What we’re about
Join us for weekly practice in Boston just a couple of blocks from the Tuffs Medical Center Orange Line T station on Washington Street. Our practice is 90 minutes of traditional Japanese karate with direct lineage to Gichin Funakoshi and includes kihon, kumite and kata. Practitioners of all levels are welcome. You will receive the highest caliber instruction. Come experience Boston’s best kept secret!
Practice is on Mondays and Thursdays from 7:15 – 9.00 P.M. and Saturdays from 10:15 A.M. to Noon.
Karate-do is the Way of the Empty Hand. It is derived from the ancient Okinawan fighting style and heavily influenced by the Chinese martial arts. The style of karate we practice is the traditional Shotokan as practiced from the time of Gichin Funakoshi. We are affiliated with Shotokan Karate of America (SKA).
Master Gichin Funakoshi introduced karate-do to mainland Japan in 1916. He had been initiated into all the major Okinawan karate methods and taught a synthesis of the Okinawan styles as a total discipline. This method became known as Shotokan. Because of the great popularity of the style in Japan and, later, around the world, Funakoshi is widely considered to be the “father of modern karate-do. Aside from creating Shotokan karate and introducing it to Japan and the world, Funakoshi Sensei also wrote several books, one of which is “Karate-Do Kyohan” - The Master Text, which is the “handbook” of Shotokan. The original Japanese text of Karate-Do Kyohan was translated into English by Tsutomu Ohshima in 1973.
We practice Shotokan karate in the traditional manner for the development of mind, body, and spirit. This art form has been passed down from teachers to students in an unbroken line from Funakoshi Sensei himself to Ohshima Sensei to us. We believe it is the responsibility of each practitioner to learn and practice the techniques correctly so that the tradition is preserved and can be passed on intact to the next generation.
Shotokan Karate of America is a national nonprofit organization that has been teaching traditional karate-do in the United States since 1955. SKA was founded and is still led by Tsutomu Ohshima, who is one of Master Funakoshi Sensei’s last direct pupils. In 1955 Mr. Ohshima came to the United States and was the first person to teach karate to the U.S. public. To learn more, go to: http://ska.org/about/history-of-karate/.
