Karate-do

So yesterday I went for the first time to the Dojo I plan to be visiting from now on:)

I have been a Karate lover ever since my first lesson when I was 18. And yes like the next girl from the suburbs I had tried ballet. I concluded that I love to watch ballet but I hate practicing it.

Karate on the other hand is a a whole different game. Up to my black belt I thought Karate stops at the Black belt level. In truth that's where true Karate begins.

When you have mastered the techniques, the Kata and the basic Bushido philosophy and you start really getting into the Karate spirit.

Shotokan Karate, the spiritual child of Gichin Funakoshi, based on masters like Matsumura many centuries ago, is to me something that changed me and my life alltogether.

At first it was a challenge, to try and compete in a sport that to me was really masculine and not at all feminine. To my friends it was so very weird, practicing karate instead of aerobics or dancing or something.

To me it was and still is a path to self-realization, to spiritual evolving and exploration, to calmness and clarity.

Karate is not about fighting. Karate is about not fighting. But if you absolutely need to fight, if there is no way you can avoid it or sort it out.....then you can protect yourself. And kill.

That thought, that you can actually use your skills to kill is a responsibility that will hold you back when anger tries to take over. That and the Karate philosophy, Bushido, the warrior code.

People ask me to show them a few Karate moves, as if Karate is a form of dance or something. Karate is going up and down the Dojo a few million times, doing the same moves over and over, until your body reacts without thinking anymore, until breathing in the martial arts way is an enstinct. Until your Ki is focused and one move is enough to knock your opponent out. It is a true moment of clarity when you realise for the first time how to centralise and collect your Ki. It is a spiritual journey to reach but when you do......then you have mastered a big part of the Karate spirit.

There is no other way for me to achieve this level of calmness, of clarity, of perception than Karate.

I have missed practicing for the last months.But now that my body can again at last follow and support my spirit I will start practicing again.

The Sensei told me yesterday "Karate is not a sport. It is a need. And the Dojo is always open. Does the church ever close? "

Karate-do - the Way

Dojo - Place of Enlightment

Dojo-Kun
First. Seek perfection of character
First. Protect the way of the truth
First. Foster the spirit of effort
First. Respect the principles of etiquette and respect others
First. Guard against impetuous courage and refrain from violent behavior.



Niju Kun

1. Karate is not only dojo training.
2. Don't forget that Karate begins with a bow and ends with a bow.
3. In Karate, never attack first.
4. One who practices Karate must follow the way of justice
5. First you must know yourself. Then you can know others.
6. Spiritual development is paramount; technical skills are merely means to the end.
7. You must release your mind
8. Misfortune comes out of laziness.
9. Karate is a lifelong training.
10. Put Karate into everything you do.
11. Karate is like hot water. If you do not give heat constantly it will again become cold.
12. Do not think you have to win. Think that you do not have to lose.
13. Victory depends on your ability to tell vulnerable points from invulnerable ones.
14. Move according to your opponent.
15. Consider your opponent's hands and legs as you would sharp swords.
16. When you leave home, think that millions of opponents are waiting for you.
17. Ready position for beginners and natural position for advanced students.
18. Kata is one thing. Engaging in a real fight is another.
19. Do not forget (1)strength and weakness of power, (2)expansion and contraction of the body, (3)slowness and speed of techniques.
20. Devise at all times.