The Shannon number, named after the American mathematician Claude Shannon, is a conservative lower bound of the game-tree complexity of chess of 10120, based on…
View More Shannon Number in Chess
Category: Blog
Instructions From Master Funakoshi
The word “bu” of budo (martial arts) is written with the Chinese character for “stop” within a character signifying two crossed halberds meaning to stop…
View More Instructions From Master Funakoshi
Training Precepts from Master Funakoshi
FIRST, since karate is a martial art, you must practice with the utmost seriousness from the very beginning. This means going beyond being simply diligent…
View More Training Precepts from Master Funakoshi
The Twenty Principles of Karate
Master Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan karate, laid out the Twenty Precepts of Karate (Niju kun), which are there as a guide for all…
View More The Twenty Principles of Karate
Gichin Funakoshi
Founder of Shotokan Karate-Do Gichin Funakoshi was born in Shuri, Okinawa, in 1868. As a boy, he was trained by two famous masters. Each trained…
View More Gichin Funakoshi
Manners in the Zendo
Manners in the zendo aren’t about being “proper.” They’re about making the room safe for practice—yours and everyone else’s. A zendo is one of the…
View More Manners in the Zendo
Understanding the Four Nutriments
One of the Buddha’s more quietly radical teachings is that we are always being fed. Not only by what we put on a plate, but…
View More Understanding the Four Nutriments
How Understanding the History of Tai Chi Can Help You Learn and Practice Your Tai Chi Chuan Style Better
The only way for you to truly understand Tai Chi Chuan is to understand its history and its development through the generations. Each style, and…
View More How Understanding the History of Tai Chi Can Help You Learn and Practice Your Tai Chi Chuan Style Better
Origins and Meaning of the Kung Fu Salute
The Kung Fu salute or bow is known in Chinese as wushu baoquan li 武术抱拳礼 which roughly translates to the “Kungfu courtesy of covering one’s…
View More Origins and Meaning of the Kung Fu Salute
Some Thoughts on Polygamy
I want to share some thoughts on polygamy from a non-religious/secular perspective. But I want to begin by defining and separating it a bit from…
View More Some Thoughts on Polygamy