Get to Know Us

Our Philosophy

At Village Karate of Stafford we focus on the original purpose of martial arts: self defense. Karate was not originally intended to be a competitive sport. We don’t necessarily have anything against competition, it just isn’t our focus.

We heed the admonishments of the many fathers of modern-day karate that without understanding the applications of kata, kata is merely dance choreography

Karate was originally intended to be a method of personal protection for Okinawan nobility against armed and unarmed assailants. Since weapons were outlawed in Okinawa, the nobility had to learn to defend themselves using their hands, feet, and weapons of opportunity. They were in a unique position to borrow many concepts from other cultures with whom they traded – the heaviest influence being from China, and they incorporated them into their own native grappling art, tegumi. The result was an art that was brutal and efficient.

In 1609, the Satsuma samurai invaded Okinawa. One of the consequences of this this occupation was that Okinawan nobility were prohibited from practicing martial arts on pain of death. To continue their practice, the nobility met in secret and the use of kata, or prearranged solo-drills, became instrumental in the preservation and transmission of martial arts knowledge. Because of this, kata is at the heart of our karate practice.

However, we heed the admonishments of the many fathers of modern-day karate that without understanding the applications of kata, kata is merely dance choreography. So, because our focus is on defense against Habitual Acts of Personal Violence, our karate looks a lot more like traditional jujutsu and MMA than modern sport karate or Tae Kwon Do.

Instructors