It's been a while since I last posted! It dawned on me that we have several new students that have recently joined our organization. One of the biggest initial challenges is learning how to tie your obi (belt). I decided to create a video demonstrating how to do it.

There are several other ways to tie your belt. If in doubt, you should ask your Sensei at your home dojo how they prefer to have you tie your belt. Many Sensei's require a unique belt tying process in order to denote their martial arts school vs. another. For instance, in my dojo, it is important to me that everyone's knot on their belt points to their left hand side. In this way, we all are consistent within the dojo. For me, it is also a nod to the East... the birthplace of karate.

If you are interested in receiving regular email updates when new blog posts are added, be sure to Subscribe to the Branson Karate and Kobudo Blog!  Also, I encourage all students of Seiyo No Shorin-Ryu Karate to register as a member on our National Web site at www.seiyonoshorinryu.org. In this way you can receive rank requirement checklists, instructional videos and other tools to help you in your karate training.

    In today's digital age we are fortunate as we can share information quickly to anyone that has access to a device with an internet connection. I have a personal goal to make karate training more accessible and easier to learn for anyone. In pursuing this goal, I've helped organize a curriculum database Web site that contains promotional checklists, detailed technique description sheets and kata outlines for each rank up to 1st Kyu (brown belt with a black stripe.) In working with other members of the Seiyo No Shorin-Ryu organization we have also started adding multimedia files such as videos and photos to rank sections. We believe this will be a tremendous training resource for all our members. 
    To access this new database, you will be required to register as a Seiyo No Shorin Ryu Karate & Kobudo Kai member. If you already have an up-to-date annual Seiyo No Shorin-Ryu Karate membership, you will be credited the membership registration fee. Colored belts (kyus) are $25/yr. Black belts (dans) are $50/yr.
    As this site is brand new, it is currently in BETA status. This means, that it's a work in progress. We appreciate any helpful suggestions or tracking of any errors that you may find. Please click on the "contact" page to send that feedback.
   
   Let's get started! Visit this link to access the new Web site: http://snsr.wildapricot.org/

NOTE: This is the BETA site address provided by our Web site database hosting service. The official Web site address will be http://www.seiyonoshorinryu.org and will be activated by June 1, 2013. So, don't bookmark the "wildapricot" address.

The site will constantly be growing and improving as we add more photos, videos, helpful documents and tools.