A personal look at Zen, mushin, meditation, kata, and awareness in Kyokushin. I also included a couple of experiences from my own training that helped shape how I understand mushin in practical terms.
A boxer will always beat a Kyokushin fighter because Kyokushin doesn’t allow punches to the face.
Right?
That claim gets repeated constantly, but it usually says more about the ruleset than the fighter. I take a look at head punches, bare-knuckle striking, boxing gloves, low kicks, bad habits, and what “realistic” training actually means.
How much of our karate is really our own?
Over time, the lessons, habits, priorities, and even small mannerisms of our teachers become part of the way we train and teach. Eventually, what we inherited no longer feels borrowed—it simply becomes our karate.
In this reflection, I look at the influence our instructors leave behind, the responsibility of carrying that forward, and the moment we sometimes recognize our own teachers in the students who come after us.
What part of your karate clearly came from one of your teachers?
I’ve been thinking about giri — duty, obligation, and the responsibility created between teacher and student.
In the dojo, that responsibility is visible in the things we wear: the dojo patch that identifies where we come from, and the Kyokushin kanji that connects us to a much larger tradition.
What do you think we owe to the dojo, our instructors, our students, and the art we represent?
This is the final video in the syllabus series from the 2026 USA-IFK Arizona Seminar. Shihan Michael Monaco covers the Shodan syllabus as taught during the seminar at Kaizen-Kan Kyokushin in Tucson, Arizona.
The full series follows the IFK syllabus progression from 10th kyu through Shodan.
Continuing the USA-IFK syllabus series from the IFK Arizona Seminar.
This video covers the 1st Kyu syllabus as taught by Shihan Michael Monaco (8th Dan). The class begins in Sanchin Dachi to the count before progressing through mugorei and Levels 1, 2, and 3.
Feedback and discussion are always welcome.
Latest installment from the 2026 USA-IFK Seminar & Grading at Kaizen-Kan Kyokushin in Tucson, AZ.
Shihan Mike Monaco (8th Dan), President and Founder of USA-IFK, teaches the IFK 3rd Kyu syllabus — starting in Sanchin Dachi, first static by the count, then moving through Mugorei, Level 2, and Level 3.
Demonstrations by Senpai Dominic Veltre under Shihan Monaco's direction.
More from the seminar still to come.