What is Shotokan Karate?
Wondering what Shotokan Karate involves? Here’s a short introduction to its roots, the three parts of training and how you’ll practise them at Ichigokai.
Origins and purpose
A tradition of technique and character.
Shotokan developed from the Karate taught by Gichin Funakoshi, who brought the art from Okinawa to Japan. The name comes from “Shoto”, his pen name, and the Shotokan dojo.
The tradition values disciplined practice, self-control and respect alongside technical skill. At Ichigokai, these values become practical: concentrate on a correction, look after your partner and keep working patiently at what needs improvement.
What you will learn
Three parts of one practice.
For a new student, this means learning movements clearly, putting them together and exploring how they work with a partner. For a returning student, it offers familiar foundations with fresh feedback. Try our Tuesday class in Hounslow.
Kihon · Basics
Practise stances, steps, blocks, punches and kicks. You develop the foundations of posture, balance, coordination and controlled movement.
Kata · Forms
Learn a set sequence, then refine how you move through it. Kata gives you material to revisit, question and connect with application.
Kumite · Partner practice
Work with another person to develop distance, timing and response. The exercises are chosen for your experience and taught with care for your partner.
How they connect
Basics support your movement in kata and with a partner. Partner work gives you questions to bring back to those basics and forms.
The teachers who shaped our practice
Ichigokai’s Shotokan background.
Ichigokai’s syllabus has roots in the system developed by Hirokazu Kanazawa and adopted by Sensei Balwant Sahans within the Amateur Shotokan Karate Association. That background informs our emphasis on foundations, kata and continued development.
Sensei Sahans’ commitment to teaching as service remains an important influence on the club. The aim is to help people learn well, value themselves and respect others.
Further reading
Read further. Then experience it.
For more on Shotokan’s origins and approach, the Japan Karate Association provides explanations of the tradition and its training methods.