On Wednesday, May 20th, 2026, 27 karateka from the Midwest and beyond gathered on the beautiful campus of Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Missouri for Summer Special Training. Our leader, sandan Takamasa Morita from the Kansas City dojo, set the tone of the training at the very first meeting. We were here to face ourselves. Our goal was to reach our perceived limits and then break through them. We were fortunate to also have godans David Altman, Bobby Bird, and Mike Lyon to help guide us through this training. — John Wood, sandan, Chicago
The anxiety I felt while running each morning in the weeks leading up to special training, and while thinking about standing still in kibadachi for ninety minutes or practices of 1,000 or more techniques – I knew that I wouldn’t give up, but I was still anxious about special training and anxious about doing my best. I was also excited about it. Once the training began, my anxiety disappeared, but special training is the hardest thing I ever did.— Sigeppi Muse, shichikyu, Kansas City
(photos: Mike Lyon except as noted)
Sanbon Kumite photos
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That final practice of 100 Tekki Shodan at four in the morning was a chilly 50 degrees. As we warmed up at the beginning of practice, we were stretching up and reaching for the sky and I let out a deep sigh and… I saw a shooting star. What an incredible moment in the dark and cold. Near the end of practice, steam floated off everyone’s wet uniforms and their heavy breathing condensed into fog, As I looked around the field I saw that everyone looked like ancient sages, their hair covered in wet silver jewels, pure ki rising visibly from their mouths and shoulders as we danced across the grass.
— Benja Smith, nikyu, Kansas City
