Iain Abernethy
@iainabernethy.bsky.social
lain Abernethy is a leading exponent of applied karate & kata bunkai. lain's website (iainabernethy.com) is very popular with practical karateka.
One of the pad drills from a recent class.
November 17, 2025 at 8:49 PM
One of the pad drills from a recent class.
An awesome weekend in Castlebar! Flow drills for Pinan / Heian Sandan, Saifa, Tekki / Naihanchi Shodan and Nidan. Thanks to everyone who participated and Yotoshinkai Karate Club for organising! It was a ton of fun!
November 17, 2025 at 7:15 PM
An awesome weekend in Castlebar! Flow drills for Pinan / Heian Sandan, Saifa, Tekki / Naihanchi Shodan and Nidan. Thanks to everyone who participated and Yotoshinkai Karate Club for organising! It was a ton of fun!
Congratulations to Eddie Doyle (5th dan) and Daniel Dubaj (2nd dan) on their successful gradings today! Strong performance throughout the combinations, kata, pad-drills, sparring, etc. A solid knowledge of bunkai and kata principles too. Well done!
November 14, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Congratulations to Eddie Doyle (5th dan) and Daniel Dubaj (2nd dan) on their successful gradings today! Strong performance throughout the combinations, kata, pad-drills, sparring, etc. A solid knowledge of bunkai and kata principles too. Well done!
Congratulations to Frankenthal Shotokan on their 40th anniversary! A most enjoyable weekend! Good fun, good conversations and good company!
November 9, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Congratulations to Frankenthal Shotokan on their 40th anniversary! A most enjoyable weekend! Good fun, good conversations and good company!
Today I found out NASA has a “Pluto Time” calculator which lets you know what time of day in your location is as bright as midday on Pluto. It’s surprisingly bright considering how far it is away from the Sun! My daughters were less interested than me :-)
October 29, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Today I found out NASA has a “Pluto Time” calculator which lets you know what time of day in your location is as bright as midday on Pluto. It’s surprisingly bright considering how far it is away from the Sun! My daughters were less interested than me :-)
Pinan / Heian Godan flow drill today in Waltham Cross! A continuous flow drill for the entire kata which covers the bunkai in order. Thanks to Lee for help with demos, Terry for making it happen and everyone there for their support and great work with the drill!
October 26, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Pinan / Heian Godan flow drill today in Waltham Cross! A continuous flow drill for the entire kata which covers the bunkai in order. Thanks to Lee for help with demos, Terry for making it happen and everyone there for their support and great work with the drill!
Thanks to everyone in Norwich today! Kanku-Dai bunkai and drills. I’m very grateful for the enthusiastic participation, good questions and hard work. Thank you! I was delighted with how much we covered!
October 25, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Thanks to everyone in Norwich today! Kanku-Dai bunkai and drills. I’m very grateful for the enthusiastic participation, good questions and hard work. Thank you! I was delighted with how much we covered!
Bike all nice and shiny after yesterday’s drive out. Hate cleaning the thing: fiddly, time-consuming and boring. However, I love opening the garage to a shiny and clean bike :-)
October 22, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Bike all nice and shiny after yesterday’s drive out. Hate cleaning the thing: fiddly, time-consuming and boring. However, I love opening the garage to a shiny and clean bike :-)
233 mile ride out today. To one side of the country and back. It was the UK’s Route 66 ie the A66. Not as iconic as the US one, but the original seeing as the Romans laid the foundations for it ;-)
October 21, 2025 at 2:50 PM
233 mile ride out today. To one side of the country and back. It was the UK’s Route 66 ie the A66. Not as iconic as the US one, but the original seeing as the Romans laid the foundations for it ;-)
It was awesome to meet up with everyone over the weekend! Pinan / Heian applications were the theme of the gathering. Fantastic to see the watch museum too. Thanks Reto!
October 20, 2025 at 5:02 PM
It was awesome to meet up with everyone over the weekend! Pinan / Heian applications were the theme of the gathering. Fantastic to see the watch museum too. Thanks Reto!
Many thanks to all at the gathering in Maldon! A fun day exploring the methods and principles of Choki Motobu! I’m very grateful to Lee for making it happen and all his help with the demonstrations. Great to see everyone and thank you for the support!
October 13, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Many thanks to all at the gathering in Maldon! A fun day exploring the methods and principles of Choki Motobu! I’m very grateful to Lee for making it happen and all his help with the demonstrations. Great to see everyone and thank you for the support!
A massive thanks to all at Durham! Tekki / Naihachi 1 to 3 focused around a continual flow drill covering all three kata. Thanks to Steve for making it happen, Dave for his help with demonstrations, and all who supported the session for their hard-work and enthusiasm.
October 13, 2025 at 11:43 AM
A massive thanks to all at Durham! Tekki / Naihachi 1 to 3 focused around a continual flow drill covering all three kata. Thanks to Steve for making it happen, Dave for his help with demonstrations, and all who supported the session for their hard-work and enthusiasm.
A short extract from a basic “throwaway” drill done at a recent class. Two “Gedan-Barai” followed by a dropping strike. The aim being to emphasise to kyu grades that the function of any given movement needs to be understood in the context of the wider kata.
October 1, 2025 at 1:47 PM
A short extract from a basic “throwaway” drill done at a recent class. Two “Gedan-Barai” followed by a dropping strike. The aim being to emphasise to kyu grades that the function of any given movement needs to be understood in the context of the wider kata.
Well that was fun! Thanks to all in Turku this weekend! My take on the methods of Motobu and the kata I created for that. Lots to cover and I am very grateful for everyone’s hard work and enthusiasm. Special thanks to all at Yamamichi for making it happen!
September 28, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Well that was fun! Thanks to all in Turku this weekend! My take on the methods of Motobu and the kata I created for that. Lots to cover and I am very grateful for everyone’s hard work and enthusiasm. Special thanks to all at Yamamichi for making it happen!
Kushanku / Kanku-Dai / Kosokun-Dai partner drills and pad drills in Blairgowrie! Great to see everyone and congratulations to Ally Whytock on being awarded his 6th dan!
September 23, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Kushanku / Kanku-Dai / Kosokun-Dai partner drills and pad drills in Blairgowrie! Great to see everyone and congratulations to Ally Whytock on being awarded his 6th dan!
I’m a little behind on adding seminar photos. Thanks to all at Yorkshire School of Martial Science recently! We looked at the principles and pedagogy of the Pinans! It was a fun day and I was delighted with how much we got covered. Thank you!
September 23, 2025 at 4:44 PM
I’m a little behind on adding seminar photos. Thanks to all at Yorkshire School of Martial Science recently! We looked at the principles and pedagogy of the Pinans! It was a fun day and I was delighted with how much we got covered. Thank you!
A fun few days in Leipzig! We explored the simultaneous use of both hands at close range ie datum-setting, clearing the line, tactile control, etc. Thanks to Kushanku-kai Leipzig for making it happen and all who joined us for their hard work and good humour over the 10 hours of training. Great fun!
September 14, 2025 at 7:28 PM
A fun few days in Leipzig! We explored the simultaneous use of both hands at close range ie datum-setting, clearing the line, tactile control, etc. Thanks to Kushanku-kai Leipzig for making it happen and all who joined us for their hard work and good humour over the 10 hours of training. Great fun!
Thanks to all in Keighley yesterday! My take on Motobu’s drills and the kata I created for them. It was a lot to cover in 4 hours and the attendees did a great job! Thank to Oliver Thornton for uke duties and making it all happen!
September 1, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Thanks to all in Keighley yesterday! My take on Motobu’s drills and the kata I created for them. It was a lot to cover in 4 hours and the attendees did a great job! Thank to Oliver Thornton for uke duties and making it all happen!
It’s been a hectic week, so I treated myself to an early morning ride before getting back to the grind. On the road at dawn for a 130 mile round trip. Rode alongside lakes, over fells, through forests & through the clouds at altitude. Head cleared, over 1000 calories burnt, and now back to it! :-)
August 30, 2025 at 11:09 AM
It’s been a hectic week, so I treated myself to an early morning ride before getting back to the grind. On the road at dawn for a 130 mile round trip. Rode alongside lakes, over fells, through forests & through the clouds at altitude. Head cleared, over 1000 calories burnt, and now back to it! :-)
Congratulations to Dominik Frecer and Šimon Frecer on successfully grading to 1st dan yesterday! A demanding test involving kihon, kata, practical combinations, impact drills, bunkai, numerous types of sparring, etc. A very strong performance! Well done!
August 29, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Congratulations to Dominik Frecer and Šimon Frecer on successfully grading to 1st dan yesterday! A demanding test involving kihon, kata, practical combinations, impact drills, bunkai, numerous types of sparring, etc. A very strong performance! Well done!
A fun gathering in Worcester today! We worked on ways to drill kata methods live. Congratulations to Jim Lott on his grading to 4th dan earlier! Thanks to Harjinder Singh and his group for an impressive Gatka demo. Above all, thanks to Dave Webster for making all of it happen! A good day!
August 24, 2025 at 5:05 PM
A fun gathering in Worcester today! We worked on ways to drill kata methods live. Congratulations to Jim Lott on his grading to 4th dan earlier! Thanks to Harjinder Singh and his group for an impressive Gatka demo. Above all, thanks to Dave Webster for making all of it happen! A good day!
Something of a very nice surprise a couple of weeks ago! Peter Consterdine 10th dan has graded me to 8th dan. Peter arranged for the certificate to be awarded by my colleagues in my home dojo. A very special moment. It will take a while to sink in. Fred has recently had an operation on his eyes :-)
August 12, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Something of a very nice surprise a couple of weeks ago! Peter Consterdine 10th dan has graded me to 8th dan. Peter arranged for the certificate to be awarded by my colleagues in my home dojo. A very special moment. It will take a while to sink in. Fred has recently had an operation on his eyes :-)
Thanks to everyone at Heads of the Valley, Brynmawr today! An excellent range of styles was represented at the Tekki/Naihanchi Nidan & Sandan seminar. It was a fun day! First time I’ve been scorpion kicked post training :-) Thanks to Gus Rogers for organising!
July 27, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Thanks to everyone at Heads of the Valley, Brynmawr today! An excellent range of styles was represented at the Tekki/Naihanchi Nidan & Sandan seminar. It was a fun day! First time I’ve been scorpion kicked post training :-) Thanks to Gus Rogers for organising!
A fun day with the gang at Waltham Cross! Advanced Pinan / Heian Sandan drills and applications. Well done, folks! Thanks to Terry Monksfield of Do He Dai karate for making it happen and to Lee Mullan for all his help in the demonstrations.
July 20, 2025 at 6:13 PM
A fun day with the gang at Waltham Cross! Advanced Pinan / Heian Sandan drills and applications. Well done, folks! Thanks to Terry Monksfield of Do He Dai karate for making it happen and to Lee Mullan for all his help in the demonstrations.
Earlier this week I had my applications for Jion kata corrected by Master Ken 22nd dan :-) See weekly message in the iain abernethy app for footage and more info. Three more parts of our advanced look at the Pinan / Heian series too! Thousands of hours of exclusive info which is expanded each week!
July 17, 2025 at 11:43 AM
Earlier this week I had my applications for Jion kata corrected by Master Ken 22nd dan :-) See weekly message in the iain abernethy app for footage and more info. Three more parts of our advanced look at the Pinan / Heian series too! Thousands of hours of exclusive info which is expanded each week!