Japanese Karate...the Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
Karate came from the island of Okinawa, yet most people think that Japanese Karate is the source
. The reason for this is that Japan became the central marketing force of that art. Thus, there is just the general assumption that Japan is the heart of the art.
It is true that Japan has contributed greatly to the growth of Karate, but there are a few problems arisen because of that help. Things have occurred in Karate that actually restrict an individual's striving for artistic expression. This piece of writing will examine that concept.
The force behind moving Karate into the modern world is a fellow name of Gichin Funakoshi. Master Funakoshi didn't advise Karate for competition. Unfortunately, this advice was ignored.
Nothing wrong with testing oneself, but when the game becomes win at any cost, got to get that gold, got to beat the other guy, the art becomes skewed badly. The sport desire to pound down another human being goes against the more artistic desire to control oneself. Thus, Karate ceases to function as Art, and becomes a method for human cockfighting.
The problem, to be truthful, came about because Funakoshi was teaching college students. These students, young and proud, translated the art into their youthful excesses, and put aside the development of character as the prime purpose of the art. Thus, tournaments waxed, students became enthralled with brutality, and there was even one instance of a student being killed for not wishing to go down this dark path.
Because of this lust for personal power in Karate there was also a distinct degradation of art. For instance, to this day a karate point won't be awarded when fighting unless the student charges in with a front stance. If one examines the older arts, the Chinese based arts from which the Japanese version descended, however, one will see that the front stance is an over commitment, and that the true fighting stance is the much more balanced back stance.
When fighting from a balanced back stance one can use all weapons and still retain the ability to shuffle to the rear and out of the fray. To be able to stand apart from the action encourages the student to take a more balanced viewpoint to the fact of even engaging in combat. One observation of this author is that when students are trained in the back stance as the major stance of Karate, they become less aggressive and more understanding.
Interestingly, Funakoshi seems to have understood this. He is reported as saying that he didn't even recognize that Karate that was being taught, that it was drastically altered from the martial art which he had brought to Japan. And, on the other hand, his official paraphernalia, the chops and seals and what have you, were not given to Shotokan Karate (his organization) upon his death, but rather were passed on to the rather more gentle style of Karate called Shotokai.
To summate, whether you have been influenced by the power pushing Japanese styles doesn't matter. What matters is that you do the kata, and you strive for personal balance. Thus, consider the words of this article, use them as you can and Japanese Karate can return to a more true style of Martial Arts.
by: Al Case
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