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Welcome to Kobushi Karate, your online resource for all things Karate! Whether you’re a seasoned black belt or just starting your martial arts journey, we’re here to provide you with valuable resources, inspiration, and a supportive community. Discover expert training tips, find local classes, and connect with fellow Karate enthusiasts that are here in Preston Lancashire.

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Unleash your Inner Power

Karate, a centuries-old martial art, offers a plethora of benefits beyond self-defense. It’s a comprehensive training system that combines physical fitness, mental discipline, and character development.

Physical Benefits:

  • Enhanced Fitness: Karate is a full-body workout that improves strength, flexibility, endurance, and coordination.
  • Improved Posture: Regular practice helps develop good posture, preventing back pain and improving overall physical appearance.
  • Stress Relief: The physical exertion and focus required in karate training can be a great stress reliever.

Mental Benefits:

  • Increased Focus: Karate demands concentration and attention to detail, improving your ability to stay focused in other areas of life.
  • Boosted Confidence: As you progress in karate, you’ll gain confidence in your abilities and overcome challenges.
  • Self-Discipline: Karate instills discipline and self-control, valuable traits that can be applied to all aspects of life.

Character Benefits:

  • Respect: Karate emphasizes respect for others, including instructors, fellow students, and opponents.
  • Patience: Learning karate requires patience and perseverance, as progress is often gradual.
  • Humility: Karate teaches humility, recognizing that there’s always more to learn and that everyone has strengths and weaknesses.

Whether you’re looking to improve your physical fitness, develop mental discipline, or build character, karate offers a rewarding and empowering journey.

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A Brief History of Karate

Karate is said to have originated with Bodhidharma an Indian Buddhist monk. Bodhidharma travelled to the lands of the Liang Dynasty in China around 1,400 years ago, a very far and challenging journey across towering mountains, dark valleys and mighty rivers.

It was whilst in China he lectured Emperor Wu of Liang about Buddhism and whilst there spent nine years gazing at a wall in meditation in a Shaolin monastery in Henan Province. After his death, Bodhidharma is said to have been burried at the foot of Bear Ear Mountain. Some time later temple priests were carrying out repairs, discovered an engraved chest at the site of the wall that Bodhidharma had spent nine years gazing.

In the chest were two texts:

  • The Marrow Cleansing Sutra ( cleansing of the mind, so its true light may shine )
  • The Muscle Modifying Sutra ( refers to the training of the body to achieve exceptionally strong sinews )

In Karate, there are two styles of Shorin-ryu ( Shorinji-ryu ) and Shorei-ryu. Each of these two styles has its own distinctive character. Shorei-ryu adopted the text of the Muscle Modifying Sutra, whilst Shorei-ryu places emphasis on the spirit.

It was whilst Bodhidharma was teaching his students that he realised the path to enlightenment neccessitated training to cultivate physical and mental fortitude. It takes an iron mind to forge an iron body and through toughing ones body informs the mind. It was at this point that Karate was born.

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