September Outdoor Location

September Outdoor Location

View from the September 2023 Outdoor location, Hendersonville-Columbus NC area. A good place and a good day for training. *** Read the groundbreaking new book True Karate Dō “One of the best books I’ve read in years, inviting and compelling. Jeff Brooks moves effortlessly from martial arts to Buddhism to consciousness studies, self-transformation, and related fields […]

August Outdoor Training

August Outdoor Training

Mountain Karate August Outdoor training area. Some visitors, accustomed to an urban, built environment, find this area to be not really real. Most find it a challenging and inspiring place to train. And return again and again.

New Murals

New Murals

Beautiful and inspiring new murals on the dojo wall – painted by Tarleton Brooks, black belt instructor at Mountain Karate. For a close look at these and other dojo art, visit our Art page. Post by Jeff Brooks, author of the influential book True Karate Dō, instructor of Yamabayashi Ryu at Mountain Karate, Saluda, NC

Mountain Training June 2023

Mountain Training June 2023

View from this week’s mountain training site

New Yudansha

New Yudansha

Mountain Karate, Saluda, NC Congratulations to Mountain Karate’s three new Yudansha! Promoted during our Sixth Annual Seminar, following four days of testing in the dojo and the mountains, (and after years of training), showing hard-earned strength, endurance and skill. And congratulations to those who promoted to higher dan ranks, to kyu ranks, and to all […]

Sixth Annual Seminar Mountain Training

Sixth Annual Seminar Mountain Training

June 6, 2023, Henderson County, NC We stood on a rock ledge looking over a valley, surrounded by pine forest. We could see the mountains rolling out to the horizon, disappearing into the clouds. Usually blue, but tonight yellow. As the sun set over the west, we ascended. While some felt the world closing in, […]

Mountain Training

Mountain Training

Mountain Karate members doing karate on mountain.

Scrolls at Mountain Karate

Scrolls at Mountain Karate

Black Belt instructor Tarleton Brooks’ with her hand-painted karate scrolls. Prints of these scrolls have been seen at dojos around the world. Some of the originals are on display at Mountain Karate.

Sixth Annual Yamabayshi 合宿 Seminar June, 2023

Sixth Annual Yamabayshi 合宿 Seminar June, 2023

June 7 – 11, 2023 合宿 Intensive training High altitude outdoor training National Yamabayashi ryu black belt testing New tactics and techniques New bunkai applications Visits by outstanding practitioners of Yamabayashi Ryu held at Mountain Karate, Yamabayashi ryu honbu, Saluda, NC. Registration now underway.

Independence Day Outdoor Workout

Independence Day Outdoor Workout

We practiced on rock with nothing between us and the earth or the sky.   We have a nice dojo. Wood floor, lots of light. But we don’t need it to train. We have a wonderful group. Dedicated and strong. So valuable. But our training does not depend on a group. Nor does it depend on […]

Fifth Annual Yamabayashi Seminar in Saluda

Fifth Annual Yamabayashi Seminar in Saluda

Mountain Karate hosted the Fifth Annual Yamabayashi Seminar in Saluda this week. Intensive training, black belt testing, special tactics and techniques, new bunkai applications and insights deepened and challenged the skills of all the visitors and members. It was great.

Fourth Annual Summer Seminar

Fourth Annual Summer Seminar

Five days of good training, inside and out. Mountain Karate, NC and Castro Valley, CA Yamabayashi Ryu Karate Do – 山 林 流 空 手道

欢迎 Spring Outdoor Training

欢迎 Spring Outdoor Training

欢迎我们的中国游客 – to the MountainKarateNC website! So good to be able to share perspectives with you, and with all our visitors from around the world. Photo copyright © 2021 Tarleton Brooks

Personal Safety Seminars

Personal Safety Seminars

Personal safety and self-defense are everyone’s responsibility. Our seminars for families, individuals, government departments and professional organizations are custom-designed to empower participants to be more aware, more effective and to stay safe – at work, at home and on the road.   “Random” criminal activity is not random.  There are lots of things we all […]