The Propagation of Misnomers (Misinformation to Misunderstanding)

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These little tidbits of terms and often phrases meant to mislead and to misrepresent facts that are legends made up from stories of a more fictional nature then sold as true, factual and reality when in truth it is nothing more than a myth or folklore, etc. We humans often take reality and modify it into tales, fables fantasy or folk tradition meant to make history and such heritages and cultures more palatable to the listener because after all we all, us the human species, love a good story even if it is stretched a bit beyond reality.  No where is that more obvious to us in the martial arts and karate communities than in the stories told about our martial arts and karate. 

Some Examples of terms or quotes:

• The word was  "Karate,” the Art of Maiming or Killing an opponent.
• When asked of the Sensei, if he knew Karate, his answer was, yes! But, he would not teach it to the Marines because they would go out in town and use it on "each other".
• There was nothing Sport about Karate in those days - it was Survival and the "Art" of Maiming or Killing an opponent.
• Training involved firstly-fighting anybody, anywhere, anytime … This was my most effective way of training and learning, by feeling it! If it worked, you knew it because there was a casualty count.
• Control in those days wasn't even discussed. The only control that counted was to control the hit to target with a measured strike that would either "Break" or "Incapacitate". 
• You see, in the fight (hard-core, not for points) is where the real essence of the Art of Karate-Do comes into focus.
• When you see someone stacking up to break or if it looks unbelievable, it is!

Now, I will be the first to say a good story, especially a locker room testerone driven story, are great to hear, cheer and drink beer too BUT when those same stories are used to teach those who are often gullible and easily impressed then maybe not so much. The above examples came from one source of a more aged perspective and when you take in the times and the environments and other such trappings you can see why things were done that way and the stories told in that manner - but there are a whole slew of newbies out there that would read this type of stuff and believe - not so good. 

The art of communications when it involves a person exposing themselves to possible grave harm or death, it is incumbent on us as teachers to present reality as best as humans can and teach from that point. I remember how we all thought that full contact karate, at the time, was brutal and in a way it was but to allude that by just adjusting one’s punch, strike or kick they can “Kill, Maim or Disable” an opponent or adversary is irresponsible to say the least and legally liable in my book if a practitioner goes out with that attitude and uses it only to find themselves in deep quicksand of the law and legal system. Here are those points again with my personal responses:

• The word was  "Karate,” the Art of Maiming or Killing an opponent.
• In my last forty years of study and research on karate I have not found one true factual acceptable source to say that karate is the art of maiming and killing. Yes, if used and applied correctly there is a possibility of causing great bodily harm, even grave, but the possibility of causing death is not directly related to the applied methods of karate but to things like gravity when one hits a person they often lose balance and fall resulting in grave harm or death when the head hits this unmoving hard stuff called Earth when covered in asphalt or cement, etc. 
• Yes, karate practices do harden the body and does build a healthy, fit and strong one too but as to its applications in competition, social violence and even predatory asocial violence this just provides us an edge to survive an attack and hopefully allow us to use skills, i.e., multiple methodologies and appropriate levels of force to survive. 
• When asked of the Sensei, if he knew Karate, his answer was, yes! But, he would not teach it to the Marines because they would go out in town and use it on "each other".
• Really, now how do we prove that and prove this is not just another egoistic boost to impress others of prowess that is often part of being male and especially a Marine. I am a Marine and understand the need to bolster the body and especially the mind-set and mind-state for our job, in the appropriate theater of combat is to survive and make the other guy die for his country and beliefs. 
• There was nothing Sport about Karate in those days - it was Survival and the "Art" of Maiming or Killing an opponent.
• Now, how do you prove this because to prove a method will either maim or kill, you have to maim or kill someone. Hitting a makiwara or breaking boards and bricks is a great entertainment and demonstration of what we can endure and how durable our human bodies are but when push comes to shove in a non-social violent situation I am not as sure and I have faced live and death by hand to hand in a civil environment. I know that it takes more than even the karada-kitae benefits of a hardened body to truly maim or kill. Killing is not just done, it takes a lot of effort to get to a point where you can like othering, stigmatizing or setting apart us from them (another way saying to other) and even then our natural human instincts is to NOT maim or kill ergo why social violence is not as dangerous as many assume and believe.  
• Training involved firstly-fighting anybody, anywhere, anytime … This was my most effective way of training and learning, by feeling it! If it worked, you knew it because there was a casualty count.
• I don’t really disagree with this in spirit but the types of fights I envision are more often than not sparring with limited safety concerns in the dojo or in competitive environments. It is more of a social type of violence but the reality based adrenal stress-conditions type of training and practice didn’t exist until recently and even the training of Marines in hand-to-hand was based on kata like methods that help you take that first step to harm others, a step that even under the best training and conditions is hardest to take the first three to five times in violence. Not many ever truly encounter a true predatory attack simply because you can see in the fight and fighting forms on the dojo floor and in other areas it is not realistic to that type of attack. This is not just me saying it, I am addressing my understanding of the teachings of those who live and breath violence such as reformed gang like people, police, corrections officers dealing with violent criminals, etc. It just is made to sound cool, and it does sound cool, and it may impress those who do the training and practice to be tough, etc. and it does do that but to step across that line or to believe your using a kill or maim technique just because someone says so is not responsible teaching. 
• Control in those days wasn't even discussed. The only control that counted was to control the hit to target with a measured strike that would either "Break" or "Incapacitate". 
• This one is possibly obvious to most of us as a oxymoronic statement to say control was not discussed, alluding to a meaning not even used, yet turn around and say that, “Control that counted was …”, is counter productive.
• Take into consideration one fact, karate in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s was experiencing a conversion by the leadership on Okinawa toward a more watered down version acceptable to both sport implementation and being made an educational version to train youth in the schools. There is no doubt in my mind that the karate taught to Marines in the fifties and later was that educational sport oriented version and that the mind of Marines were influenced by such compliance influential efforts to feel, look and be of a nature that supplanted the already esprit de corps of Marines being killing machines. 
• You see, in the fight (hard-core, not for points) is where the real essence of the Art of Karate-Do comes into focus.
• What is that, what does it mean? Often in such statements most people don’t question it because it triggers that male testerone egoistic need to be the warrior who takes care and protects the family and tribe, a survival thing. It triggers a lot of the social conditioning that went on during WWI and WWII along with Viet Nam, etc., that conditioned a mind-set of the male of our species so we will be able to fight and defend our way of life but … think about it and that. 
• When you see someone stacking up to break or if it looks unbelievable, it is!
• Not really, its physics and trickery and entertainment to impress and add mystic to those who observe so they will join the club, put up the dues and become acolytes to the sensei, it is a sales pitch based on influence compliance principles much like that used in propaganda, sales, and especially in the entertainment industry. 
• Caveat: Tameshiwari is an art form, it does have its purpose and benefits in martial arts and karate but as to unbelievable, mystical or extraordinary is not true although to the uninitiated it seems that way, it is about physics and other such things because poor choices of materials for tameshiwari even when the body is hardened leads to injury, mistakes and embarrassment. 

Now, this is where everyone, especially the person who used this set of examples or uses this type of mythical legendary egoistic tough guy stuff (I liked it then and now but I feel a responsibility to those I teach as to self-defense, fighting and combatives). I am not trying to disrespect the person or attack their personal beliefs. Many of them have made it a good enduring business of it and I applaud them for that is the American way. But, when it comes to the teaching of one to maim and kill over applying multiple methodologies and force levels to survive, stay secure and protect self, family and tribe I find it a bit - lacking and misleading. Truth in advertisement or at least allow those exposed to it to have the tools to see the wheat for the chaff so they are properly informed before making the decision to apply it or not. 

Now, also, if all we are doing is following a way of life and it is not about self-defense but exclusively a philosophy and not about maiming and killing or even self-defense then who cares but in these examples that is not clear or even remotely about a philosophy that does not involve actually trying to kill or maim. 

It comes down to responsibility, that of one who uses and teaches this way but, and this is critical, the individual personal responsibility to take control and fact check the very sales pitches the hear even when their ego and excitement tends to lead them like the monkey brain to believe in the unbelievable. It is first and foremost our individual responsibility to look out for ourselves and to fact check things that would expose us to danger, damage and death. In SHORT, don’t just accept this article either, fact check things by seeking our references for and not for, analyze then synthesize your own end facts and then believe that but don’t assume even if from experts or masters that what is said or written is true or even factual. 

Hey, "In my day we …!"

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