Blog Article/Post Caveat (Read First Please: Click the Link)
What do I mean? Well, in truth we all talk a lot about following the way, the path or the road that is karate and/or martial arts and we assume that it is an intricate part of that study and practice. But, is it? Actually, the way came about, for karate anyway, from Japanese influences. Karate, as far as I can tell from studies of scattered and inconsistent and incomplete historical information specifically on karate is not and was not a martial art and as such is not and was not attached or even a part of such philosophical beliefs such as Zen and so on. This does not mean that there were no moral teachings in karate and yet my feel for it historically, i.e., further past than the late 1800’s, is that karate was merely a civil self-fense-fighting ability and a prerequisite for security/military like weapons training,
In fact, none of the military or martial arts of Asia, America’s or European heritage needs to have a way to study and practice the systems or disciplines. They are not called arts but merely jutsu oriented disciplines meaning ‘just physical manifestations of fighting, combatives and competitive disciplines’ and the Zen like beliefs and methods were not a part until Japan started to make karate a Japanese martial discipline.
Granted, this theory and idea is not going to make the community happy and it will be considered ‘blasphemy’ so as such it will easily be discarded from any consideration because it does not ring the bell with most peoples current beliefs of karate and martial arts.
Not long ago there was an article about the modern competitive disciplines such as MMA and Full Contact Karate of the 70’s that simply believed you didn’t need all the philosophical traditional crap to apply the system and win in the ring. Yet, not too many years later suddenly articles were coming out indicating that certain highly respected competitors were ‘rediscovering the traditions’ scoffed at in the past and not incorporating them back into their practices.
What this era showed, to the participants anyway, was that although the more philosophical spiritual aspects of the ancient traditions was not required or even necessary to learn the disciplines and to apply them that to achieve certain goals within the endeavor the practitioners had to re-discover, for themselves, the value of such principles that embrace things like humility and professionalism (often referred to in the sport as … wait for it … sportsmanship!)
Take the recent Olympic judo match where one contestant refused to shake the hand of his opponent. Yes, there may have been a long cultural type of feud going on there that one may have allowed in the emotional charged moment to rule the act but Judo, regardless of individual cultural beliefs, etc., should have taught, trained and adhered to certain generic martial etiquette rules that should have takin front and center in the games and left such external differences out of the ring. Maybe the one contestant did just that, set aside differences for the games while the other contestant allowed his personal emotional feelings use his external differences to lead him to make a un-sportsmanship like act, failure to shake the hands of opponents out of respect for their JUDO achievements.
The real reason a proverbial traditional discipline of karate and martial arts of all countries and cultures should have a form of ‘way or path’ that embraces some generic like etiquette distinct and separate from any one cultural beleif system of an individual or group that guides the practitioner to take and practice and use such disciplines with a certain emotionally mature state of mind that transcends our discipline to a level alone leaving external differences, problems and obstacles outside the dojo door - so to speak.
So, although a way is not actually a part of such disciplines humans through out history, on both sides of good and bad, have always incorporated some sort of way that guides the person and the discipline toward, at the very lizard like instinctual DNA level gene, appropriate and beneficial application for the survival of the species of humanity.
There is plenty of room in the discipline for the individual to bring in all sorts of ways or paths to follow regardless and that is what makes a dojo, the Sensei, the Kohai and the practitioners all drawn together in mutual respect and other like-minded reasons and reasonings that make them a dojo-tribe but with one universal intricate trait called sportsmanship, an etiquette of mutual respect, humility and humanity.
I incorporate a ‘way’ in my practice, a philosophical way that encompasses all the principles that would made the discipline applicable and effective while maintaining a respect for others with regard to culture and believe while relying on that sportsmanship to bridge any differences and divides under the name of karate and martial arts.
I believe that the dojo is a micro-social-world that is a miniature of our real world and that the way the dojo is run, like a tribe or clan or group, with a hierarchy and other group dynamic roles, rules and requirements - all non cultural specific, generic - while remaining respectful of the individual is the hallmark of ‘The Way of the Dojo’ so as to promote mutual respect and harmony even if we are at war elsewhere, the dojo is like Switzerland, neutral and safe for all.
Therefore, as extensions of the dojo, all competitive environments such as the Olympics shall be held to the same or higher standards. If one has issues with others then take it up after and outside that world.
Bibliography (Click the link)
“In order for any life to matter, we all have to matter.” - Marcus Luttrell, Navy Seal (ret)
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