Shotokan Karate
Shotokan Karate is a martial art that comes from Japan. It has many concepts and methods that focus on keeping distance and timing it relies on defense and attacks. There are some major components we use and incorporate and combine to make a well-rounded martial artist in our school. This way, they are able to defend themselves in most situations. This style of karate was founded by Gichin Funakoshi who is the main founder of the art and was taught to millions around the world. There are 4 primary methods our art focuses on:
- Kihon (Basics/ Fundamentals):
Practitioners always taught a set of fundamentals to teach consistency and habit responses that help over time. - Kata (Forms):
Set of movements in different directions that teach self defense concepts in patterns. This help with directional coordination and body placement awareness. - Kumite (Sparring):
Sparring focuses on fighting in real time. Often times we teach conditioning that replicate real responses through attacks and defense. Students learn attacking combinations, defense as well as counters, foot work and understanding realistic responses when sparring. - Bunkai (Application of Self Defense Techniques):
Teaches self defense within the Katas and realistic situations that might happen in a fight. We apply Bunkai to many aspects of Shotokan so they are useful.
Fundamentally basics focus on striking, blocking, distribution of weight and understanding hip rotation to gain reach and have agility in the fight. By focusing on the principles our goal is teach long distance technique tactics that create distance from not only getting hit, but also using our full bodies mechanism to generate power in the hit and blocks.
MMA (Mixed Martial Arts)
With Las Vegas being the MMA capital of the world, we must keep up with the times. We offer many concepts throughout our curriculum that incorporate this philosophy as well as training methods to develop a well-rounded martial artist. We incorporate many fundamentals such as boxing, kickboxing, judo as well as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. These training methods are spread throughout our curriculum to help with realism as well as mixing these concepts can help develop all aspects of the martial arts.
空手道 Karate-Do (The Empty Handed Way)
松濤館 Shotokan (Pine Hall)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: OUR ART
As a martial arts school there are key differences between karate and taekwondo. Karate is a predecessor to Taekwondo, and in fact the founder of taekwondo and general Choi Hong-hi, was actually a student of Gichin Funakoshi the founder of our style Shotokan Karate. This is an important fact, because taekwondo and karate both have similar characteristics in culture and in some of not most movements. The easy answer to a very complex question is that taekwondo primarily focuses on kicking and kicking variations with its attack. It also influences fighting methods on its sport as an Olympic sport. Karate in its simplistic manner, primarily focuses on linear attacks such as the straight punch and long stances.
In its base, Shotokan was based off one shot one kill. This is based on one factor that one hit would be accurate and you should be able to hit and get out of range of the opponent immediately. Shotokan as a martial art is considered by most martial artists as a “Hard” style where other martial arts such as Kung Fu are “Soft/Flow Styles”. Shotokan focuses on long linear attacks and long-range defenses that focus on timing, distancing, and quick angles. Due to cultural changes and influences such as boxing, karate has developed amazing timing and accuracy to become a great art for self-defense.
As a martial arts school in Las Vegas, our goal is to create a comprehensive curriculum. Our base is Shotokan karate, but we also include Jiu Jitsu, Kickboxing, some Taekwondo, and various martial arts concepts over the years. We also teach Kobudo (Weapons). We offer a wide range of martial arts to help you become a well-rounded black belt in our academy.
There is truth in saying that traditions don’t teach you how to fight directly. However, they offer long-term benefits like mindset, unity, ethics, and systematic learning. Traditions create a moral code that helps people live better lives. They become part of your lifestyle, reinforcing discipline and long-term training. Some come from Gichin Funakoshi, others are from our school.
No, not necessarily. It depends on your experience, technique, and what your previous instructor taught you. We assess what katas you know, how well you fight, and if your skills align with our curriculum. We also consider habits, differences between schools, and your openness to adapting to our methods. Based on this, we decide where you’ll start or how fast we can move you through the program.
Karate focuses on striking; Jiu Jitsu focuses on grappling. Both are effective forms of self-defense and are best used in combination. Which is “better” depends on the individual using the art.
While some argue Hikite leaves you open, it has training value. It teaches body extension, hip rotation, explosive power, and technique. Whether or not you use it in a fight, it helps develop fundamental mechanics.
Simple. Punch them first. Don’t hesitate and keep it simple. The end.
They strengthen your legs, improve endurance, flexibility, range of motion, hip rotation, footwork, and attack range.
You're right—Gis aren’t used in real fights. But uniforms foster tradition, professionalism, and discipline. They create unity and reinforce that you’re part of something bigger. Early on, I taught in jeans—parents didn’t trust me. Uniforms avoid distractions, especially for kids, and align us with Japanese culture.
