In this podcast I’d like to explain how an individual kata can record a complete fighting system! There is a common view that individual kata are for specific circumstances, and it is only when all the kata are combined that we have a complete style. I think this is an incorrect and mistaken view; both from a practical and historical perspective. Surely, one kata can’t record a complete fighting system though? Well, in my view it can!

You may be asking how a relatively small number of techniques can ever be considered to be a full system? Well if you are, listen to the podcast and I’ll do my best to explain my thinking to you! Kata are a lot deeper and much wider reaching than many people suppose.

As part of this discussion we will also cover the nature of kata, how kata should be practised in order to realise its full potential, what some of the past masters had to say about kata and its application, and how and why kata were created in the first place.

It’s officially our 30th podcast! I say “officially” because we’ve done things like double-podcasts and workout podcasts in the past. Regardless, I’m classing this as our 30th podcast … and it’s my website so no one can stop me! Thanks to you all for your support of the podcasts. The amount of downloads is fantastic (and pushing our bandwidth limits!). I’m truly delighted that so many of you are finding these podcasts useful.

This month I want to discuss what many seem to regard as the biggest secret in the martial arts! While there is no doubt that many martial artists are aware of this secret, there are very few who will publicly discuss it. Indeed, most will totally deny this highly influential secret and seem to regard it, and the influence it has, with great distain.

In this month’s podcast I’d like to look at what I feel are the three biggest errors made by karateka today. As regular listeners will know, I like to keep my podcasts positive as it is way too easy to stand back and point out what is wrong with the martial arts.

Personally, I’d rather put forward solutions and suggest how things could be made better. However, people will only be interested in potential solutions if they are aware there is a problem in the first place. So what I thought I’d do in this podcast is point out what I feel are the three most common, and yet frequently unseen, mistakes in karate.

I hope you’ll forgive me for being a little “negative” on this occasion and that you appreciate that my purpose in pointing out these errors is to encourage us to think of positive solutions and to help ensure that both the art of karate and its practitioners can reach their maximum potential.

Richard Barnes is back! Those of you who have been following the podcasts from the very beginning will remember that the first podcast was an interview with myself conducted by Richard Barnes. Over 80,000 podcast downloads later and Richard is back!

In this light-hearted podcast, Richard and I discuss my own personal journey through the martial arts; from my very first class to the current day. We also discuss the purpose of kata, the rise of the “McDojo”, the realities of self-protection, the future for karate, my current training, and a number of important martial topics.

Regular listeners to the www.GeoffThompson.com podcast will also be treated to numerous “in-jokes” and an update on the unnatural urges that afflict Richard’s dog! I had a lot of fun recording this podcast, and despite all the joking around and general silliness, I think we managed to fit some interesting discussions on the martial arts in there too!