Helping to Build a New Honbu.
You may know that the spiritual home and principle dojo of Seido Karate is based in New York, and is called Honbu. The building was sold recently by the landlord and must be vacated by the end of 2019. So for the first time in more than 40 years, Seido will need a new home. Honbu History Sei Shihan Roger outside our current HQ at West 23rd Street NYC In 1976, Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura established Seido Juku and the World Seido Karate Honbu at 61 West 23rd Street in New York City. In “The Human Face of Karate,” Kaicho wrote, “Seido Juku was literally built on the understanding and cooperation of the pupils.” In the more than four decades since, thousands of karateka from around the world have come to…
Training New York June 2019
Located in Briarcliff Manor, New York, just 45 minutes from Manhattan, Edith Macy Center is situated among 405 wooded acres on a mountainside in the heart of Westchester County. Together with 80 other students and instructors we gathered on Friday 28 June to begin a weekend of intensive karate training under our Grand-master, Kaicho Nakamura, 9th degree black belt and one of the top traditional Japanese karate instructors in the world today. Our day started at 4.00 a.m. We met on the hill behind the conference centre and meditated until sunrise. It was a wonderful opportunity to become one with nature. Sitting still rarely happens in our hectic lives and for some is very hard to do. You must concentrate on deep breathing which we call Ibuki and clear your…
Seido UK Gashaku November 2018
UK came together at Jun Shihan Brandt’s new dojo in Putney to train and enjoy meeting old friends and making new ones. At 9 a.m. sharp Sei Shihan Roger opened the event in a packed dojo including all ages of Seido. General training lasted an hour before the students split into groups and worked on Seido drills under their instructors. There was great energy in the dojo as the kiais resounded around the the roof in the spacious training hall. Jun Shihan Brandt then led a session on close in fighting and the students got the chance to put their skills to the test . It was almost over too soon as Seido Shihan Roger closed the event by presenting embroidered belts to Kari Shodan black belts having been confirmed…
The Path to Black Belt
Seido Karate Where Difference doesn’t Mean Deficit By Sei Shihan Roger Thyer-Jones, WSKO UK 6th Dan. Ever heard of Bardet-Biedl Syndrome? I suspect that you haven’t. Ever heard of Richard Parker? The answer is also likely to be negative unless you are part of our Seido Karate organisation or have read ‘Life of Pi’. Now combine Bardet-Biedl Syndrome (BBS) and Richard Parker (not the tiger from ‘Life of Pi’) and this leads you to a remarkable event that took place on Wednesday 17th October at Tylers Green Village Hall. Richard Parker took the final part of his black belt promotion, and passed. [caption id="attachment_534" align="alignleft" width="225"] Richard receives his black belt[/caption] The syndrome that he has to cope with is a rare condition that affects many different parts of the…
Trying for your black belt
Extract from 'Dogs on the Runway' Roger Thyer-Jones Chapter 23 Mountains to Climb The study of martial arts, particularly karate, has consistently been a part of my life. The benefits of this consistency have been enormous for me in terms of health and happiness. I was extremely fortunate to stumble on Seido Karate during my time in Jamaica. My research then led me to discovering its roots which were linked with the legendary Kancho (meaning Founder) Masutatsu Oyama, of Kyokushinkai Karate. Kyokushinkai was synthesised from the elements of Goju-Ryu (meaning Hard-Soft Way), a style of karate that originated in Okinawa, Shotokan Karate (meaning Shoto’s House) developed by Master Gichin Funakoshi, and elements of Chinese boxing. At one time, Kyokushinkai was believed to be the strongest form of karate in Japan,…