June 2027 Yamabayashi Ryu Seminar and Black Belt Test.
Kyu rank testing, Outdoor training and new Bunkai – for all ranks.
Candidate registration and visitors’ attendance – request info and register by December, 2026.
2026 Seminar. Yamabayashi Ryu members – basic training and Advanced Individual Training.
2025 Annual Mountain Karate Seminar
8th Annual Seminar
June 24 to 28, 2025
This year the seminar is open to everyone training in the Yamabayashi style
There is no charge for this event for members
Regular schedule of classes will continue
Special Events will include
-endurance training
-high altitude all terrain mountain training
-bunkai intensive
-black belt testing phase one
We look forward to seeing you there!
Without missing a beat, or a class, our new dojo opened today. After years of planning and months of building we enjoyed great training in our new place.
Everyone was happy to be there today, training together. We practiced in a beautiful physical environment, and in an unusual cultural environment: as a group of friends getting together to get strong, sharp and able. To share life. Contributing to the dojo, collaborating, freely giving and receiving energy, spirit and skill. Transforming our regular lives into extraordinary ones.
Outside the forest and fields, mountains and sky were radiant. Inside the atmosphere was natural, austere and serene. Perfect for training. The aesthetic of the room is beautiful. It is meaningful. We can feel it even if we can’t identify it.
The feeling comes from the juxtaposition of two geometries: the fractal and the Euclidean. The grandeur of the mountains or the sea seen from inside the walls of a castle, a cottage, or a cabin, where you are safe and at ease, gives this feeling. The sight of a house, a home, seen from a distance, from the wilderness, does the same thing. The path of life is the juxtaposition of adventure and refuge, journey and homecoming, challenge and resolution. Pulse, the dynamic interplay of the polarities of the world, gives meaning, direction and life to life. It is the source and the means of our transformation. That polarity appears inthe aesthetic of our new dojo, and in every move we make as we train.
We have an unusual cultural environment to train in because our dojo is not a business. We are not involved in trade, a transaction, or a deal. We pool our resources and our efforts. We are a group of people, friends, young and old, experienced and new, sharing a challenge, to train deeply.
Two days ago, at the closing ceremony at our old space, we each offered incense. We expressed gratitude for that place, our time there, and the spirit we shared. We offered good wishes and blessings for the people who will use it after us. We marked the arising and passing away of the place that was our dojo. We observe this in each movement of kata, each breath, each heartbeat, each life.
Today, at the opening ceremony of our new dojo, we shared a sense of exhilaration. Appreciating the great results of the work we have done so far, and looking forward, to new possibilities, to explore, to go deeper, with the certainty that we each will meet unpredictable challenges and unexpected achievements.
To mark this day, one by one each of us rang the big bell that hangs in our dojo. The bell is always ready. It doesn’t make a big deal out of it. It doesn’t show off. And it doesn’t fall asleep. It is ready. It is always inspiring – solid and graceful, no matter what. But when the causes are right – when you strike it – it rings. Every time. It resounds, resonant, powerful, without doubt or delay. Any time. Every time. And then, when the causes are withdrawn, it returns to silence. There is something for us in that.
Our bell was silent for years. Today it rang with a sound as awe inspiring as it did the day it was cast, long ago, and far away. The bell responded to each of us. Some had a week of experience, some a lifetime: but each of us moved with purpose, and each of us got results.
Congratulations to each of you who trained today, and took part in the Mountain Karate dojo opening ceremony.
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Seventh Annual
Mountain Karate
Yamabayashi Ryu Seminar
June 6-9, 2024
Intensive training
Black belt testing
Tactics and techniques
Mountain Outdoor Training
New bunkai applications
at Mountain Karate, 54 Carolina Avenue, Saluda, NC
Registration open January 1 to April 1, 2024
Schedule
Thursday:
Kids class 4:30 to 5:15
Adult training 5:30 to 7pm
Friday:
Mind training 9 to 10am
Yamabayashi Bunkai seminar 10:30am to 12:30pm
Visitors’ Bunkai seminar 2 to 4pm
Saturday:
Kids class 9 to 9:45am
Adult training 10 to 11:30
Black Belt testing begins at 12:30pm
Sunday:
Mountain outdoor training – meet at location TBA
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Special Event – Part of the 2024
Seventh Annual Mountain Karate
Yamabayashi Ryu Seminar
Visitors’ Seminar
at Mountain Karate
54 Carolina Avenue, Saluda, NC
on Friday, June 14, 2024, 10am - Noon
For martial artists in any style who want to learn our
-bunkai applications
-techniques for bunkai research
-unique body mechanics
100 Kata Training Day
October 25, 2023 – Join with friends in Okinawa and dojo around the world
Sixth Annual Mountain Karate Yamabayashi Ryu Seminar
June 7-11, 2023
Intensive training – Black belt testing – Tactics and techniques
New bunkai applications – Visits by outstanding practitioners of Yamabayashi Ryu – held at Mountain Karate, Yamabayashi ryu honbu, Saluda, NC.
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Saluda Elementary After School
Karate, for fitness, fun and self defense
Next session coming soon!
Fifth Annual Mountain Karate Summer Seminar
June 2-5, 2022
Intensive training, black belt testing, tactics and techniques and exploration of new bunkai applications for Yamabayashi practitioners, at Mountain Karate in Saluda.
Fourth Annual Mountain Karate Summer Seminar
June 3-7, 2021
Classes, Seminar, Black Belt Testing, Mountain Karate Training
October 2020 Mountain Training
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Safety Seminars
For groups, health care providers, government agencies, travelers, schools and others.
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Sensei Michael Lushington, leader of Castro Valley (CA) Karate, and his dojo members, visiting Mountain Karate.
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Excellent training with SRKDI Sensei Jerry Figgiani and his dojo!
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Hello Sensei, I’m want to inquire about the summer seminar from June 2-5. Is there still space available? What is the cost? Can you tell me more about the event? I would love to be able to come down and see your dojo and train with you if I can swing it. Thank you! Caitlin