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Often the question is asked, “What is Karate?” The answers are many with most making a philosophical comment while the other side makes a more physical response.
The more direct response more often than not is, “It’s an Empty Hand striking art.” But I still feel all the answers, comments and theories to be a bit lacking as if the entire community is struggling to truly understand.
First, it is not about empty hands for that is just an ancient attempt to quantify a more complex simplistic system.
Karate, a symbolic single term or word inadequate coming from a time and place that lacked the modern language, education and understanding to do it justice.
In truth it all begins with using what nature provided to defend, protect and crate a last resort for our very survival. It is first and foremost a mind thing. If nature had not evolved our brains we would not have come together in groups and would not have become creative in developing enhancements to our mind and bodies, I.e., the bo, the arrow and bow and the sword - to begin.
Our primary survival tool is simply our brains, the ability to think, to be creative and to apply that creativity in ways that allowed us to survive.
In the beginning I feel our species somehow instinctively understood that forming tribes or clans provided safety then there was the discovery of fire. Then we found hunting and the need for food and an edge over more predator capable predators inspired us to use our natural environment in making things into tools or hunting tools for food and security and safety enhancing the tribe safety with gathering, fire and now weapons.
Our ancestors instinctively knew our bodies would not get the job done so natures “flight-or-fight” instincts would take over. Running was simply a good idea when facing lions and tigers and bears - oh my.
Now, when Fight is the only option to survive then our minds take over and the body is the only and last option for being eaten or not, what do you do?
Our empty hands will not do it even in modern times because a modern predator, like the ancestral predators, are bigger and stronger and in the greatest advantage for success than we are as prey.
So what do we use, our minds so we can utilize or mental and physical enhancers to overcome such great obstacles.
Knowing our bodies and how it works through an understanding of the principles that make it work can be our only advantage.
- The skeletal system.
- The muscular system.
- Physics of body and environment.
- AND
- Most most critically important - our MIND!
It’s worth repeating, “Often the question is asked, “What is Karate?” The answers are many with most making a philosophical comment while the other side makes a more physical response.”
Ergo, assumptions are made that it is predominately a, “a striking art.” The fist 👊, truthfully is not a very good tool against a predatory attack and not even a social pool hall fight. It comes down to the structure of our hands. In short the hand is superior to the fist.
The fist is used to hit while the hand can deflect, grasp, twist, slap and other hand methods. A side note here, it is well known that the hand is superior to the fist. The fist has its use but minor in comparison.
Neither the hand or fist can do anything substantial unless other things drive them like weight/mass, movement and appropriate methodologies, force and targets are aligned.
All this in accordance with physical environmental physics and principles.
You see, empty hands just does no do this system of last resort justice.
Back to the mind, our superior weapon in survival!
- Attitude.
- Emotional maturity.
- Knowledge.
- Understanding.
- Openness.
- Creativity.
- Permission.
- Decisions.
You see, what the art and way entails goes way beyond the limited symbolic nature of a simplistic inadequate title of “karate (empty hand).”
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