Goeikan Dojo

06/08/2026

I remember hearing this from my first karate Sensei.

"The time to strike is when the opportunity presents itself."

- Tatsuo Shimabuku

05/20/2026

05/18/2026

Taika Oyata was a truly remarkable martial artist. He had knowledge of the most intricate details of body mechanics. And that was just a fraction of his knowledge.

Long before modern martial arts became dominated by tournaments, flashy demonstrations, and point fighting, Taika Oyata was dedicated to preserving the deeper combat knowledge of old Okinawan karate. Often called “The Last Keeper of Hidden Okinawan Secrets,” Oyata trained under masters connected to traditional fighting systems that focused on survival, body control, pressure points, joint manipulation, and practical self-defense. He believed that many karate techniques had lost their original meaning over time, becoming watered down for sport and public teaching. Through his teachings, Oyata revealed that kata contained hidden applications involving throws, locks, nerve attacks, and close-range combat methods rarely shown openly. As he later spread his knowledge internationally through Ryu-Te, many martial artists viewed him as one of the few masters still carrying the old Okinawan understanding of karate before modernization changed it forever.

05/10/2026

Happy Mother’s Day to all our amazing dojo moms!
Thank you for being the quiet strength behind every strong student.
Your love, support, and endless encouragement help shape not only great martial artists but kind, confident human beings.

Today we celebrate you and all that you do, on and off the mat.
You are appreciated, you are inspiring, and you are deeply loved 💐 🌹 🌸 🌼

05/04/2026

So proud to see Helen Ling Helen Ling Cawley, from Taika Oyata’s lineage as on of the instructors.

What a weekend! Outstanding teachers presenting from many different backgrounds and styles. They covered many different topics! We had a blast!
Many thanks to them and the fabulous group of women who came together and made friends in the process! More photos to come!

04/03/2026

Qi is not something you chase it’s something you allow.

In Wu Taijiquan every movement is an invitation for Qi to flow naturally without force without resistance. As Ma Yueliang demonstrated through his lifelong practice this is not something discovered overnight. It takes time to feel it and even longer to understand how to use it.

At first it’s subtle almost unnoticeable
A quiet sensation beneath the surface
Easy to doubt easy to overlook

But with patient practice the body softens the breath deepens and the mind becomes still. Then Qi begins to move like water continuous adaptable alive.

True skill is not in strength but in sensitivity
Not in speed but in awareness

What takes time builds depth
What takes patience creates something real

Qi is already within you Taijiquan simply teaches you how to listen and over time how to respond

The journey is long but the results are worth it

02/08/2026

Join us this week as we sit down with Hanshi Greg Lindquist, 10th Dan, founder of Zensekai Karate Kobujutsu Renmei (ZKKR), Oyakata Kobujutsu, and Kuzushi Te....

02/07/2026

Angles!

Are angles important in Karate?
Angles are one of the “invisible” fundamentals in karate: they decide who has access (to hit, to clinch, to throw) and who is safe—often before strength or speed even matters.

Why angles matter so much
1) Angles get you off the line (and keep you alive)
Most clean shots land because someone stayed on the centerline. A small step to a 30–45° angle means their straight attack travels past you, while you’re now lined up to counter.

Key idea: don’t “block the force.” move your body so the force misses.

2) Angles let you hit without being hit
When you angle, you can strike into openings while their weapons (hands, hips, shoulders) can’t return fire efficiently.

You see this in good tai sabaki: enter, turn, and you’re suddenly on their “blind side.”

Your strike becomes safer because their counter has a longer path.

3) Angles break structure and balance
Fighting a strong stance head-on is like pushing a wall. But if you change angle, you attack the stance’s weak direction.

Even a small angle can collapse posture (hips and shoulders no longer aligned)

It makes sweeps, reaps, and takedowns easier because you’re no longer opposing their strongest frame

4) Angles win the clinch and the close range
At close distance, whoever wins the angle usually wins the exchange—head position, shoulder position, inside track, and leverage.

“Chest-to-chest” is often 50/50.

“Shoulder-to-shoulder” with a good angle is control.

5) Angles make techniques work with less effort
A technique that feels “too hard” is often a positioning problem.

If you’re in front of them, you need power.

If you’re on the angle, you need timing and alignment.

Practical ways to train angles (simple but powerful)
Shadowbox with a rule: every combo ends with an angle step (outside/inside).

Line drill: partner attacks straight; defender must exit to 45° and touch the outside shoulder.

Padwork: feeder holds pads and “checks” you if you stay square

Kumite focus: count how many times you get off the line before you

12/30/2025

“In the old days we trained Karate as a martial art, but now they train Karate as a gymnastic sport. I think we must avoid treating Karate as a sport - it must be a martial art at all times! Your fingers and the tips of your toes must be like arrows, your arms must be like iron. You have to think that if you kick, you try to kick the enemy dead. If you punch, you must thrust to kill. If you strike, then you strike to kill the enemy. This is the spirit you need in order to progress in your training." Choshin Chibana

12/21/2025

On being told you cannot be taught

One time Iha Sensei was training with one of his most senior students and Sensei said to him “I cannot teach you anymore.” The student was taken aback by that statement, and initially thought it was for a lack on his part. Sensei said “No, there’s only so much I can show you; the rest you have to do on your own.”

Another time Sensei was sitting on the bench in the dojo with a student observing a kata. The student said to Sensei, “Why don’t you show him the exact movement?” Sensei said, “No. He does his homework and he will ask when he’s ready. I will wait.”

There is no other way. Imposed answers to unasked questions have little resonance for a student. Some teachers try to impart everything they know while ignoring what the student can or should learn. And the danger of having a teacher like Iha Sensei is that we can begin to think his abilities are our own. To paraphrase CS Lewis, karate has children, but it has no grandchildren. We don’t get to claim a teacher’s ability as our own, or even a rank as our own necessarily. So often it is like a boy dressing up in his father’s clothes pretending to be an adult. You had to grow into it. But how? By the long obedience to strenuous training. The body begins to ask questions that the teacher may have answers to. The sensei can only mold something that has the ability to hold the form, otherwise it’s all sandcastles and tides.