Athens
Yoshukai was founded in May 2006. Athens Yoshukai is an official
dojo of the World
Yoshukai Karate Kobudo
Organization as directed by Master Yamamoto. Athens Yoshukai
adheres
to the principles and
edicts of Yoshukai Karate and also seeks to expand knowledge of the
martial
arts on the UGA campus.
Instruction
is free. Sensei Hofmeister feels that martial arts instruction is
a basic life skill and, like
academic knowledge, should
not be charged for, as the student's improvement is of value to
society as a whole.
Uniforms, testing, and miscellaneous materials must be purchased
by the student.
Yoshukai
karate is a karate-do, as opposed to a karate-jitsu. 'Karate'
means "open hand" and
'do' means "way of life"
while jitsu means "martial art". Therefore, karate-jitsu is "open
hand martial
art" and karate-do is
"open hand way of life". Yoshukai karate isn't solely about
fighting and
defending. It is
about improving yourself, learning mentally, spiritually, and
physically. Yoshukai
students can not merely
perform the required techniques accurately, they must also have the
dedication and mental and
spiritual focus to earn their higher belt ranks.
Osu!
Dojo Rules
- Bow when entering and
leaving the dojo
- Bow towards the door
whenever a brown or blackbelt enters the dojo
- Do not wear jewelry in the
dojo for two reasons. First,
it can injure yourself or others during
techniques. Second,
everyone in the dojo should be equal save their belt ranks and jewelry denotes
additional social status. Wedding
rings are the only acceptable jewelry in the dojo.
- Do not fold your arms
across your chest or put your hands on your hips. Doing so is
disrespectful as only Masters may do this. Always
fold your hands behind your back if you must.
- Respect all those of
higher belts than you, whom you must address by their last name.
- Blackbelts can be
addressed as "sensei", by their last names, or whatever they request
that you call
them. 3rd degree and higher
blackbelts have special titles which should be used on formal bow-ins.
- No gum chewing in class.
- No profanity in the dojo.
