involves practicing the core techniques like punches, kicks, blocks, and stances in a structured manner. The purpose is to ingrain proper form, body mechanics, and muscle memory for executing techniques correctly, while developing speed, power, precision, and alignment. Our practice emphasizes drilling techniques and applications in different scenarios so we reinforce our skills.

• Kata refers to a series of movements and techniques that are prearranged in a pattern to train students how to fight using various attack and defense scenarios. Kata may be practiced slow to improve understanding of individual concepts and applications or practiced fast to build aerobic resilience. Kata build on skills developed through practicing kihon to improve balance, stance transitions, ability to defend oneself in multiple directions, environmental awareness, breathing control, timing, and focus.
  Isshinryu has eight empty hand kata.

• Kumite refers to the practice of sparring or engaging in practice with a partner. Proper kumite is a mixture of both free sparring and structured sparring. Free sparring enables students to engage in more realistic and spontaneous exchanges, applying various techniques, strategies, and footwork. Structured sparring involves partners executing a series of pre-determined attack and defense techniques, helping to develop timing, distance control, and proper execution of techniques. In combination with classical sparring training frequently seen in Isshinryu karate, we also integrate aspects from other martial arts such as Judo, Aikido, Chin na, Tai Chi, and Japanese Jujutsu.
  Safety is the first priority in kumite practice, with the use of protective gear and strict adherence to rules, respect, and etiquette. Kumite allows students to test their skills, strategies, and mental fortitude in a controlled environment.

• Kobudo refers to training with various weapons (instead of empty hands) that were adapted from implements, tools, and culture throughout Okinawa's history. At first glance, Kobudo involves learning kata that contain techniques for using these weapons in self-defense scenarios. As students continue to refine their kobudo practice, the weapons become an extension of their hands and reinforces their empty hand practice.
  Some weapons practiced in Isshinryu kobudo include bo, sai, and tuifa (also known as tonfa).