Evolving Karate

Most of us involved in karate have a basic knowledge concerning different philosophies of karate or other martial arts through magazines, books, motion pictures of association with others. As dedicated martial artists, we are always seeking to further our knowledge concerning our own art as well as other related martial arts by researching the available information; however, from all of the sources that are available, there is much contradiction and confusion. Newcomers to the martial arts are at a special disadvantage because there is no way to sort out the confusion.

In the United States, karate started in a traditional manner; however, there have been many changes in the past 25 or 30 years that have led away from traditional teachings. Form the onset, most of the renown instructors of today, such as Chuck Norris, Joe Lewis, Bill Wallace, and etc. had initial exposure to traditional karate; however, they gained notoriety through sport fighting. Through the years, karate has adopted some modern ideas from boxing and various other means mainly to increase its viability as a sport.

Limited exposure to the full aspects of traditional martial arts, combined with a rise in popularity through tournaments and media coverage, make the traditional path less appealing today. A new path relating solely to tournament fighting, the potential for monetary gains and a lack of knowledge of the full aspects of traditional martial arts are major contributors to the shift from traditional karate. Being young and strong, the early karate pioneers were physically able to "practice" the basic principles of sport karate in a very short time but there was very little "study" into deeper philosophies and higher levels of knowledge because of limited time.

This limited "study" has spawned a whole new philosophy concerning karate technique. A few basic techniques were learned and the rest of the "facts and techniques" were extrapolated. Limited exposure has forced the belief that the sport type techniques are all that karate has to offer other than some ancient "dance" patterns in the form of kata. Even systems of karate that are considered traditional have adopted new ideas because they did not spend enough time in the study of the whole art. For this reason, many eclectic systems have been born and with them a new breed of karate.

For example, in an effort to explain a student's question, an instructor, based on his own experience, will make up an answer that seems reasonable to both he and his student. This is done for several reasons; limited knowledge and a need to justify practicing the concept forces the instructor to "invent" rational answers and the instructor doesn't want appear as if he does not know the answer. As an instructor, he doesn't want to lose credibility. This happens most often in the explanation of kata bunkai and spreads heavily into self-defense. The newly formed idea becomes like the seed of a wild vine that expands and multiplies eventually consuming the truth.

When karate began its boom in the late 50's and early 60's, the "stars" of this time began to spread the word of karate (as they saw it). Since they were the first, their ideas were accepted as the truth and they set the stage for us all, even though their exposure to traditional karate was limited to only a few years training in sports techniques.

The spread of karate has been like the game of "gossip", in which a story is verbally passed from one person to another. Each person relays his or her version of the story without consulting the originator. By the end of the line, the story is completely different from the original. Likewise, karate is changed each time it is passed down because very few have gone back to the source to seek further explanations and worse, those with limited knowledge were the first to start the game of "gossip".

There are now several generations that have been bred purely on a watered down version of karate. What they have been raised to believe is reinforced through books, magazines and other media written by their teachers. They do not try to seek further truths because they don't know that there is any other available or with some questions, they find only emptiness and abandon further research. In other words, there is limited information at the source and no need to look further. The truth is covered up or disregarded. For this reason, many systems of karate have given up kata practice or combined "the best" of various martial arts. Since they don't have a good explanation of kata bunkai, kata is overlooked as a source of information.

Even tournament karate, in a quest to gain new audiences, has changed its original concept. No longer are there the "non-contact" tournaments of the past, but limited contact and full contact. This was done in an effort to gain more realism into sport karate, for the benefit of the audience. Pulling punches has gone to a form of tag and from tag to contact using semi-boxing techniques. These techniques have lost any resemblance to karate technique.

A thousand years of development and study can not be learned in a few short years and even worse, it can not be taught with these few years of experience. In order to teach the first grade, a schoolteacher must have a minimum of 16 years of education. In karate, there are teachers with just a few years experience in the "practice" of karate. This leaves a very large gap of information, knowledge and understanding.

Since the boom of karate in the United States in the late 60's, the succession of instructors has spread through 4 or 5 generations and each generation has expanded in a mathematical progression. (If one instructor has 10 black belt instructors and each on of those has 10 black belts, the number soon becomes overwhelming, i.e. 1+10+100+1000+...)

Sport karate has its place, but it should not overshadow the real essence of karate as self-defense. Sport karate was born out of a need to practice self-defense techniques safely. Self-defense techniques had to be regulated and altered to eliminate some of the danger and to fit the rules of fair play for tournaments. Eventually, the original self-defense technique became lost and new "tournament only" techniques replaced them. These tournament techniques are in turn, taught as self-defense techniques.

We are all guilty of going only part way in our training. Not the physical portion, but rather the inner workings of karate technique. We "practice" very well, but we do not "study". We do not research deep enough into the roots of karate to find the truth in kata and have forgotten the original intention of karate. Physically, sport karate practitioners are top athletes, but they are not training their instincts correctly concerning self-defense.

Not everyone can develop the fast kicks of Bill Wallace or the power of a Joe Lewis kick. We are each built different, young and old, male and female, and are better suited to our own body style. We should not try to imitate others, but develop our own way to execute techniques.

Karate is a study of body mechanics, strengths and weaknesses, vital points and history. The warriors that first developed karate, developed it out of a need to preserve their lives. The techniques had to work in real situations, not the controlled atmosphere of the tournament. A loss meant the loss of life, not just the loss of a trophy. The mental attitude and the technical skills needed to dispatch an enemy who is trying to take your life are much greater than trying to win a tournament match.

There are no easy answers for those seeking to find the truth in martial arts. How can you know if you are seeking the right path? Study, practice, research and question, our lack of knowledge doesn't stem from a lack of information, it comes from not working hard enough to find the answers.

The world is full of misinformed and under-educated martial artists. Some of them brag about knowing all and that the old ways are no longer valid. Others have borrowed part of different systems and tried to combine this basic information into the limited knowledge they already have. There are others who steal true techniques and bastardize its use for their own monetary gains. They fabricate lies concerning its origin and their study of such arts. They are leading others astray and worse, they are leaving a legacy through books, magazines, and a new media, "video tapes" to poison future generations.

Is this a new problem? No, not really, it has been around many centuries. The following passage entitled "BE THOROUGH IN THE DISCIPLINED PRACTICE OF MARTIAL ARTS" from BUDOSHOSHINSHO, written in the late 1600's by Daidoji Yuzan, addresses this subject.

"...when a man abuses or practices amiss in the martial arts, he will be arrogant about the extent of his own ability, look down upon those around him, speak nothing but unreasonable and high-sounding theories, leading unpracticed youths astray and injuring their casts of mind. Although such people speak words that seem just and correct on the surface, their innermost feelings are largely covetous, and their real intentions founded on measuring what will be profitable for them and what will not. Thus, their character gradually grows worse, and later they lose sense of what it means to be a warrior. This is an error that comes from going only halfway in the discipline and practice of martial studies.

At any rate, if one is to study military matters, it is essential that in his practice he should not stop halfway, but by all means at one point or another, go as far as the secret principles of the martial arts, ... It would be extremely regrettable, however, for those of us who do study, to pass our days in going only halfway in military investigations, letting the deepest principles of the martial arts slip through our grasp and becoming confused in our own halfwayness, and finally leading not only ourselves but even others astray in an unavoidable sequence..."

What does this mean to us? As instructors, future instructors and practitioners of the martial arts, we must be careful in our study and explanations. If we do not know the answer to a question, we must seek the truth and not fabricate an answer. We must be steadfast in our training and quest for knowledge and become the best that we can. If we are not careful, we will lose the old ways of karate and karate's true essence.

There is no easy way to stop the spread of misinformation, but we can educate our students and fellow karate-ka to the true way of karate. We must write our own feelings and interact with others to give our point of view. We can show others, through our actions and attitudes, that our way is the true way. We must leave a legacy of our own. If we do not, then all our training will have been in vain.

What has been said above are my own observations and opinion. I am not trying to put down or offend anyone. There is no bad karate, only bad teachers. The concepts we learn and teach must be pure and we must insure the integrity of karate-do. What we as traditionalist have learned thus far is only a small portion of the whole, but this small portion is a mountain compared to what some others are learning and teaching. It is our fault for not asking the right questions or practicing what we are taught.

One last thought. When my sensei, Seiyu Oyata, showed me a different movement in a kata that I had practiced for 20 years, I asked, "why didn't you tell me this before?" His reply, "you never asked".

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