Make a 2013 Commitment To Yourself or Your Child

On behalf of Sensei Norman and myself, we hope you and your families are enjoying a happy, safe and restful holiday season. To our customers, we appreciate your support of our dojo and trust you are seeing the benefits karate training can have in the many aspects of your life or your child's life. 

We look forward to a great year in 2013 and please do not forget our January special of a 1 week free trial or signing up your first day and receiving 50% off your first month plus a free karate uniform. Typically in January we see more adults coming in for trial classes as part of a new year's resolution or to get in shape as part of an exercise plan for health reasons. We always welcome new students and former students no matter what their goal is for training- health benefits, self-defense, learning a martial art etc. However, karate benefits are much deeper and rewarding when continued over a long period of time and making a part or "way" of your life.  

So if you are currently training with us keep up the good work! If you are not but want to return you are always welcome and are part of our dojo family. If you have never trained but are interested in trying- you have nothing to loose and everything to gain. If you are a parent of a child training with us, come train as well and make it a shared experience with your child. In short, make 2013 a year of commitment or re-commitment to training.

We look forward to seeing you in the new year. 

Holiday Hours and New Schedule

Please see our holiday hours for the weeks of 12/23 and 12/30:

• 12/24- Closed
• 12/25- Closed
• 12/26- Closed
• 12/27- Open all belts at regular 6:30PM start time
• 12/28- Open all belts at regular 6:30PM start time

• 12/29- Closed

• 12/31- Closed
• 1/1- Closed
• 1/2- Closed
• 1/3- Open all belts at regular 6:30PM start time
• 1/4- Open all belts at regular 6:30PM start time
• 1/5- Closed

We are back to regular class schedule the week of 1/7.

Tuesday and Thursday night beginner kids classes now have a start time of 6:30PM and run to 7:15PM.

Happy holidays from Way of Life Shotokan Karate and we look forward to another great year in 2013.

New Edition Of The Shotokan Way

The October edition of The Shotokan Way is available for review.  This month's edition features an in-depth interview with Brian Smith, an article on tournament rules and a review of the Legend Open 2012.

Please check out the latest edition and we will continue to provide you with links and resources from some of the best online shotokan resources that we have found.

Hurricane Sandy Update

On behalf of Sensei Norman and myself, we first of all hope that you and your families are all OK and weathering the storm after effects.  This is a difficult time for everyone and it will take some time for life to get "back to normal" for us all.  I was at the dojo yesterday morning and the good news is there was no damage from the storm.  However there is no power or heat the dojo. ConEd reports indicate it may take several days until power is restored in Westchester for areas without power.

Given this reality and the exceptional circumstances we are all facing, we have decided to remain closed for the balance of this week.  Regular classes will resume Monday, November 5th.  We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time. Next week classes will be open to everyone so please feel free to come as many days as you are able to.  Our schedule is below this post on the right hand side menu of our website.  Sensei Norman will keep everyone updated next week and will make every effort possible to allow for as much training as his schedule permits.

Thank you again for your support during this difficult period for our community.  We will all get through it together and be stronger as a result of it.  Best wishes to you and your families.

The Essence Of Karate

Greetings to all of our readers and welcome back to school, work and the Fall season in general.  Over the Labor Day weekend I traveled back to my hometown of Toronto, Canada to visit friends and family.  When I arrived I made a point of visiting my former teacher Kancho Takemasa Okuyama.  We had spoken in sometime and I wanted to reconnect with him as I do not get the opportunity to travel back to Canada very often.

In an article I wrote last month about How To Choose a Karate School, you will note I did a lot research and visiting karate schools in Toronto in the 1990's before I found him, and consider myself very fortunate to have done so.

Visiting him was a pleasure and going back to my old dojo brought back a lot of fond memories. It also reminded me of what I admire about him most, which I would like to share with you today on the anniversary of the attacks of September 11th.

Best Wishes Senpai Miguel

On behalf of Sensei Norman and myself, we would like to take the opportunity to express our gratitude to Senpai Miguel Novoa for his contributions to the dojo over the past year. Miguel has accepted a new position with the NYC Department of Corrections. This is a position he applied for many months ago and he had to go through a rigorous process before he was finally accepted.

Senpai Miguel Novoa is a lifelong student of Sensei. He began his karate training in 1991 and has been a teacher assisting Sensei Smith since 2000. Senpai is a veteran of the US Army and has served his country with tours in Japan and Iraq. As a sergeant of the Army he lead many convoy missions and supervised critical maintenance procedures to various military vehicles. He also used his knowledge of martial arts to train members of his unit.

Throughout my martial arts experience, I have found it rare to train with someone who is an exceptional martial artist, and exceptional teacher and an exceptional person at the same time. Miguel is all three and it has been an honor to train with him. Being the person he is, I have no doubt he will be successful in anything he does.

Finally, if you happen to be reading this while locked-up on Rikers Island, I suggest you do what this guy tells you to do.

Labor Day Weekend Hours

On behalf of Sensei Norman Smith, I would like to wish you a happy and safe Labor Day weekend. Please be advised that we will be closed from Friday, August 31st to Monday, September 3rd.  We will reopen for business on Tuesday, September 4th on our new Fall schedule.  Please take a moment to view our new schedule below on the right hand side menu.

If you are looking for a quality karate school to enroll your child or yourself in this Fall, we invite you to stop by our location and speak to us about our programs.  Even better, give us a try for free for 1 week without any obligation or sign up and receive 50% off your first month plus receive a free karate uniform.  We are located conveniently at 501 E Boston Post Road in Mamaroneck, NY 10543 between Chase Bank and Dunkin Donuts.

Karate provides many benefits for both kids and adults.  Please take a moment to read some of the articles on our website about the benefits of training, and to gain a better understanding about the Way of Life Shotokan Karate Do difference.

How To Choose A Karate School

Japanese calligraphy for "Karate-Do"

Now that the summer is almost over I thought it would be a good time to write an in-depth article on how to choose a good karate school for parents or adults who might be thinking about joining a school in the fall.  There are many articles on how to choose a good karate school or on how to avoid what is termed a "McDojo" out there on the internet.  The purpose of this article is to summarize for you the good tips that are out there and add some of my personal experiences.

Obviously I co-own a karate school and therefore the tips or suggestions I will name are things that we practice in our training and employ in running our business.  However my intention is not to get you to join our school.  Many of you reading this article are not even located in the NYC area and will likely never train with us.  I am also writing the article from the perspective of someone with little to no previous experience in martial arts training, and will make it more of a beginners overview.

Karate By Jesse Website

In our ongoing effort to provide our readers with the best karate resources we can find on the web, I am happy to present you with a website I stumbled upon called KaratebyJesse.  This site is full of excellent articles, opinions and information for all karateka.  The layout of the site is very user friendly and incorporates social media aspects well.  Content is updated regularly with anything from fun articles like top 10 lists to more in-depth opinion articles like the the meaning of Zanshin.  

Jesse has also started another website called Karate Lovers.   This is the first social forum I have come across designed specifically for karateka and is pioneering in its concept.  I hope in time this becomes a destination site for serious discussion and "karate nerds" as Jesse puts it.

We live in a much different technological world than when I started training in 1986.  Back then I would travel into downtown Toronto to two stores that sold expensive books that showed diagrams and/or still photos of different techniques.  Information is now at your fingertips for free.  YouTube and other sites provide you with real-time access to information and people from around the globe on almost anything you want to know about the martial arts.  Sadly not all this content is a good thing and that is why we will continue to sort through it and provide you with the best resources we have discovered.

Be sure to check out and bookmark these sites to exercise your mind.

No Excuses- No Limits

First of all a happy Independence Day to all our readers in the U.S. and a happy Canada Day this past week for our readers in Canada.

Speaking of Canada, I would like to take an opportunity to introduce you to another fellow Canadian- Baxter Humby.  Given my busy schedule I do not always have time to physically train at the dojo so I try to supplement my training with books articles, programs and other martial arts information where I can.  Lately I have been watching World Championship Kickboxing (WCK) on satellite when the family is asleep.  I'll watch MMA as well, but enjoy watching WCK as the fighting style more closely resembles what I am used to when I train.  WCK is really Muay-Thai rules and most fighters come from this background.  I digress.

So there I am on my couch watching a late night WCK program when I see a one-armed fighter come on TV.  This of course intrigued me not only to watch him fight, but to also find out a little more about who he was.

Mamaroneck Shares Update

Special thanks to our parents and student volunteers who helped us last night for the 1st of 4 nights for the 2012 Mamaroneck Shares summer street party event. The nights was a huge success and we were able to raise money for the event through our raffle of a FREE MONTH MEMBERSHIP with all proceeds going to Mamaroneck Shares.

• Mamaroneck Emergency Medical Services
• keep aBreast
• The Westchester Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk
• The Mamaroneck-Larchmont Student Aid Fund

Please be sure to stop by our table at the next event on July 19th and buy a raffle ticket to be eligible for a chance to win.

Karate Is Life And Death

Japanese calligraphy for "ki" or "life force"

Reading the title for this article is a little misleading I will readily admit and probably not what you are thinking.  I am not referring to having to defend yourself on the street against malicious attackers, nor am I referring to the "one punch one kill" philosophy of karate and many other of the martial arts.

Rather I am referring to the passing of a very good friend of mine this week.  His name was Shaam Rodrigo and his death, like all deaths, was way too soon.  His death was sudden although he had been fighting Multiple Scleroses for several years.  In his death, I would like to discuss his life and the lessons I think he can show us all, martial artists included.

2012 Patch Readers Choice Winner

On behalf of Sensei Norman and Senpai Miguel, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks to all our parents, students and readers for your support in voting and the wonderful comments many of you left for the 2012 Patch Readers Choice Poll for the Best Martial Arts School in Larchmont and Mamaroneck.  Click here to see the results.

This was a great day to win as it is also our 1 year anniversary that we have been open in Mamaroneck.  This past year as seen us grow not only in numbers, but more importantly in the development of our students- the spirit of the dojo- and our involvement in the local community.  We are humbled by the support you have shown us over the past year and look forward to another great year.

Please be sure to stop by our table at the Mamaroneck Shares events this summer and ask us about our kids and adult classes.

Mamaroneck Shares 2012

Way of Life Shotokan Karate is committed to giving back to the local community in which we operate and live.  We are proud to announce that we will be participating again this year in the 2012 Mamaroneck Shares summer street party charity event.


Dates for the four night event this year are June 21st, July 19th, August 16th and September 21st.   This event sees the main street of Mamaroneck closed each night from 7-11PM and has local businesses offering events to raise monies for local charities.  This year the supported charities include:


1. Mamaroneck Emergency Medical Services: To help MEMS obtain a new ambulance.
2. keep aBreast: A local team supporting the fight against breast cancer.
3. The Westchester Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk: a local team raising awareness and funds to support research efforts of this deadly, yet severely underfunded, disease through The Lustgarten Foundation where 100% of every donation goes directly to research – Research is hope and hope never quits!
4. The Mamaroneck-Larchmont Student Aid Fund: since 1937 has helped Mamaroneck High School graduates with college scholarships. Each award is based solely on a family’s financial need and on available SAF funds.

We Are Now On Pinterest

We are happy to announce we have added another great social media feature to our website- Pinterest.

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard. Pinterest allows you to organize and share things you find on the web. You can browse pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests. A pin is an image added to Pinterest.  A pin can be added from a website using the Pin It button, or you can upload images from your computer. Each pin added using the Pin It button links back to the site it came from.  A board is a set of pins.  A board can be created on any topic.  You can add as many pins to a board as you want. 

You can follow our Way Of Life Shotokan Karate boards and you are able to see our pins on all our boards in real-time.  If we make new boards, you will automatically follow them.  We will be adding more to our board in the days and weeks ahead.

Take a few moments a check out all of our social media features on our website- our Facebook page, our Twitter account, our YouTube videos, check-in our Foursquare and now view our pins on Pinterest.   If you like our website, please be sure to share it with others.

New Edition Of The Shotokan Way

The May edition of The Shotokan Way is available for review.  This month's edition features an in-depth article with Yoshiharu Osaka Shihan, Deputy Managing Director of the JKA, and a great article from Shaun Banfield entitled "From Jack Daniels To Kiai".  The interview with Osaka is another in their series of interviews with some of the most important and influential people in shotokan karate, and is a great insight into his thinking about shotokan.  Both articles also emphasize the "feeling" of techniquies and Shaun's article goes into great detail on this with some pictures as well.

Please check out the latest edition and we will continue to provide you with links and resources from some of the best online shotokan resources that we have found.

Balancing Fun and Discipline

At Way of Life Shotokan Karate-Do we are proud to have our instructors and students write articles for our blog.  The second installment is from Senpai Miguel Novoa and we thank him for his submission "Balancing Fun & Discipline In Kids Karate Classes"- By Senpai Miguel Novoa

Ever since I got my shodan (black belt) at Way of Life Shotokan Karate over 15 years ago, I dedicated the rest of my training to learning how to pass on the Way of Life tradition as it was introduced to me when I was a kid.  As my instructor began to open the dojo floor to me so that I may take that step in becoming an instructor in the kids classes I realized something, kids all require different ways of teaching.

Niju Kun Part 7- Apply The Way Of Karate To All Things

My focus in these short articles is to share my personal experience and provide a modern interpretation of each of the 20 precepts, both in the dojo and in life in general.  In no way do I claim to have "the" insight to what Funakoshi was thinking when he wrote them. Nor do I think my interpretation is applicable for everyone. With this context, I share my thoughts with you humbly and sincerely. I hope you gain or validate your own personal insights in my writing, and explore how they can benefit you in many aspects of your life.

Share Us On Social Media Contest

In an effort to fully utilize the power of our social media, I am happy to announce a special contest for this week for readers of our website.  

All you need to do is share our website (or an article on our website) and I will send you a 10% off discount coupon from our online store.  Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Check-in on Foursquare. +1 us on Google. Sign up for Punchtab.  And so on.  You get the idea.  That simple! 

New Edition Of The Shotokan Way

The March edition of The Shotokan Way is available for review.  This month's edition features an in-depth article on the passing of Sensei Randy Williams and an excellent article on training ground techniques while at home or in close quarters.  On behalf of Way of Life Shotokan Karate we would like to extend our condolences to the family, friends and students of Sensei Randy Williams.  Karate is a close knit community and the loss of someone like him is a loss to all of us all who train.

Please check out the latest edition and we will continue to provide you with links and resources from some of the best online shotokan resources that we have found.

Congratulations To Our Students

Congratulations to everyone who passed their belt examinations Friday night. Their new rank is an example of how attending classes on a regular basis, hard work, effort, energy, focus and perseverance pays off.

We are proud of their achievement and look forward to continuing their karate training with them as they progress even further at our school.

Earn Rewards Just By Visiting Us

We are pleased to announce an exciting new rewards program to the readers of our blog called PunchTab.  

PunchTab is a free service that rewards you for visiting our site and is very simple to use.  All you need to do is sign up using either your Facebook account or email address.  You can then gain points rewards towards gift cards from Groupon, Barnes & Noble, or Restaurant.com. 

To earn points all you need to do is visit our website and Like it on Facebook, become a Fan of our Facebook Page and/or tweet us on Twitter.  You will earn 100 points for each time you visit the site (once daily), and then keep earning by just taking an active roll in our blog and sharing us with others!  You can also earn Badges for performing certain tasks by visiting our website.

So sign up today and start earning rewards points by simply sharing our blog stories and news updates with your friends!

Practice Does Not Make Perfect

" Practice Does Not Make Perfect, Perfect Practice Makes Perfect" 

Vince Lombardi

Being the avid football fan I am of the hometown Superbowl Champion New York Football Giants (has a nice ring to it), I like to watch any and all things football- regular season or off-season. You don't need to be a football fan to know who Vince Lombardi is, the impact he had on football and the impact he still has on popular culture today.  Vince was know for being a perfectionist and demanded excellence from his players at all times- on the practice field as well as on game day.  I heard this quote recently while watching a Vince Lombardi biography and it has applicability to many things, karate training included.

We Are In The News Yet Again

I am a bit late on this story but am happy to say that Way of Life Shotokan Karate was in the news yet again recently.  The Larchmont Daily was kind enough to do a short article on one of our students who was with us at the Village of Mamaroneck Board of Trustees meeting at the end of January.  We were at the meeting to do a short demonstration for the Board members, and to discuss the benefits of karate training for kids and adults.  Click here to read the full article.

We Are Now On Foursquare

We are pleased to announce that we are now on Foursquare. Foursquare serves as a game, pairing virtual rewards with real activities. Users earn badges as they visit different spots. Visit one location enough times and you become the mayor. You can use Foursquare to meet new friends, find out who else is in your area or compete against other people in your city.

New Edition Of The Shotokan Way

Click picture to go to website

The February edition of The Shotokan Way is available for review.  This month's edition features an in-depth interview with Elisa Au Fonseca, and an article on karate being what you make of it entitled "Sort Your Own Garden First".  The article with Elisa is a great read for all aspiring female karateka and the article from Shaun Banfield is a in-depth perspective on other articles that I have written about how people train karate for different reasons.

Please check out the latest edition and we will continue to provide you with links and resources from some of the best online shotokan resources that we have found.

New Items In Our Online Store

Click picture to go to our store

Looking for unique gift ideas or just want to show your love of shotokan karate?  Look no further than our online store.  New items just posted including water bottles, iPad cases, Macbook cases and other cool merchandise.  Our universal logo has the shotokan tiger and reads Way Of Life Shotokan Karate-Do.  For many practioners, karate is a "way of life" and therefore our logo can be proudly worn by all.

All products can be customized with your own design or placed on different priced/sized merchandise on zazzle.com.  Just click on "customize it" when you are viewing one of our products and add your own personal touch.

Shotokan Myths Book Review

If you are new to our blog let me fist start by saying welcome, and we hope that you continue to visit our site for updates and opinions.  I normally do not write articles on "how-to's" as there are many karate websites and YouTube videos that do a good job of this already.  In an effort to diversify our topics I am writing my first book review on an excellent book I recently read entitled Shotokan Myths by Kousaku Yokota Sensei.

New Edition Of The Shotokan Way

Click picture to go to website

The January edition of The Shotokan Way is available for review.  This month's edition features two in-depth interviews with Toshiaki Namiki and Hitoshi Kasuya, an article on thinking differently about kata and its' applications entitled "Be An Artist & Think".  I was particularly taken with the Namiki and Kasuya interviews and their take on incorporating the budo spirit into training.

Please check out the latest edition and we will continue to provide you with links and resources from some of the best online shotokan resources that we have found.

Breaking The Barriers Of Discrimination Through Karate

Given the fact that we celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Day last week and we are coming up on Black History Awareness Month in February, I felt compelled to write a short article on some of the parallels that I see between these events and the life and philosophy of Gichin Funakoshi (founder of modern day Shotokan Karate), and how karate is a way to continue the efforts for equality and non-discrimination among all people today.

Congratulations To Our Students

Congratulations to everyone who passed their belt examinations Friday night. Their new rank is an example of how attending classes on a regular basis, hard work, effort, energy, focus and perserverance pays off.

We are proud of their achievement and look forward to continuing the training with them as they progress even further.

New Edition Of The Shotokan Way

The Christmas edition of The Shotokan Way is available for review.  This month's edition features an in-depth interview with Richard Heselton, an article about proper stances and a provocative article entitled "Karate & Character".  Please check out the latest edition and we will continue to provide you with links and resources from some of the best online shotokan resources that we have found.

Why Not To Make A New Year's Resolution In 2012

On behalf of all of us at Way of Life Shotokan Karate-Do I would like to wish you Happy New Year and to all a healthy and fulfilling 2012 where your dreams and desires are realized whatever they may be. Now that the new year is upon us, it is the ritual season of making resolutions now that the calendar has turned a page.  Here is my advice for your 2012 New Year's Resolution- don't bother.