“A teacher is never a giver of truth; he is a guide, a pointer to the truth that each student must find for himself.” – Bruce Lee . Strictly speaking, education and instruction are mutually exclusive. You instruct soldiers. You teach students. An instructor lays down rules to be obeyed; a teacher strews ideas to…
Tag: Humility
My karate is stronger than yours!
My karate is stronger than yours! . Really? You think so? . It’s essential to define what people mean by “strongest”. I’m assuming that when people are looking for the strongest karate styles, they mean strongest in terms of effectiveness and practicality. But strongest, WHERE? In the dojo? In a ring? In a competition? In…
When is the time to retire from the martial arts?
When is the time to retire from the martial arts? . I’m finally old enough to examine it with some objectivity. The issue, of course, is when one should retire in karate or other forms of budo. No serious martial artist “retires” in the sense that the person ceases to train, study and explore life…
“Carry the tradition into the future.”
We are scared of change, and always avoid it for as long as possible. People appreciate regularity, security and comfort. Change is the contrary, it takes you out of your comfort zone, it is unstable at first, scary because unknown. And we have always fear what we ignore. . Another way of thinking would be…
Never neglect courtesy and etiquette.
Modern life sometimes encourages an individual to act without thinking, to treat others carelessly, to feed the ego. By contrast, etiquette, discipline, and a respect for others is at the heart of the martial arts. . Etiquette is not simply a matter of tradition, nor is it a matter of “being polite.” It is at…
“I teach karate as a life protection art, not as a sport.”
“I teach karate as a life protection art, not as a sport….. My son commands the 4th Marines he trains Marines to go to war, and then you pray you never have to. It’s the same thing in training karate, that you train to win, there are no silver medals in a life protection situation.”…
It’s not about the Likes. It’s about sharing the knowledge.
Right now we all live in a world we never imagined. Movements and socialization limited and restricted. Many schools and dojo have closed or are operating at a bare minimum, some only able to offer online classes. So where does this leave the students? . For us at the Shuri Dojo, and me personally, we…
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
There is something very different about being a martial artist; it makes you different from other people, it sets you apart from the crowd. Anyone can go to a gym, a fitness class or a sports center, but to continue to black belt and beyond takes someone special. . But after weeks, months and sometimes…
“We avoid conflicts and prefer peace.”
“We avoid conflicts and prefer peace — that is the legacy of Miyagi Sensei, founder of Goju-ryu. Karate is not for attacking people, there is no way you will deal the first blow in a fight. The greatest secret is defense. One should think of karate as of a culture that encompasses self-defense methods.” –…
Karate and kobudo are difficult……
“Karate and kobudo are difficult, if you do not practice seriously with a traditional approach, you may miss the important points.” – Fumio Demura 9th dan Shito-Ryu . . The truth is to become good at karate, to get anywhere near being proficient with your techniques, drills and kata, you need to do hundreds and…
Fighting should always be the last answer to a problem.
For all the importance we place on learning how to fight and defend ourselves, the martial arts should at their core, teach that it is best not to get into a fight in the first place. . There are dojo and instructors that just teach fighting as self-defense! With no consideration taken to other important…
Is teaching sport karate as “traditional karate” a threat to real traditional (classical) karate?
Since the development of sport karate, there have been mixed opinions on its validity as a true martial art. The sporting rules and culture is a far cry from how and why karate was originally created on Okinawa. . Today the traditionalist part of me says no to sport karate because the competitive philosophy of…