October 5th, 2014

From Kyoshi Matt Kaplan

Shihan, Ueshiro Okinawan Karate Family Club

Karate and Family, Family and Karate

The question – Why train karate as a family?

The Priddy-Miller family – Sara, Joel, and their 6-year old son, Mathes – had fun exploring this question. Although they had joined the Ueshiro Okinawan Karate Family Club (State College, PA) just one month ago, they hit the mark during a family conversation about karate. They came up with the following three sayings:

The family that kicks together sticks together.

The family that punches together bunches together.

The family that gis together "Wheees!" together.

For more thoughts and student comments about the benefits of family training, see the Hanshi-Kaplan 2007 report: The Family that Trains Together Stays Together: Karate Training as a Pathway Toward Family Unity. It’s available online at: http://extension.psu.edu/youth/intergenerational/curricula-and-activities/handouts/factsheets/the-family-that-trains-together-stays-together.

Domo arigato gozaimasu,

Kyoshi Matt Kaplan

Shihan, Ueshiro Okinawan Karate Family Club

State College, PA