Spirit

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In general and fundamentally: those qualities regarded as forming the definitive or typical elements in the character of a person, nation, or group or in the thought and attitudes of a particular period.

It is critically important that intent is well defined when trying to understand what it means to use, have and develop one’s karate spirit. 

After all, as we already know; the concept of mind, body and spirit has been bandied about by its proponents for eons and seldom has it been explained because in the Asian mind one was raised and taught about Japanese spirit and that is expected to apply in every facet of Japanese life. 

Sensei believe that one knows spirit and he need not spend valuable time verbally explaining since the very actions of every Japanese has lived and breathed spirit.

The conundrum is the new American student who will assign their individual belief, perceptions and realities to what they think spirit is then try to assign that to karate spirit.

Our intent in the dojo is the training, practice and application of karate therefore we shall use that intent to give spirit substance and understanding to its meaning.

Now, go back and read the generic definition of spirit and you get, “character of a person and/or group as to thoughts and attitudes such as one’s character toward concepts like honor and how that affects one’s attitudes in the efforts applied in training, practice and, most critically important, the application of skills in applicable experiences. 

This type of “Tao,” if you will, opens the floodgates to things like philosophy, etc., that leans heavily to one’s cultural, reality and beliefs as first applied on the first day in the dojo and as it evolves accumulatively during progress in the same dojo.

Sensei and dojo-mates can provide insight once the basic explanation given herein is provided; So the practitioner can grow and evolve there own spirit. 

Then there is other intentions, such as as sport oriented one as well as the one mostly of a philosophical nature like “The Tao of Karate.” Each will move off one path to another as one trains, practices and applies the mind, body and spirit To their efforts.

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