This latest podcast calls into question the accepted translation of “Pinan” as “Peaceful Mind”. I’m currently preparing a book on the combative application of the Pinan (Heian) series and, as a result of some of the new research for that book, I’m now convinced that the karate world has got the translation wrong and that this alternative translation has ramifications for how we should view those forms. You can see the characters used for writing “Pinan” (Heian) as part of this blog entry and their meaning will be explained in the podcast.

Welcome to the latest Iain Abernethy.com podcast! This month’s podcast is called “Kata: Why Bother?” and it discusses the nature and value of kata from a practical viewpoint. It also asks if there is a place of kata in modern training or if it is increasingly becoming an archaic waste of training time?

The podcast is around 18 minutes long and is based on an article I wrote a number of years ago. The podcast also looks why kata were created in the first place and suggests how we need to approach kata if it is to have value as a record of combative techniques and as a training method.

I hope that you enjoy the podcast and as always any feedback will be gratefully received (iain@iainabernethy.com)

 Hi All,

Please find below the latest podcast! You can listen to this podcast online using this blog’s built in player, or you can download it to listen to later.

In this latest podcast I cover the combative application of the Pinan / Heian series of kata. These kata are sadly often considered to be little more than a form of physical exercise for children or beginners. However, it is my view that the Pinan / Heian series do in fact represent a coherent, complete and highly effective civilian combat system. Some of the reasons for why I hold that view are covered in this podcast.

Traditionally this is the time where many of us set our goals and resolutions for the coming year. I’ve therefore prepared a short and timely podcast on the basics of goal setting for this blog.

It’s important to have goals, but if these goals are poorly defined they do little to help us. By following the method outlined in the podcast, your goals will have meaning, will help guide your actions, will give you a measure of your progress, will motivate you and will help you achieve the things you want in 2007; both inside and outside of the dojo.

When most people come to set their new-year resolutions they are often about all the negative things they want to stop doing. In addition to getting rid of a few bad habits, I’d also encourage you to set some positive goals for 2007. There must be loads of thing you want to achieve and accomplish in 2007 and the simple goal setting methods discussed in the podcast is certain to help you.