Pasadena Shotokan Karate

Our Pasadena Dojo had a great turnout at this year's 2020 Winter Special Training at Caltech, representing about half the attendees! Special Training is a decades old tradition consisting of an annual intense multi-day training event. The level of rigor at Special Training is unprecedented among karate organizations.

We demonstrated the practice of Kata, Kihon, and Kumite at our annual demonstration at Obon Festival on July 20, 2019.

Here are some pictures from our recent demo at the PJCI annual Bazaar. Thanks to Jose Rivera for these. Enjoy!

Courtesy of Jose Rivera, here is a video of some highlights from our latest Japanese Cultural Center Bazaar, demonstrating how we train at Pasadena Shotokan Karate.

Horio Yoshiharu In the Sengoku, or Warring States period, every day was a life or death struggle. A samurai had to remain calm under pressure, and refrain from... showing his thoughts or emotions lest they betray him. One of the best at maintaining his demeanor was Horio Yoshiharu. Yoshiharualso known as Mosuke, was called Hotoke no Mosuke, or The Buddha Mosuke, after the enlightened god, Hotoke, because of his calm attitude, even under pressure. Horio Yoshiharu was born in Niwa-gun, Owari (Aichi Prefecture) in 1542. His father had been a vassal of the Iwakura Oda clan, rivals of Oda Nobunaga, who later defeated his kinsmen, forcing Yoshiharu’s father to become a Ronin, a masterless samurai. It’s easy to imagine those early days must have led Yoshiharu to developing his Buddha-like calmness and mental strength, surviving any way they could. Luckily, he would later come into the employ of Nobunaga himself, although as a lowly foot soldier. The episode that brought Yoshiharu to the attention of Oda Nobunaga happened when Lord Nobunaga was out hunting one day in Owari. A large, wild boar charged the hunting party, scattering the group, all except for Yoshiharu, who unarmed, stood his ground and wrestled the beast. The calmness, strength and bravery with which he faced the boar impressed Nobunaga who promoted him. Yoshiharu’s brave but calm manner served him well over the following years through a number of battles, and he was often admired for it. Towards the end of the summer of 1600, just prior to the Battle of Sekigahara, while the nation was dissolving into East and Western camps, Horio Yoshiharu attended a drinking party at Chiryu, in Mikawa Province (Aichi Prefecture) along with the Lord of Kariya Castle, Mizuno Tadashige and Kaganoi Shigemochi. The topic of war and which side to choose boiled over when a drunken and enraged pro-western Kaganoi killed Lord Mizuno, and injured Yoshiharu in the melee. Despite his injuries, in a Buddha-like fashion, he calmly and efficiently took control of the situation, meting out punishment by cutting down Kaganoi, and restoring peace. Yoshiharu was injured by Kaganoi’s spear in 17 places during the fight, and was therefore unable to participate in the Battle of Sekigahara. Instead, his son would fill his void on the battlefield. Horio Yoshiharu was a brave and able fighter, and is said to have possessed the calm, enlightened spirit of the Buddha, a fine trait for the samurai of the Sengoku period, who lived their lives on the razors’ edge.

Memphis Jiyu Kumite Practice and Tournament Oct 5th & 6th

Jiyu Kumite & Close Combat class coming soon. September 8th 11:00am to 2:30pm. Open to all levels at SOD. Lead by Godans Christopher Hunt & Jerome Williams.