Shotokan Karate for Adults and Kids in San Bruno near San Francisco
Welcome to JKA NorCal Shotokan Karate!
We are a traditional Shotokan Karate club affiliated with the Japan Karate Association American Federation. To find out more about the karate club, go to the about us page. We have kids & adult karate classes five days a week, at our Dojo in San Bruno, about 20 minutes south of San Francisco. If you’d like to train with us, please see our schedule and contact us to find out more.
FromOctober 25 to 26, JKA NorCal held its first-ever training camp in San Francisco, California. It was our great honor and privilege to welcome Hirayama Sensei, 7th Dan from the Japan Karate Association Headquarters, as our special guest instructor.
Official Camp Photo from Saturday SessionsWomen’s Only Photo!
The camp brought together more than80 karate-ka from across the United States. With attendees coming from as far as Miami, Vancouver, and Tokyo, we’re touched to have received such overwhelming support from the local, national, and international karate community. Additionally, out of all participants, over half were women. The highest-ranked female in the JKA instructor program, Hirayama Sensei is an inspiration for many karateka for her approachability, extensive competitive career, and excellent instruction. With these being her first official classes in the States, it’s no surprise that so many travelled to learn from her! We’re extremely pleased that dojos from so many organizations and affiliations came together, eager to learn.
Friday
The camp began unofficially with a general class closed to only NorCal students and visiting U.S. National Team members. Here, Hirayama Sensei introduced us to the concept of “0-10-0,” a rapid cycling between relaxation and contraction. This principle encourages practitioners to perform individual techniques at full power, followed by releasing all tension before moving on. She also gave insight intodifferent levels of training by explaining progressions for gohon kumite between the color belt, brown belt, and black belt levels. By framing the drills in such an accessible way, Sensei provided participants of all skill levels a way to apply her lessons in their daily practice.
Hirayama Sensei also led a second, advanced session that continued on the “0-10-0” theme with applications in kihon and kata. Sensei then provided detailed feedback for Bassai Dai, Kanku Dai, and Jion with emphasis on technical precision.
Saturday
Open Mat
On the official opening day, we kicked off the morning with an open mat. Here, all participants had the opportunity to train with current and former members of the JKA-USA National Team.
This provided a rare opportunity where competitors had open options to work at their own pace in collaboration with other high-level karateka. While some team members ran a short competition-focused kumite class, others reviewed advanced katas with rising competitors or shared personal favorite kihon sequences for improving their mind-body connection. This casual, workshop-esque atmosphere boosted morale, starting everyone’s weekend off with an air of enthusiasm and excitement.
Hirayama Sessions 1-3
After reviewing the concepts from Friday’s closed session, Sensei emphasized using tame (the loading of potential energy into your lower body in transition between techniques) to maximize both power and distance in kihon and kumite. This can be easily demonstrated when comparing two types of gyakuzuki (reverse punch). The first, where one completes their punch at the same time the foot lands, is quick but limits one’s mobility. The second, where one “snakes” their front foot out before the hand technique, allows the attacker the ability to yuriashi (shift in) towards their target and load more power into the hand. The ability to practice and utilize both methods maximizes one’s skillset and gives one another “tool” to apply in kumite.
Another theme was using relaxation to increase the quickness of the hip. This was built upon in kihon sequences that cut quick angles and in a partner kumite drill that required quickly stepping backward to avoid an oizuki.
Hirayama Sensei finished the day with a deep dive into Empi. She spoke about using internal tension in one’s legs for proper stance transitions, particularly in the shuto-uke sequences. A general focus of kata instruction was on correct execution, which encompasses correctness of posture, stances, hip positions, eye direction, and course (trajectory) of techniques.
Hirayama Sensei instructing on Empi.
Sunday
Hirayama Sessions 4-5
Sunday’s classes began with exercises that emphasized the importance of a stable base to generate power. For example, punching with the feet fully together or with one foot off the floor is significantly more difficult than punching from the standard shizentai. Keeping that extra focus on the support leg in mind, Sensei walked the class through kihon sequences that challenged everyone’s control of weight distribution. This eventually evolved into a fast-paced three-partner drill that challenged participants to push for speed while still relying on that supporting foot to drive the hand.
The afternoon session was an advanced session that covered Unsu. After a quick review of proper foot courses for sanchin-dachi and nekoashi-dachi, Sensei gave technical details throughout a full kata walkthrough. Special focus was given to the kibadachi sequence after the first kiai. She stressed that one should train to be able to generate power both with and without the yuriashi to aid them. Thus, we must rely on other parts of the technique to maintain a similar feel to our techniques. Examples are whipping the ageshuto hand while firmly pulling the hikite hand or using the connection into the feet to initiate the drive of the torso. Sensei also gave a short progression to help camp-goers with breaking down the jump. Similar to in Kanku-sho, you can first practice rotating 360 degrees around a vertical axis and stepping backwards into the landing position without ever leaving the ground. From there, you can slowly speed up and make the axis increasingly horizontal. Finally, you should work on dropping from standing into your final position, landing your hands and feet at the same time to make a single sound.
We are deeply grateful to the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California for allowing us to use their beautiful space and connect our event to the rich cultural history in San Francisco. We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to Hirayama Sensei for her exceptional instruction and dedication, as well as to the organizers, volunteers, and supporting dojos who made this camp such a success. We hope to see everyone back for next year’s iteration!
JKA NorCal is proud to be bringing Sensei Yuko Hirayama, 7th Dan from JKA World Headquarters to California for the first time! We will have a total of 6 training sessions, including one open mat with members of the JKA National Team, spread over the last weekend of October (25th-26th). See you there!
We were honored to have over 43 dojos participate in this year’s JKA American Federation Nationals.
Furthest Traveled
The dojo that traveled the furthest to compete was the JKA Maine dojo.
Judges and Volunteers
We would like to extend a huge thank you to all the judges and volunteers for this event. Truly, this event would not have happened without you. This list of dojos is as entered by registered participants, judges and volunteers.
Judges +
Competitors
Volunteers
Dojos
28
1
Tokon Martial Arts
33
9
Miami Shotokan Karate Club
40
27
JKA Nor Cal
19
1
JKA Maine
13
1
New Orleans Shotokan Academy
11
2
JKA Los Angeles / Machida Academy
9
0
JKA Revere
8
0
HP SHOTOKAN
6
1
JKA WF Chicago Karate Institute, Inc.
14
0
Shotokan Karate institute
6
1
Louisiana Karate Association
7
2
University of Louisiana Lafayette Karate Club
6
0
JKA of New Mexico
11
0
JKA Shiroma NY
5
2
JKA East Bay
4
0
Houramon Dojo
3
0
JKA Las Vegas/Los Angeles
5
2
JKA Karate of Arizona
2
3
Arizona JKA
1
0
Castillo’s Shotokan Karate-Do
1
0
Cleveland/Greenville Shotokan Karate Club
1
0
JKA Ashland
0
0
LKA, JKA of Arizona, & USM Karate Club
7
0
MIT Harvard Karate Hub
3
0
JKA Brooklyn
2
1
Silicon Valley Karate
1
0
Kyoshin Ryu Karate
1
0
NP Shotokan
1
0
Pantoja’s Shotokan Karate Do
1
0
Shotokan Karate Center Coral Springs JKA
1
0
Shotokan Karate Leadership School
1
0
Venice Karate Club
0
5
Shreveport Karate Club
0
4
JKA World Federation America
0
3
JKAAF
0
2
SKDI
0
1
Brevard Shotokan Karate
0
1
Dojo San Bruno
0
1
JKA Emory Karate Club
0
1
JKA Montville
0
1
Maumelle Karate Club
0
1
New Iberia Karate Institute
0
1
Orlando Shotokan Karate Club
0
1
UConn JKA
0
1
United Bay Area Karate Club (UBAKC)
Competitors
JKA NorCal had the most competitors, followed very closely by Miami Shotokan Karate Club from all the way in Florida.
Medals
Tokon took the most medals overall, and also the most Gold, Silver and tied with Miami Shotokan Karate Club for the most Bronze medals overall.
All participants should check in on Friday Nov 10, 2023 at the San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront (1800 Old Bayshore Hwy, Burlingame, CA 94010) between 6:00 pm – 9:00pm. The check in desk is located on the 2nd floor, outside the Grand Ballroom. You will receive your competitor badge at check-in
There will be limited late check-in on Saturday Nov 11, 2023 beginning at 8:00am. To speed up your check-in, use the following link to complete the JotForm waiver Here
Hosted by: JKA Northern California
San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront: Burlingame, CA
November 10-12th, 2023
Men, women, children, all ranks and Shotokan organizations are invited! Spectators are welcome!
Dates & Times:
Nationals Check-in, Clinics and Dan testing
Friday November 10, 2023 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm: For all Judges and Officials, Mandatory Judging Seminar and Judges Meeting with Sensei Jose Ferrand, Sensei Jerry Kattawar, Sensei Shu Takahashi, and Sensei Robert Jacobs, led by Sensei Yasuaki Nagatomo. Please register for judging here. (Location: JKA NorCal) 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm: Special Training Seminar with Sensei Jose Ferrand and Sensei Shu Takahashi (Location: JKA NorCal) 4:00pm – 6:00pm: Dan Testing (up to Sandan, Location: JKA NorCal) 6:00pm – 9:00pm: Check in (Location: Grand Ballroom, Marriot Waterfront)
Tournament
Saturday November 11, 2023 (Grand Ballroom) 8:00am – 9:00am: Late Check In. No registrations accepted on this day. 8:30am: National Anthem, Competitors Oath, and Bow-in 9:00am: Competition beginsin all rings 6:00pm: Day 1’s competition ends
Waivers must be completed before check-in on Friday, November 10th: https://form.jotform.com/232205744805049
Registration closes November 1st – but register early to get a discount. Early registration discount 10% off price below on all events ends September 10thmidnight!After October 21st, registration increases by 25%
Team Kata: $75; Team Kumite $75 Only One person registers for the whole team.
A competitor may register for as many divisions for which they are are eligible (i.e. an 18 year old college student may register for Youth 16-18, Collegiate, and Adult divisions)
This tournament will be following the JKA tournament rules and regulations. Beginner and Intermediate divisions will follow slightly modified rules for individual Kata and Kumite.
Eligibility All shotokan karate practitioners, regardless of local, national, or international affiliation, may compete at the JKA/AF National Karate Championships.
Kata Beginner: Competitors will perform Two katas selected from Taikyoku Shodan to Heian Godan. Competitors may repeat the same kata from Round 1 in Round 2. Each kata will be scored, and the winner will be selected based upon the combined score. Intermediate: Competitors will perform Twodifferent katas selected from Heian Shodan to Bassai Dai, Kanku Dai, Empi, and Jion. Competitors must perform a different kata in Round 2 than was performed in Round 1. Each kata will be scored, and the winner will be selected based upon the combined score. Advanced/Black Belt: Competitors will follow standard JKA Rules for kata with Flagged Heian and Sentai elimination rounds until the top 8. The top 8 will perform their tokui (favorite) kata for scores. The top 4 competitors in the Black Belt Men’s and Women’s divisions will compete in Finals on Sunday. The top 2 competitors in the Advanced Youth 12-13, Youth 14-15, Youth 16-18, Collegiate, and Senior divisions will compete in Finals on Sunday.
Note: Where Beginner and Intermediate divisions are combined competitors may repeat the same kata in Round 2 that was performed in Round 1.
Kumite Beginner&Intermediate: All matches are shobu-ippon. Competitors will follow a standard single elimination tournament bracket with a split Third-place. Following the completion of the bracket, competitors eliminated in the first round will be paired for exhibition matches. Advanced/Black Belt: All elimination matches are shobu-ippon. Competitors will follow a standard single elimination tournament bracket with a split Third-place. The top 4 competitors in the Black Belt Men’s and Women’s divisions will compete in Finals on Sunday. The top 2 competitors in the Advanced Youth 12-13, Youth 14-15, Youth 16-18, Collegiate, and Senior divisions will compete in Finals on Sunday. The final match is shobu-nippon.
Accommodations/Hotels/Airfare/Wellness
Hotel: There is a discounted group rate for attendees at the San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront. The special room rate will be available until October 12thor until the group block is sold-out, whichever comes first.
Travel: There is discounted airfare via United Airlines to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) for 5-10% off. Oakland (OAK) and San Jose (SJC) are viable airports to fly into, but this code will only apply to flights into SFO. To access the discount, use the link below and enter both codes like so: ZNRH810402
Event Location: San Francisco (SFO) Z Code: ZNRH Agreement Code 810402 Valid Travel Dates: 02-Nov-2023 to 21-Nov-2023
