(Approx 2 minute 5 second read)

“You cannot get educated by this self-propagating system in which people study to pass exams, and teach others to pass exams, but nobody knows anything. You learn something by doing it yourself, by asking questions, by thinking, and by experimenting.” – Richard Feynman, theoretical physicist
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I wrote an article yesterday about a modern karate kata competitor, a dan grade with a very respected lineage, who when visiting a different styles dojo struggled when attacked with a real-world technique delivered at an angle.
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The quote above from Richard Feynman highlights a problem with much of today’s learning, whether in the martial arts or otherwise.
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I remember some time ago visiting a dojo to teach, and hanging on the wall was the syllabus students had to follow. One of the kata I had chosen to teach wasn’t listed, and they remarked that they didn’t need to learn it as it wasn’t on the syllabus.
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Of course, we all want to progress in our chosen style, and to do this we need to follow the curriculum. But every now and then, it’s a good idea to step outside of it, study things differently, go deeper. If all you do is follow a syllabus pinned to the wall, those ‘waza’ (techniques) are rarely learnt in any real depth.
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Asking questions, experimenting, and thinking for yourself just doesn’t happen as it should. Suddenly, the adaptable karate that we all should be studying and able to use when necessary becomes rigid and unusable when something outside the ordinary happens.
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When I first started training, I didn’t just repeat movements. I asked: “What if this happens instead? Why this position? What else can this movement be?” I questioned my teachers and tested the answers for myself. Not everyone liked it – but that’s how I learnt.
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Karate, like any true study, should never be reduced to ticking boxes. The syllabus is there to give structure, not to build walls around your thinking. The real world won’t attack you in a straight line, on flat ground, at a predictable distance. Real threats don’t care what grade you hold or how sharp your ‘gyaku-zuki’ is.
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That’s why we need to keep reminding ourselves: a syllabus is a guide, not a cage. Grades, certificates, titles – these are just markers along the way, not the destination.
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Real karate happens when you put the syllabus to the side for a moment and ask why. When you look at a movement, a technique, and wonder, what else could this do? When you’re grabbed, shoved, or caught off guard and you respond not by freezing, but by adapting.
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So question more. Try things. Fail a little. Learn a lot. That’s how you find the real depth in what you do – and how you make sure your karate is alive when you need it most.
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If you don’t, well… you might know how to pass the test, but you’ll never know if you can pass the real one.
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Written by Adam Carter – Shuri Dojo