Meibukan Goju-ryu USA, 617-923-2338: Traditional Karate-do

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Traditional Karate-do
.Meaning - Practice - Purpose.

Authentic, traditional martial arts training is different than any other activity a person can engage in. Many people today are interested in studying a martial art, like karate, for a variety of reasons - fitness, health, sport, self-development, self-defense, etc. But, not many people realize that

there is a significant difference between
"karate as sport" and "karate as karate-do".

Karate originated in Okinawa over 1,000 years ago. The Okinawans are viewed as the true masters of the art. Okinawan Grandmaster Meitoku Yagi taught that

"There is a spirit of budo in Okinawan karate that is different from sports."

The Okinawan view is that karate is much more than a physical art or sport concerned simply with fighting.

In Okinawa, karate is traditionally viewed and taught as
a "way of life" - as karate-do.

The term "do" in karate-do is Japanese for "dao", the Chinese term that means "the way". Briefly, the concept of "dao" or "the way" comes from the philosophy of "Daoism." Daoism teaches that all things in nature are related and interconnected. For every aspect that exists in the natural world, its opposite exists as well. All things affect and influence each other. And furthermore, all things undergo change. "Dao" represents the way of all things, seen and unseen, and in addition, it represents the way to attain true understanding and harmony with the universe. Daoism teaches that this can only be achieved through a life that is devoted to simplicity, moderation, virtue, discipline, practice, and study. As a concept, "dao" involves more than just a desired result - it embodies the path, the journey, and the attainment of true enlightenment and self-discovery.

Grandmaster Meitoku Yagi taught that the true essence of Goju-ryu karate training only reveals itself when the practitioner adopts "karate as a way of life." In traditional karate-do practice, it is understood that

"the training influences the practitioner"

and

"the practitioner influences the training"

;

The nature of the relationship between the practitioner and the practice is of utmost importance. It depends on, and is determined by, the manner in which the training is taught by the instructor and adopted by the student.

Proper karate-do instruction seeks to educate the student that life and training cannot be separated. Students or practitioners who do not embrace the "do" or "way" of traditional karate-do practice and who do not make the training an integral part of their lives will never achieve the highest level of skill, never attain the deepest level of understanding, and never realize the full benefits that traditional karate-do training has to offer. Harmony of life and practice is the method and the goal - it is the path, the journey, and the result.

Okinawan karate-do is understood to be a lifetime practice and a lifelong process.

Traditional Okinawan Goju-ryu karate-do training is very challenging and demanding. It is intensive, and requires great discipline and commitment. It builds strength and character. It develops a strong foundation of fighting skills in the karate student, and provides the well-trained karateka with the ability to end a fight with a single quick, devastating technique.

In the training, emphasis is placed on the repetition of basic techniques, kata, and Sanchin breathing practice. Such repetitive training, performed continuously day after day over many years, has been shown to produce the greatest results and benefits - strengthening the body, improving the health, sharpening the mind, and forging an indomitable human spirit that can be applied to any activity in life.

Free sparring or fighting is not a method that is employed in traditional Meibukan Goju-ryu practice.Grandmaster Meitoku Yagi taught that activities such as free fighting were contrary to the true essence and purpose of karate-do. He said that free fighting changes karate. It reduces karate to just a sport where one student tries to defeat another to no good end. Many important techniques cannot be utilized because of the potential for serious injury, and even death. This significantly hinders the development of strong karate skills, especially in Goju-ryu, where the focus is on quickly finishing a fight with the application of a single devastating technique.

Furthermore, the controlled circumstances of "free sparring in practice" or "free fighting in sport" are very different from the actual conditions of "true combat." Success at the former can have little bearing on, and can actually hinder, success at the latter - due to such factors as the restriction of many techniques, which consequently become de-emphasized in training, and a misplaced overconfidence on the part of the practitioner. Grandmaster Yagi taught that a practitioner's true fighting effectiveness and skill comes from the repetitive practice of strong karate techniques and the development of fast reflexes in the use of those techniques.

Karate-do is fundamentally different than sport. Its purpose is not to win awards, win tournaments, or boost the egos of its practitioners. Unfortunately, in much of martial arts practice in the West, winning awards and increasing the ego of the practitioner are specific goals, and end results, of the training program. This is contrary to the essence and spirit of traditional Okinawan karate practice. In Okinawa, and throughout Asia in general, a central goal of traditional karate-do practice is to control and minimize the ego, not inflate it. There is a saying in Okinawa,

"When the rice grain is plentiful, the stalk bows. When empty, it stands tall."

This is analogous to the western expression,

"An empty barrel makes the loudest noise."

It is a sad occurrence today that many "karate masters" make great claims about themselves and their methods. They tout their awards. They tout their championships. They tout their expertise. And, they produce students who follow in their manner and example. These types of "karate masters" generally profess much but possess little.

This is not the way of traditional Okinawan karate-do. Ankoh Itosu, the great Okinawan Shuri-te Grandmaster, taught,

"The more a karateka practices, the more modest he should be."

Great Okinawan masters such as Juhatsu Kiyoda, Seiko Higa, Meitoku Yagi, and Shinken Taira never bragged about their knowledge or skill. They taught their students and successors that karate-do requires one to remain polite, humble, and modest.

In Okinawa, traditional karate-do combines the practice of karate with the way of
"jingi" - humanity, morality, ethics, moderation, and humility.

It is considered irresponsible and dangerous to teach karate without also teaching the "do" or "the way". Karateka are expected to embrace the "jingi", to adhere to the highest moral, ethical, and human standards, and to refrain from pettiness and trivialities.

Grandmaster Kanryo Higaonna, the great Naha-te teacher and leading Confucian scholar of his time in Okinawa, placed tremendous emphasis on filial piety. He stressed that his students should have respect for themselves, their fellow students, their families, and for all life in general. And, he left the following important message for future generations,

"Those who train in the great Okinawan art of karate should
help others, never seek trouble, refrain from arguments,
and refrain from senseless fighting."

Grandmaster Chojun Miyagi, the founder of Goju-ryu karate, taught his students to adopt a philosophy of avoiding any serious confrontations or incidents that could lead to a fight. He said,

"Do not hit anybody, and do not let anybody hit you."

Miyagi stressed that the karateka should strive to maintain a very calm and unperturbed nature, and avoid situations where it might be necessary to resort to physical violence. Furthermore, he taught that

"The greatest form of self-defense is to
avoid situations where self-defense may become necessary."

Master Ryuritsu Arakaki, a student of Grandmaster Chojun Miyagi, taught that

"If one takes the morality, ethics, and meditative aspects out of karate,
the only thing that is left are animal skills."

Arakaki explained that, in karate, we learn to fight with techniques adopted from lions, tigers, monkeys, cranes, bears, dragons, and other animals. What balances and tempers this destructive knowledge is the moral training that is imparted along with the fighting skills. If we take the morality away from karate, we are left with something dangerously close to brutality.

The karateka is permitted to use his (or her) karate fighting skills only when
life is in danger
and there is absolutely no other alternative possible.

Grandmaster Meitoku Yagi, the successor of Grandmaster Chojun Miyagi, explained that in Japan, if someone spit in the face of a samurai, the samurai would bring forth his "budo" or "martial spirit" and cut off the offending person's head with his sword (katana). But, in Okinawan budo, he continued, there is a saying,

"If someone spits in your face, just wipe it off. Do nothing more."

So, unless one's life is in danger, karate should not be used. Yagi taught that through the use of clear thinking, a skilled karate practitioner can always find ways of defusing a situation before it becomes a violent confrontation.

Once during the late 1930's, Meitoku Yagi was in a teahouse with his friend Ryuritsu Arakaki. At that time, Yagi had already become known as a prominent karate practitioner. A hooligan happened to be there and decided to challenge Yagi to a fight. He dropped into a low stance in front of Yagi and shouted, "I am going to fight you." Yagi looked him up and down, and in a very calm and poised manner said, "With that stance?" The challenger suddenly lost all of his bluster and confidence, and left the teahouse.

The supreme result and ultimate manifestation of karate-do training
is to overcome any situation with a superior mental attitude,
not with the use of karate fighting skills.

The central guiding principle of traditional Okinawan karate-do is to

"Seek the Way of Virtue."

There is an old saying in Okinawa,

"If the heart is right, the hand will be right."

From the very first day of training, the emphasis of traditional Okinawan karate-do instruction is to properly "set the heart" of the student. Striving to be virtuous was considered by the great Okinawan masters to be essential to the full and complete development of the karate practitioner.

No rudeness, harshness, unseemly behavior, or brutality is permitted. Students who violate this code, who misuse or abuse the art of karate-do, are immediately expelled.

The state of mind of the practitioner is extremely important in karate-do training.

An unsteady or unsettled mind leads to unfocused practice, unclear thinking, and poor results. Nervousness or a raised emotional state clouds judgment and awareness. This hinders the accurate perception of a situation, an exercise, or an adversary. Feelings such as fear, apprehension, hatred, etc., if allowed to arise, can make the karateka's movements stiff, rigid, slow, uncertain, and imprecise. Through proper karate-do practice the student learns to cultivate a calm, tranquil, and alert state of mind in any situation, and under any circumstances.

In traditional Okinawan Goju-ryu karate-do training
the student is taught to practice with the
"alertness and focus of a hawk that is ready to pounce on its prey",

that is, with a heightened level of concentration stemming from a relaxed state of mind.

Grandmaster Chojun Miyagi used to say that winning and losing are part of each other. He said,

"Don't be afraid to fail one day, because the next day you may succeed."

Yatsusune Azato, the famous Shuri-te master who lived in Okinawa in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, explained to his students that

"If a practitioner refuses to be terrified and remains calm,
victory can be achieved."

He said that it is not easy to remain calm and unperturbed in stressful situations.

"To develop a calm, undisturbed mind requires many years of training."

Beyond karate, the development of a calm, tranquil, and alert mind also helps the individual face life, with all of its challenges and uncertainties, with a sense of clarity and confidence.

The true objective of
authentic, traditional Okinawan Goju-ryu karate-do practice is
.to transform the body, the mind, and the spirit.
through a prolonged, intensive program of training
.designed to develop an improved state of.
physical, mental, and spiritual unity and harmony
.that will lead to the attainment of.
superior ability, awareness, and understanding.

This is not a goal that can be lightly pursued or easily achieved. It requires a commitment to excellence, the highest standards of ethical and moral behavior, and a lifetime devoted to hard work, self-discipline, and humility.

This is the way - the meaning, practice, and purpose - of traditional Okinawan Meibukan Goju-ryu karate-do.

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