Penn State Karate Club

Motobu ChōkiOn Thursday April 15th starting at 7:30 PM in Room 106, the Penn State Karate Club will hold a memorial demonstration for Motobu Chōki. The demonstration will include Okinawan music, kata and breaking demonstrations, a documentary video, audience participation in several partner drills inspired by Sensei Motobu, and some light refreshments. Sensei Motobu was one of the teachers of the founder of Isshinryu Karate and had a strong influence on the practice and preservation of karate as a martial art in Okinawa.

Senseis Akamine and TairaOn Sunday, January 31st at 6:30PM in 106 White Building, the Black Belts of the Penn State Karate Club will present a memorial demonstration of traditional Okinawan martial arts weaponry techniques (kobudo) in honour of Sensei Eisuke Akamine. Sensei Akamine was the senior student of Sensei Shinken Taira. Sensei Taira taught the founder of Isshinryu Karate several kobudo katas that are now practiced as part of our style. Sensei Akamine also was the head of the The Society for the Preservation and Promotion of Ancient Martial Arts of the Ryukyu Islands (Ryukyu Kobudo Hozon Shinko Kai).

This demonstration is free and open to the public. We encourage anyone with an interest in martial arts to attend. You will have an opportunity to see some of the weapons and techniques with which we train. We hope to see you there.

The Penn State Karate Club will hold its Spring 2010 Demonstration on Tuesday, January 19th at 7:30 PM in 106 White Building on Penn State University's campus. This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the karate club and how we train. Everyone is welcome: students, faculty, staff, and the general public. If you are at all curious about martial arts, we encourage you to attend.

The format of the demonstration will mirror our normal workouts and include many of the skills we normally practice. You will have an opportunity to observe the following:

• Warmup, stretching, and conditioning exercises.
• Upper and lower body basics: the foundation of our karate style that include the blocks, kicks, and punches we practice.
• Kata: the traditional forms of our style that combine stance, basics, and movement into a prearranged pattern.
• Sparring: we will demonstrate both prearranged and competitive point sparring in a controlled environment.
• Tameshiwari: the ever-popular breaking of construction materials.

Following the demonstration, we will have a question and answer session. Please come and join us.

Setsucon Logo

The Penn State Karate Club will hold a one hour panel at Setsucon this weekend (January 16 to 17) from 12:30 to 1:30PM at the State College Days Inn. It will be part demonstration and part audience participation. From the Setsucon website:

Setsucon is hosted by the Penn State Anime Organization (PSAO). Since September 2001, the PSAO has been bringing anime, manga and Japanese pop culture to the University Park campus.

We hope to see you there.

The Penn State Karate Club will hold its Fall 2009 Demonstration on Tuesday, September 1st at 7:30 PM in 106 White Building on Penn State University's campus. This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the karate club and how we train. Everyone is welcome: students, faculty, staff, and the general public. If you are at all curious about martial arts, we encourage you to attend.

The format of the demonstration will mirror our normal workouts and include many of the skills we normally practice. You will have an opportunity to observe the following:

* Warmup, stretching, and conditioning exercises
* Upper and lower body basics: the foundation of our karate style that include the blocks, kicks, and punches we practice
* Kata: the traditional forms of our style that combine stance, basics, and movement into a prearranged pattern.
* Sparring: we will demonstrate both prearranged and competitive point sparring in a controlled environment.

Medlar FieldThe Penn State Karate Club will be holding a demonstration Friday night at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, home of the minor leage baseball team, the State College Spikes. The demonstration will take place before the game at 6 PM.

IWKA 2009On the heels of assisting with the PA Summer Special Olympics, members of the Penn State Karate Club (PSKC) will engage in competition with Karate practitioners from around the globe on Saturday the 20th. Blue & White will reach for the Gold in Pittsburgh, PA. Opening ceremonies for the 2009 Isshin Ryu World Karate Association's World Championship Tournament begin at 9:15AM in the Hilton's Grand Ballroom. Competitors will face-off in empty-hand forms, weapon forms and sparring divisions. In the days leading up to the tournament, master level instructors will conduct several workshops.

Special Olympics 2009Once again, members of the Penn State Karate Club volunteered their time to help with the Special Olympics taking place in State College, PA.

Self-Defense with the Air Force ROTCThe Penn State Karate Club will hold a self-defense workshop on Thursday, February 12th in 106 White Building at 7:30 PM. The work shop will cover self-defense strategies and, in the event that those fail, some basic techniques that can be used to aid you in getting away from an attacker. If you are interested in martial arts, or self-defense, please stop by and learn something new with us.

You do not need to have any prior martial arts experience to participate. This seminar is intended as an introduction to self-defense and is ideally suited to beginners. Please wear loose fitting athletic clothing and leave any watches or jewelery in your bag.

If your group or organization would be interested in holding a seminar on self-defense, we are available and happy to discuss your needs. Please contact us.