Learn the Fighting Style of Mr. Miyagi and 'The Karate Kid', Right Here in Beijing

If you’ve been bingeing on the latest season of Cobra Kai and feel like trying the real thing, you can do so right here in Beijing. Hidden in an underground gym in Fuxingmen, there is a place called Shinzenkan (真然馆) where you can learn the art of Okinawan karate.

For many people, nostalgia is a big part of Cobra Kai’s appeal. The show teleports them back to the Miyagi-Verse, a world and a cast of characters they first met when they watched the 1984 version of The Karate Kid. Even for those who have never seen either the movie or the show, they’ll have heard of Daniel Larusso’s teacher, Mr. Miyagi. For diehard fans, any reference to the film conjures up images of a lost teenager finding a male role model, an American boy waxing cars, and profound introductions to karate’s wisdom.

Luckily, you don’t need to fly to Okinawa to find your own Mr. Miyagi, he is waiting in a dojo near you. At the front of Shinzenkan dojo are a pair of small clay jars called nigiri game used for training grip strength, a weighted lever called chi ishi that will strengthen your arms, and of course an upright wooden plank called a makiwara used for training your explosive punching power and hardening your knuckles. Any serious Okinawan karate dojo will have these tools for supplementary training, or hojo undo.

Of course, this is all extra, the heart of any dojo is the sensei. When I went for my free lesson, I was struck by how gentle and kind Hong Sensei looked. But from the moment the class began, and Hong Sensei began to demonstrate how to generate more power in your punch, something changed, and I could see that those punches were anything but gentle. When he taught me how to apply some of the moves I had been practicing for years, I knew he was the real deal.

It will come as no surprise that Hong Sensei is a member of the IOGKF (International Okinawan Goju-ryu Karate-do Federation), the only member on the Chinese mainland at that.

It was founded by Morio Higaonna in 1979, and since then Higaonna Sensei has been using it to spread and preserve traditional karate around the world – even here in our own backyard. Higaonna Sensei is easily the most respected living Okinawan karate practitioner (he was designated as an Intangible Cultural Treasure of Okinawa in 2013) and he will be watching you as you take your black belt test, even if it is via Zoom, right here in Beijing.

But Sensei Hong can teach you more than just how to win the All-Valley Karate Championships, though. He’ll teach you how to defend yourself in a dark hutong alley after a night out in Gulou, turn your body into steel without touching any weights and get you to punch with a force others will marvel at.

During most classes, students practice bunkai, application drills that teach you how to block real punches and hand out a few yourself, and although you won’t be painting any fences, you will learn to actually use techniques right out of the Miyagi-Verse, many of which have their roots in China’s Fujian province, in styles like the Fujian White Crane.

In the end, what is probably even more important than finding your own Mr. Miyagi (in your chosen art), is finding your own passion and living it. If that happens to be karate, you can reach out to the folks at Shinzenkan at www.shinzenkan.cn or zhenranguan (WeChat).

Shinzenkan 真然馆
A-B2 Tianyin Mansion, 2 Fuxingmennan Dajie, Xicheng District
西城区复兴门南大街2号天银大厦A座B2
13699165320, zhenranguan (WeChat)
Tue/Fri/Sun, 4:30-9pm (call to confirm)

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Images courtesy of Shinzenkan