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“The true science of martial arts means practicing them in a way that they will be useful at any time, and to teach them in a way that will be useful in all things.”
-Miyamoto Musashi
Welcome to Village Karate of Stafford!
We are proud to offer instruction in the principles and concepts of Okinawan karate. Karate, which originated in Okinawa, is a system of self-defense that focuses on personal security and protection, body conditioning and survival against Habitual Acts of Personal Violence. Our goal is to bring the classical teachings of Okinawan karate to Stafford and make them relevant to the modern age. Village Karate of Stafford is lead by Mr. Eric Balough and Mr. John O’Driscoll and falls under the direction of Mr. Barry Wake (8th Dan, Matsubayashi Shorinryu).No politics. No egos. No one is a “Grand Master” as we all are students. Some of us have just been around a little longer than others. We are all on the path of learning. We can all benefit from each other.
-Sensei Barry Wake
Recent Articles
Differences between Okinawan and Japanese Karate (Part 1 – The Easy Explanation)
The really short answer is the focus/philosophy of the specific art, technique focus, and stances. Originally, karate was an combination of local Okinawan grappling, called tegumi, Chinese kung fu and other arts from Indonesia, the Philippines, Formosa, and Thailand. Because it was treated as a self-defense system with a grappling base, most of the techniques…
Karategi-clad cheerleaders
It has been a while! Enough of that… let’s get into it… Last year, I was at a place in my life where I could once again dedicate time to the study of martial arts. Like many practitioners, it has been a lifelong journey of learning, trial, and many, many errors. In addition to stepping…
Book Review: Thoughts and Rants From a Wanderer on the Path
What would happen if you took a series of blog posts, social media posts and notebook journal entries, loosely organized them by themes and then published them as a book? You would get something like Timothy Jurgens’ “Thoughts and Rants From a Wanderer on the Path. The author, Timothy Jurgens, has been studying various forms…
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