Karate: Life Art

If you enjoy comedic trips down memory lane, I suggest you hop on YouTube and check out any karate movie from the 70s and 80s. Not only will you find terrible acting and silly plots, but you will also experience the complete opposite of what karate is all about.

Admittedly, as a young teen in the 70s, I was influenced by karate movies and that’s what got me interested in training. Who wouldn’t want to be able to smash a pile of bricks with one hand or defeat countless enemies with nothing but guts and four appendages? Movies and Black Belt Magazine articles made karate out to be this mythical martial art. It’s not. Give me a few minutes and I can tell you what it’s really about.

Just so I don’t bog you down with a bunch of history, I’m going to give you the Cliff Notes, okay? Like most martial arts we know today, karate originated in China and India. There are many aspects of Indian Martial Arts (there are several, by the way) and Chinese Gung Fu that are very apparent in most modern styles of karate. Karate’s birthplace is Okinawa. It was first known as chun fa, or “fist law,” and as the practice of the art continued, it would have several names including te, “hand” as well as Naha Te, or “Okinawa Hand.” But the art would not have its widely accepted name until 1935.

An important part of karate’s history is the fact that like many martial arts systems whose primary purpose was combat, it evolved into something much more applicable to daily living than a “do or die” type practice.

Many people know that karate means “empty hand” and the natural conclusion is that a person can defend themselves without a weapon. This is rather misleading because several karate styles include the use of weapons, a practice known as kabudo. But we have to break down the phrase to really grasp its meaning. Kara means “emptiness” or “void.” Not just “empty hand” but void of emotions like fear, jealousy, anger, and angst. While most karate systems have a strong emphasis on sport and completion, there are still a few that avoid such trappings and concentrate on the original purpose: budo.

Budo, “the way to enlightenment through martial arts training,” has little to do with winning titles and trophies. For me (and I emphasize this because we all have an opinion), a person cannot truly say they study budo if part of the goal is competition or attaining the coveted black belt. As I said, budo is enlightenment; the only way to achieve enlightenment, no matter what life philosophy or religion you follow, is to mitigate your ego. Flashy moves, titles, trophies and bragging rights are the exact opposite of what karate is all about.

It took me about 25 years of consistent martial arts training to realize karate’s depth. Real karate emphasizes three important aspects: the basics, (kihon), patterns or forms (kata), and sparring (kumite). What a lot of practioners don’t realize is that the majority of skill they need to fight, whether competing or in self-defense, is mostly influenced by the first two aspects which requires the discipline to train alone. Training in the dojo is important, but karate is a lonely art. The reason that most people fail to achieve their goals or quit altogether is because they never develop the self-discipline to train alone. They trade “punching the air” for a punching bag because the bag provides feedback…ego. And they avoid practicing kata because to them it’s a silly waist of time that has nothing to do with real fighting…ignorance and ego.

Don’t get me wrong; you have to hit stuff on a regular basis. You need to engage in some form of strength training and you need to develop and maintain an aerobic base. You need to have training partners who challenge you by really trying to hit your face, kick your gut and/or toss you to the ground. And, you need to be very conscious of what you put into your body. All of these things are vital aspects of good karate training…and a healthy, productive life.

Most importantly, you must realize that your real opponent, the scariest person you will ever face is the one who stares back at you in the mirror. That person can single-handedly destroy your life or enhance it through practice and self-discipline. There are many paths to achieve the latter…karate is the one I choose.

Dave Magliano

Tatsu Dojo

Jissenkan Budo

Dojo Cho