My name is Ed Lafferty. I've been studying martial arts for the past 19 years. I have been practicing Shotokan karate all that time and hold second degree black belt (Nidan). I have also studied judo, tai chi chuan and aikido. I taught Shotokan for about two years. I work as a web developer, so, this site is built and maintained by me. All the HTML, ActiveX and Java programming was done by yours truly.

As I have been looking around for Shotokan themed web pages, I noticed a trend. Most pages seemed to be nothing more than ads for their owners/writers dojo. Others offered some info into the art, but not much. So, I thought, why not. This is my attempt to bring as much information as I can regarding this beautiful and powerful martial art to you all. It may not be much right now, but boy do I have plans!

In the coming days, weeks and months, I'll be adding more and more to the page. A rundown of the kata. Examples of hand and foot techniques. Maybe even some sound and video files.

Some things before I continue. 1) Any errors in the translations from Japanese to English and any misinterpretations of names, ideas, techniques, etc. are my fault. 2) Neither I nor my teachers are members of the JKA, ISKF or any other karate governing body. This may also explain any differences in the way I do my techniques/kata and the way you do yours. Thanks. Enjoy.

The music you hear playing (if you are using Internet Explorer, that is) is a composition called "Midare". It's a file I found on America Online. The composition was written by John Kwasnik.

I'm not really big into awards. What are they really? So, I haven't applied for too many. However, I have applied for some, mostly martial arts related. To see the awards I have won, click here. Let me warn you, this is a graphics heavy page!

Author: Ed Lafferty
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Email: ed1@shotokanforeveryone.com