ONLINE KARATE ACADEMY TOZAKI GAKUJI

main-image

GEN original series "ONLINE KARATE ACADEMY" featuring Tozaki Gakuji.

 

Tozaki is a current member of the USA National Karate Kata Team.

Over the past three years, his ranking on the world stage has skyrocketed, and in November of this year (2021) he placed 5th at the WKF World Championships.

How did Tozaki improve, to the point where he can compete with the top competitors in the world, this fast? The secret he thinks is his body control.

Tozaki has trough practice come to realize the power of controlling your body and in this video series he will share his ideas on how you too can use body control to improve in Kata competition.

----------------------------

● Profile ●

Tozaki Gakuji 

Born in San Diego, U.S.A. 
He represents American in Karate Kata competitions.
He is a member of Okinawan Ryue-ryu Karate-do and is currently based in San Diego.

He won 3rd place at the 2013 Pan American Championships, 3rd place at the ANOC World Beach Games, 1st place at the 2020 U.S. National Championships, and 1st place in the men's kata division at the 2021 Egyptian Premier League.

He is ranked 9th in the world by the WKF World Karate Federation (as of October 2021) and is ranked 4th by K1 from 2020-2021.
 

 

Year of Production: 2022

 

1.CHAPTER 8 Seienchin

In this episode, Tozaki explains some of the important details when doing Seienchin.
First of all, you should step in while having a clear image of your opponent in front of you.
Then by moving in from your foot you can take the space without your opponent being able to attack you.
Next, when performing the elbow strike, you should not turn your body around your centerline, but instead, turn your body around your front hip to gain more power.
※「追加」Lastly, when doing the last Ura-ken make sure to step forward from your heel, that way it will be easier to extend your arm out all the way in the strike.

 

↓ ↓ ↓ Click here

 

Updated on Mar. 9 2022

2.CHAPTER 7 Heian Godan

Now it's time to get into the specifics of Kata.
This time, we will focus on Heian Godan.
To receive the opponent's first attack quickly and strongly, have a feeling of sinking your body and block while being conscious of your lower Tanden.
After striking to the front, when you are going to make a Gedan Barai behind yourself, do not turn with your arms out wide.
Instead, rotate your body while bringing your arms in close to the center of your body.
And then execute the technique in a large motion.

 

↓ ↓ ↓ Click here

https://gen-universe.com/video/2443

 

Updated on Mar. 2 2022

3.CHAPTER 6 Keri

In this episode, Tozaki explains the important points of kicking.
The main focus is how to kick without your opponent noticing it coming.
He explains that the important point is in the way you lift your foot off the ground during the initial motion of the kick.
By lifting up from your heel it becomes difficult to bend the knee enough making it easy for your opponent to notice.
The trick is to lift your entire foot off the ground at the same time.
He then continues to explain various points to help you achieve this.

 

↓ ↓ ↓ Click here

 

Updated on Feb. 23 2022

4.CHAPTER 5 Tsuki

Here are some points to keep in mind when doing Tsuki.
Firstly, By pulling back your hip, on the striking side, as the Tsuki reaches the end of its motion, then you will be able to use your shoulder blade more effectively.
In order to make your strike travel straight, focus on moving from your thumb and index finger.
Lastly, by focusing on the back of your head, you will be able to do a Tsuki that does not waver.

 

↓ ↓ ↓ Click here

 

Updated on Feb. 16 2022

5.CHAPTER 4 Uke

Uke - Important points 
In this episode, Tozaki introduces some of the points he thinks are important when doing uke techniques.
When doing Uke the most important thing is to make sure that your opponent’s attack does not hit your vital areas. To do that, he says, try to focus on the extension and contraction of your shoulder blades.
By making use of this movement you can move more effectively without giving your opponents any openings to hit.

 

↓ ↓ ↓ Click here

 

Updated on Feb. 9 2022

6.CHAPTER 3 Movement basics

Opening and closing the body
In this episode Tozaki introduces the use of opening and closing of the body.
He says, that if you turn your body with your hips open, then you will be too slow.
Instead, you should change the direction of your body around your centerline.
Using that same idea when moving forward, do not just step forward, but move your body in such a way as to not expose your vital areas to your opponent.
Adding a Tsuki to this movement, do not strike after your foot has landed, instead your hand should move almost as if carrying your body forward.

 

↓ ↓ ↓ Click here

 

Updated on Feb. 2 2022

7.CHAPTER 2 Jumping power

Developing explosive power
In this episode, Tozaki introduces various jumping exercises to improve your explosiveness.
Firstly, the vertical jump.
The important thing in this exercise is to extend your body as much as you can, and at the top of the movement to pull your legs in, contracting your body.
Next, Tozaki shows an exercise where you turn your body 90 degrees and then 180 degrees as you jump, followed by jumping on one leg.

 

↓ ↓ ↓ Click here

 

Updated on Jan. 19 2022

8.CHAPTER 1 Body control

In this first video, Tozaki will show you some exercises to help you isolate individual part of your body.

In the world of dance, isolation is one of the most fundamental skills you can learn, and the same concept of moving individual body parts also exists in karate.

By practicing the exercises presented in this video, you will become able to move your shoulders, hips, shoulder blades, and other body parts more freely and with greater accuracy.

 

He then implements these ideas into the basic Tsuki.

His idea is that by turning your hips and changing your stance into shiko-dachi, then you can use the momentum of your center dropping to strike faster without using any force. Then you can also add another strike during the "Uki" movement back from shiko-dachi. Using this method you too can learn how to strike without using excessive force.

 

↓ ↓ ↓ Click here

 

Updated on Jan. 19 2022

RELATED ARTICLES