Karate Essence ‘Ethical Philosophy’ 先手 Sen Initiative By T.D. McKinnon Editing by Zoё Lake Budō  (武道),   ‘the art of war’  – often translated as ‘the martial way’ – is actually a very principled methodology emphasising strict, ethical, spiritual, and philosophical   guidelines.   We begin 2026 with a new series of articles entitled ‘Ethical Philosophy’.   The very first article of the year, the January Blog, is t he ‘ Sen   Initiative ’. Table of Contents               The Relevance of the...

“Briefly, I would just like to express my profound apologies for the lateness of this post.  ‘Up Close & Personal’ was originally meant to be the November Blog post; however, due to on-going Internet problems during the month of November I was unable to post it then. Karate Essence   ‘Reality Check’ Up Close & Personal Combining Devastating, Short-Range Weaponry Editing by Zoe Lake Here at the Karate Essence   ‘Reality Check’ , over the last couple of years, we have just about covered every...

Karate Essence ‘Reality Check’ Tora Uchi/Tiger Claw Strike Editing by Zoё Lake This month’s ‘Reality Check’ technique is the Tiger Claw Strike or, within the Japanese arts, Tora Uchi.  Some would argue that the Palm Heel Strike or Teisho Uchi and Tora Uchi  are virtually the same thing.  I would beg to differ.  I would propose that the intent of the Teisho Uchi, and the impact of that technique, is generally a linier strike impacting with the heel of the hand.  Any other contact is incidental...