The Importance of Training

Miyamoto Musashi was a 17th Century samurai who is best known for his epic treatise on the martial arts, "The Book of Five Rings". Interestingly, there are no physical techniques described, but one of the main tenets of this famous work is that one must train diligently. "You can only fight the way you practice," says the author. How you perform your martial art will be a reflection of how you train.

Shugyo is the Japanese word for severe training. This type of training is designed to push the student to his or her physical, mental, and emotional limits. Other types of training performed out of the dojo could include running, weightlifting, and stretching, all of which have the added benefit of producing good health. Training should never be overlooked or taken lightly by the serious martial arts student.

Tournaments and Trophies

Tokyo, 1964: Jigaro Kano's dream of having Judo included as an event in the Olympics became a reality. More recently, Tae Kwon Do has entered the Olympics arena. Competition, especially in this country, has made martial arts very popular and attractive. Americans love to win and take home trophies. But the aspect of sport imposes some limitations on the martial arts that must be considered.

Sports are founded on rules. In traditional bujutsu (combative martial arts) there are no rules. Your "opponent" is trying to take your life, not your title or whatever. There exists no "fair-play", time-check or referee. In modern budo (martial art ways) the objective is self improvement through discipline and character development. Physical fighting technique becomes a by-product. Spiritual growth is not possible through the acquistion of trophies and ribbons.

This all sounds like I'm opposed to competitive martial arts. I'm not. I've competed in kata and kumite with varied success. And I certainly don't mean to take some lofty, holier-than-thou, arrogant stand against competitors. Pride can be a major stumbling block to self-perfection. When you go out to compete, remember, you're really competing against yourself. So are your opponents. We should all strive to be better tomorrow than we are today. That's the real journey.

Courage

Peter Urban, an American Karate Grandmaster wrote in his book, The Karate Dojo, "....(only real) martial artists have no fear." Compare this to a quote from the famous author, Mark Twain, "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear". Fear is an innate part of our psyche; denying fear is like denying we're human. In the martial arts, a little bit of fear is actually a good thing- it keeps our focus razor sharp, while at the same time, overcoming it strengthens our resolve. This resolve that develops, results in the very powerful human trait we call courage.

Being courageous does not mean taking some foolish chance. It really means acting in both an appropriate and responsible manner, that can involve at times, great risk. A true act of courage is always a response that is perfect for that situation. It is never about trying to be a hero, or looking good, or even about winning. Finding courage is a highly personal endeavor - may we all possess it when we need it most.

The Black Belt: A Brief History

The term Black Belt has earned a reputation in our culture as something to be held in high regard, even revered. An instructor of mine once told me he thought being a black belt was a higher achievement than being a doctor or a lawyer. But becoming a black belt is not a final destination. In fact, in the eyes of a grandmaster, a shodan ( first degree black belt), is little more than a serious beginner.

For centuries, martial arts were taught under a grading system called menkyo. If a student trained digilently for many years, he would be given a teaching license called a kaiden. But among the students themselves, there was no rank and file. Then in the late nineteenth century, the colored belt ranking system was introduced into the art of Judo by its founder, Jigaro Kano. Ranks below black belt were referred to as kyu. Black belt ranks would be called, dan. And so, the kyu/dan grading system was developed by Master Kano to encourage his students to set goals, improve their skills, and build confidence towards the day they could earn the coveted Black Belt.

Overcoming Obstacles: The Warrior's Path

"Man needs difficulties; they are necessary for health" wrote the great, mystical psychologist, Carl Jung. Jung never studied the martial arts, but he understood well the importance of problem solving.

The word "stress" receives a lot of bad press these days. And while many of us are subjected to the multiple burdens of typical daily living, we need a certain amount of "good stress" to feel purposeful. How does this apply to karate? Karate training by it's nature is a difficult undertaking; it's supposed to be that way. Sometimes we enjoy executing our favorite kick or punch and take pride in doing that. Other times we feel overwhelmed with frustration because we just can't get the hang of learning the newest technique. This is perfectly normal. Take solace in knowing that every martial artist who ever lived had obstacles to overcome - that is the warrior's path.

Karate's Ultimate Goal

In theory, Karate is about fighting and was developed during a time when mortal combat was a way of life. Today, a Karate-Ka should be able to take his or her knowledge outside the dojo and apply it to aspects of life that seemingly have nothing to do with the discpline and rigors of traditional Karate training.

Training in Karate is demanding both physically and mentally, which explains why so many people drop-out of instruction early on. However, when we can achieve something through patience and practice and overcome its obstacles, we become a better, happier and more fulfilled person. That is the ultimate goal of Karate.