CT056 Yoshio Kuba continues discussion on Goju Ryu

In today's show, Kosho School of Karate instructor, Evan Jones and I are still on our second stop on our international karate road trip.  This week we are in Dalton, GA to join the Classical Fighting Arts Seminar, taught by Yoshio Kuba.  Evan and I sat down with Kuba Sensei,  his student and my good friend, Miwa Kanazawa, and a few bottles of red wine,  to talk about his experiences in karate.

A student of Toguchi Sensei, Kuba has become one of the top instructors of traditional Goju Ryu in the world..  In recent years, he has traveled extensively to help teach this art.  Traveling to Europe, US, India, and South Africa (where I joined the tour in 2012). He also regularly teaches at the Classical Fighting Arts seminars held in Okinawa. 

His approach, is more internal than other well known branches of Goju.  Focusing less on conditioning the hands and the body, but on developing correct technique and understanding application.  In his classes and seminars, he emphasizes the difference between basic and "Advanced" karate techniques, stressing that the participants, many of whom are black belts, should be able to separate the fundamental techniques taught to beginners with the more practical and effective techniques they should be using as advanced practitioners..  With a background in acupuncture, he is also an expert on how to make it hurt! He includes more wrist locks and pressure points than you generally see in a karate dojo. And, he is an expert on traditional kata and bunkai.

In this interview, Kuba Sensei discusses the historical cross training between masters,  the "Old" techniques that are no longer used modern training, how to find a good teacher if you don't live in downtown Naha, how more advanced practitioners move towards soft movement, and a few secret punching methods. .

To, find out more about Sensei Yoshio Kuba, and the Kenbukan Dojo, in Okinawa City, Okinawa. You can contact Miwa Kanazawa at miwandering@gmail.com