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 Precepts of Martial Arts
“The ultimate goal of martial arts training is the harmonious merging of the three inborn human powers: Physiology, Intellect, and Spirituality.
The prime Physiological precept of
martial arts is, "one must deliberately mete out an
appropriate, persuasive force, concentrated at a
predetermined point of impact, with amply felicitous
speed."
The prime Intellectual precept of
martial arts is, "one must
fully employ one’s perception and intelligence to
productively vary and adjust ones thoughts and acts, from
the moment the intent to deliver such force of thought and
action is conceived, until the moment it is
completed."
The prime Spiritual precept of
martial arts is, “one must be mindful of that which
cannot be known, vigorous in the application of that
which can, accepting of the certainty that action begets reaction, and all the while employing such tangible and
intangible knowledge toward the improvement and protection
of all things living or natural."
Composed
by
 ,
©
1994
What are
These Martial Arts of Self- Defense and Karate?
Martial
arts do not require the same muscular strength that is used to
lift a heavy weight. The force of a karate blow is
generated by the use of many body muscles brought into play in
proper sequence. For instance, the abdominal and pelvic
muscles are powerful but slow, whereas muscles of the
extremities are fast but weak. In order to gather
maximum force, the muscles of the hip and abdomen must be
activated first, and this power is then transferred to the
point of impact, either at the hands or feet.
The
time required to pass this power through the body becomes
shorter and shorter through constant training.
Eventually, the transfer is merely a blur.
Speed
cannot be over-emphasized, nor can concentration of
power. Even a great amount of strength will accomplish
little if it is dispersed. But a small amount of
strength, properly concentrated, can be quite powerful.
In Karate, this concentration is known as "focus," whereby the
muscles of the entire body are tensed, but only at the instant
of impact.
Among
other fundamental physical characteristics of martial arts are
reaction-force and breath-control.
It
is a principle of physics that every action has an equal and
opposite reaction. In Karate, you punch out with one
hand and withdraw with the other hand simultaneously, adding
reaction-force to the punching hand. The Karate masters
applied two terms in their training: "Mizu no Kokoro" (a mind
like water) and "Tsuki no Kokoro" (a mind like moon).
The Meaning is clear; to respond effectively to an opponent,
the mind has to be as an undisturbed pond, and just as
moonlight shines equally on everything within its range, it is
necessary to be totally on guard for any possible move by an
opponent.
Karate
as a sport is divided into two aspects: Kata (form) and Kumite
(sparring).
Kata is
a formal exercise consisting of a series of techniques
performed in sequence. They include all the different hand,
foot, and body-shifting techniques used in punching, kicking,
and blocking.
Free-style
sparring,
Jiyu-Kumite, is the most recent aspect of karate. It resembles
sparring in boxing, except that attacks are stopped just short
of contact with the target. The reason for this is the obvious
danger of injury if a participant strikes his opponent with a
focused attack in a vital area.
MARTIAL
PROFICIENCY:
One of the tests of
proficiency in Karate is the ability to quickly focus the
strongest completed technique just short of contact. Though
many martial trainees tout the superiority of their sparring
training because they do "full contact," or "go all out"
during training hall sparring, the simple fact is that if
serious matriculates of any deadly art were to practice sparring
without arrested and limited attack, by now, with so many dojo
in the U.S. alone, the U.S. congress would have outlawed
martial training based upon unnecessary and gratuitous loss of
life. But in the final analysis, the imperative questions for the trainee are, "Can I fight, and will I fight with mindful clarity?"
COMPETITION:
As to tournament, though
there was a time when martial competition was moving toward
some superlative level of national and international sparring
competence, even the lay person realizes that many present-day
martial arts tournaments are no more than business enterprises
and feel-good-about-yourself seminars.
Still, since the serious training of
martial arts naturally fosters the development of character,
sincerity, effort, etiquette and self-control, any
concern about reduced competency in tournament sparring can be
dismissed on the grounds that tournament was never the main
point anyway.
ETIQUETTE,
ETHICS, SELF CONTROL, INTENTIONS AND KARATE-DO:
"The art of Karate, AKA the
way/path of the empty hand" or Karate-Do, teaches students
etiquette, as well as mandatory respect for their fellow
students, instructors, and other human beings. Though class begins with bows from
and to the instructor in addition to those who came before,
such reverential behavior could as easily be a handshake or
body language indicating mutual respect and thoughtful
consideration. The most important point of our routine
behavior is not procedural or ritualistic, but rather ethical.
Each student must acquire the self control, self awareness and
self concern necessary to realize the value of living
harmoniously in this beautiful world that we share with all
manner of other living beings, as well as our abundantly
furnished environment that supports everything and everyone
that moves. To train humility and strength inside and peacefulness and serenity outside,
that is my/our first intent.
And from the inception of the art of
Karate-Do itself, the importance of the above virtues were
more broadly emphasized by the founder of present-day
Karate-Do, Master Gichin Funakoshi, who
said: "A
true student of Karate is one who will practice daily
throughout his lifetime and never find the necessity to
use his knowledge in anger against another, [for] the
ultimate aim of the art of Karate lies not in victory or
defeat, but in the perfection of character of its
participants."
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