Philosophy
of the Martial Arts
Part II
Philosophy
of the Martial Arts
Part II
Philosophy, or the beliefs
in certain concepts and ideas, has always been an important part of the
martial arts and karate. From the beginning, Bodhidrama brought his
ideas of mental strength and beliefs of non-violence to China from India,
creating Zen Buddhism. Bodhidrama’s series of exercises were created for
building strength, stamina and mental focus. Bodhidrama believed
that everyone needed to be able to make their bodies do what their minds
wanted. One of these exercises, the Eighteen Hands
of Lohan, slowly changed over time and became more oriented around self
defense and less around exercise and health. Since survival during
combat was now the more important goal, the philosophy changed from non-violence
to self preservation. The idea was not only self preservation but
perfection of the techniques, so that a person could defend themselves
in any situation. The Shaolin monks quickly learned that perfection
could not be gained unless the human body was rigorously trained and pushed
to its’ limits. Hence the saying, “NoPain, No Gain” . By pushing
the body and mind to its’ limits, a person could gain the skill and knowledge
they needed to prepare them for the next level!
Since perfection of the techniques meant live or death, it was encouraged
that quitting not be an option. An old Chinese saying goes, “You
never fail, as long as you keep trying” . This meant that eventually
you would succeed, as long as you keep trying! This is the one thing
that new students don’t understand. The training is hard and mentally
straining and rather than continue, it becomes easier to quit for most
people. But those few people who really wish to get to black
belt and higher never quit. They obtain only what others wish
they could have, simply by continuing to show up and train.
As Shaolin monks spread the martial arts around China, Japan, Okinawa,
Korea and Taiwan their philosophies were also passed down from generation
to generation.
On Okinawa, Kung Fu evolved into what we know as karate. The Okinawan
people were attacked by samurai from the Satsuma Clan of Southern Japan.
The Satsuma Shogun outlawed karate and all weapons. Forced to keep
their art a secret, the Okinawans treated karate very seriously.
They never wanted the samurai to know that they knew karate, because that
would put them and their family in danger. So, the Okinawans only
used karate to defend themselves against attack. A samurai who was
not under the direct control of a shogun or head samurai were called Ronin
and were sometimes of low moral character. So the Okinawans had to
be aware of danger at all times. As it became harder to control ronin
samurai, the shogun made all samurai conform to the Code of Bushido or
code of ethics in order to bring up the moral character of his samurai.
A story from the days of the samurai explain why this code was so valuable.
During the Satsuma occupation of Okinawa, a Japanese samurai, who had lent
money to a fisherman, made a trip on collection day to Itoman Province
where the fisherman lived. Unable to pay, the poor fisherman fled
and tried to hide from the samurai, who was famous for
his short temper.
The samurai went to the fisherman’s home and, not locating him there, made
a search of the town. As his search for the fisherman proved fruitless,
the samurai grew furious. Finally, at twilight, he came across the
fisherman cowering under an overhanging cliff. In anger, he drew
his sword. “What do you have to say?” he shouted. The
fisherman replied, “Before you kill me, I want to make a statement.
Can you grant me this humble request?” The samurai said, “You ingrate!
I lent you money when you needed it and also gave you a year to pay, and
this is how you repay me. Out with it, before I change my mind.”
“I’m sorry,” the fisherman said. “what I want to say is this.
I have just started to learn the art of the empty hand and the first thing
I learned was the precept: “If your hand goes forth, withhold your temper;
if your temper goes forth, withhold your hand.” The samurai
was
astounded to
hear this from the lips of this simple fisherman. He put his sword
back into its scabbard and said, “Well, your right. But remember
this, I shall be back one year from today, and you had better have the
money ready.” Thereupon, he left. Night had fallen when the
samurai returned home and, as was the custom, he was ready to announce
his return when he noticed a shaft of light streaming from his bedroom
through the door, which was slightly ajar. He peered intently from
where he stood and could see his wife sleeping and the faint outline of
someone sleeping next to her. He was startled and exploded in anger
as he realized it was a samurai. He drew his sword and stealthily
crept towards the room. He lifted his sword and was ready to charge
into the room when the words of the fisherman came to him.
“If your hand goes forth, withhold your temper. If your temper goes
forth, withhold your hand.” He went back to the entrance and
said in a loud voice, “I have returned.” His wife got up, opened
the door and came out with his mother to greet him. His mother had
his clothes on. She had put on his samurai clothes to frighten away
intruders in his absence. The year passed quickly and, come collection
day, the samurai made the long trip again. The fisherman was waiting
for him. As the samurai approached his home, the fisherman ran out
and said, “ I had a good year. Here is what I owe you and interest
besides. I don’t know how to thank you.” The samurai put his
hand on the fisherman’s shoulder and said, “You do not owe me anything.
I owe you.” The moral being that you should always think clearly
and without anger to cloud your judgement always remembering to never strike
first.
Today the philosophy surrounding karate is vast. Without combat being
the final goal, karate no longer needed to be purely for self defense.
Now karate is used in entertainment, i.e.: The Power Rangers, and Karate
Masters television shows. Karate is also used as an exercise to maintain
good health and strength. And last, karate has become more
of a sport, with hundreds of tournaments every year, with the ultimate
goal being a trophy and recognition.
All of these different avenues of karate change the true meaning of karate
and change the philosophy around each. The philosophy around aerobic
kickboxing is health and weight loss, were the original philosophy
was self preservation. Whatever the reason, always remember
that the core philosophy behind any martial art is based on self defense
and combat that dates back 1500 years.