Tradition
Tradition
Tradition
has played an important role in the hundreds of years that it has taken
karate to develop. Our style, Genbu-Kai Shito Ryu is one of the most traditional
of the five forms of Shito Ryu. Genbu-Kai means professional martial
artist. Traditionally, our style focuses on three areas of development;
Kata, Basics and Sparring.
One of the oldest traditions is "KATA". As early as 600 A.D., Kata
has been passed down from master to student. These pre-arranged set
of movements represent combat and are one of karate's' oldest traditions.
Basics are the fundamental movements, i.e. punches, kicks and blocks that
all beginners first learn. The basics are the foundations on which
karate is built. By practicing the movements thousands of times,
the movements become second nature, one's strength increases and their
movements become quicker. The basics are what everyone needs to perfect,
before becoming black belt. The basics are traditionally taught to
be rigorous and exhausting.
SPARRING has been a tradition since the very beginning of the martial arts
and it continues to be incorporated in every system of martial arts.
Every student has to experience what it's like to make mistakes to be able
to progress and become a more experienced fighter. An experienced
fighter can control his opponent and avoid injury to themselves.
Other important traditions which have been passed down throughout the years
come from the Code of Bushido or "The Samurai Code of Conduct."
This is the code that the samurai lived by. Honor, Respect, Loyalty
where some of the many codes the samurai often gave their lives for.
As karate practitioners or "karateka" we show respect in the form
of "BOWING." In our style, a typical student may bow as many as 12-20
times during the course of a 2 hour class. This is very formal and
shows great respect for their dojo, other students and the teacher or Sensei.
While in the kneeling position, a person bows with the left hand first.
This tradition has existed since the days of the samurai. The left
hand was used first because all samurai were right handed. If being
attacked, the right hand would be free to grab the samurai sword, if needed.
This tradition also carries over while standing. When rising up from
the kneeling position, the right leg is used first, so that if a samurai
were being attacked, his sword could be drawn, without the possibility
of cutting off his leg!
The use of the heavy weight karate GI's and belts or "OBI" has also become
a tradition over the years, since the development of karate. In the
beginning, all karate belts were white. As time passed and the student
gained more skill, his belt would naturally become darker from sweat and
determination to master his skills. Eventually, his belt would
become black. So, in the beginning, there were only two colors, white
and black.
It wasn't until later that the brown belts were added, this was to distinguish
someone who was of advanced level, but wasn't a black belt yet. It
wasn't until the late 1940's and 50's that the intermediate level belts
were added to the belt system. This was again, to distinguish someone
who was of intermediate level from the other levels.
After mastering the basics, a person was given the rank of "SHODAN" or
first degree of black belt. In the early days, before karate was
introduced in the United States, there were only five ranks of black belt,
Shodan to Godan. It wasn't until later that higher black belt ranks
were established. Even though the belt systems have changed slightly,
it has remained an important tradition in karate.
Punching, kicking, blocking, sparring, and kata have all become important
traditions in the development of karate. Being able to punch an opponent
is easy, but to be able to use full power and be able to pull the punch
to within just a fraction of an inch is extremely difficult. It is
this tradition of using control with full power that makes karate look
so impressive.
The
use of the "KIAI", or karate yell has also become an important tradition.
It is said that someone who has mastered the "KIAI" can literally scare
their opponents to death simply with the scream alone. Whether these
ancient stories are true or not may never be known. However, using
the Kiai to focus ones' power and energy and intimidate has become an important
part of the martial arts tradition throughout the world.
As
traditions are passed down from master to student, some are lost to time,
while new ones are being created. An example of this is the use of
"Makiwara" or striking post. While many styles still use this technique
of strengthening the hands and wrists, others have ceased using it.
Also the use of "Geta" or iron sandals, which were used to strengthen the
legs, have lost their usefulness over time. Other devices which were
traditionally used, but have lost their usefulness are finger strengthening
techniques. The use of buckets filled with sand, in which the hands
would be driven into, have since lost their usefulness and importance,
and have given way to new traditions. The traditions of rigorous
training and
hard work are still important keys in the development
of someone who is unskilled into someone who is skilled. Tradition
is important to the martial arts because it helps preserve the ancient
techniques that make the art effective and it will be the old and new traditions
that help keep karate in existence for thousands of years to come.
Dojo Etiquette
1. Always bow before entering and leaving class.
2. Always be respectful of your sensei and sempai.
3. If your late, be sure to bow in before participating
in
class activities.
4. When called to line up, always respond by saying
"HAI"
and quickly line up by rank.
5. When called upon in class, always respond with
"HAI"
and then bow to the instructor before and after the
demonstration.
6. Never argue or make excuses for mistakes.
7. When straightening you Gi, always turn around
and
face the back of the class.
8. Always remain focused and alert.
9. When the instructor yells "YAME", that means
that
you and your partner stop immediately.
10. Try not to talk or be disruptive when your instructor
is
teaching.
11. When bowing to a person of a higher rank, be sure
to
bow with your eyes looking down. Looking at your sempai
in the eyes means you so not trust them and is
disrepectful.
12. Always keep your Gi clean and neat.