Friendly Fire

A budoka should regard her/his school and its attendants as a surrogate family. A special bond is formed after years of training among long time students in the spirit of camaraderie and friendship. In fact, quite often, a group soul or collective personality prevails in many well established schools. A successful school from my area I know of features black belts that all fight in a similar kiba dachi stance, utilizing multiple spot-side kicks, and rapid fire punching sequences. I admire that dojo, not so much because of the fighting prowess of its exponents, but because of the unity and passion these karate-ka bring to their art. Other schools work from a different script, however.

Instuctors should be cognizant of how their students behave amongst themselves. The sempai (senior students) are expected to act as role models, particularly during sparring sessions. If an over-zealous sparring match erupts into a brawl, both players leave the deck with residual animosity. In the name of toughness and machismo, some students are intent on simply beating the living daylights out of one another. Clean technique and precision of form goes by the wayside. I realize that heavy fighting has its place, but only with the understanding that it helps the trainee get an idea of how intense an actual streetfight really is. While combat effectiveness is imperative in any art, it should never undermine the integrity and inherent values that belong to any self respecting martial arts school.