Kiyoko (Miko) Teller passed away late January 2023. She was a respected practitioner of karate and renowned for her skills in odori, Okinawan dance. She will be remembered and missed by many people in Okinawa, The United States, and across the world. Young Kiyoko-san. Image courtesy of Akemi Nix. Kiyoko’s Lasting Impact on Okinawan Culture in the West Born and raised on Okinawa, Kiyoko Chinen met military man Robert Teller during his Vietnam-era tour of duty. After a courtship on the island, Kiyoko agreed to travel back to the United States with Robert and they were married shortly after. Sh ..read more

I’m happy to announce that I have added a small contribution to issue #11 of the highly esteemed Bugeisha magazine. Angel Lemus Sensei was kind enough to include my article entitled “How to Evolve with Your Kata”. As often happens with my work, this is a somewhat meandering investigation of a slippery concept. I’ve frequently wrestled with the conflicting notions of preserving kata exactly as they are handed down, and exploring them deeply which inherently involves pulling, poking, prodding, and otherwise mucking about with the form. Here is a little snippet of the article, and I hope it encou ..read more

If you’re anything like me you’ve never really given much thought to sumo. You know about it, you can picture two big weighty dudes running into each other, but that’s about it. Recently a channel called “MBOVO Sumo” began broadcasting matches on Twitch.tv. Twitch is popular as a video game streaming service but they are branching out into other creatives industries as well. I stumbled across the sumo channel and now I’m hooked. Check out this little video if you’ve always been curious about sumo but never had the opportunity to really dig into it or understand it. The post I Just Started Wat ..read more

Season 3 has arrived! When Cobra Kai first came out I was nervous. Like most people I’m sentimental about certain shows, movies, and books. I didn’t want to see the wonderful Karate Kid characters created by Robert Kamen treated poorly. We all recently watched Luke Skywalker get tied up to the back of a Chevy and drug across the landscape of three sequel movies, so I didn’t want Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence to suffer the same fate. To my great relief, the Youtube-turned-Netflix show is an interesting exploration of character. Cobra Kai didn’t take long to find its footing and managed to ..read more

Pat McGale Sensei has gotten about as close as you can get to being born into the martial arts. Growing up in Okinawa under the tutelage of exceptional karatedo instructors, McGale Sensei eventually made his way to the United States where he cut a unique martial path and honed his skillset via multiple styles. This interview traces McGale Sensei’s path and provides a unique glimpse into the worlds of Okinawa Kenpo, Kishaba Juku, and more. For additional information on McGale Sensei, don’t miss his audio interview conducted by the Okinawa Karate Podcast. Q: I’d like to start off with just a fe ..read more

Kiyan Toru Sensei is a prominent Okinawa Kenpo instructor training and teaching in Okinawa. He is a longtime student of Kina Toshimitsu who studied directly with the style founder Nakamura Shigeru. Kiyan Sensei has been working diligently to help spread the art of his teacher and keep Okinawa Kenpo alive in the place of its origin. During my visit to Okinawa I had the great pleasure of visiting Kiyan Sensei’s class and training with his wonderful students. One in particular, Josh Simmers, was instrumental in making a connection with Kiyan Sensei and helping facilitate this interview. I thank t ..read more

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