Traditional Karate: Beliefs

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This subject has and will always be a bone of contention especially when each person and group picks and chooses what they want to be traditional and what they don’t want to be traditional. We, all of us, cherry pick those things our dissonance and biases want to be traditional to confirm our biases toward our self-soothing personal and group belief systems. 

We humans suffer from a great many biases and dissonances all created by ourselves and influenced by others in the same fashion so it seems, to me, natural and expected. This is why I believe there are so many factions in the karate and martial arts communities and why I believe traditional aspects along with things like the dan’i system are always going to be in contention and arguable according to each system of belief. 

For instance, in what I perceive as tradition to martial arts, not necessarily karate of Okinawa, there are titles used indiscriminately in the Wast such as Shihan, Hanshi and Kyoshi, etc. that traditionally speaking are not used but in very narrow and certain circumstances. So, in a nit-pickin/cherry-pickin way those groups and individuals choose to use them traditionally incorrectly because those titles feed their belief systems regardless. 

They claim a traditional way but only follow those ways the suit them and their beliefs and call it, “Traditional.” Don’t get me wrong, at one time I did it too but in the last decade or so of study I have come to my conclusion that I do NOT practice a traditional karate or martial art simply because it isn’t. 

I do practice and train and study martial arts and karate that is based on and in a traditional way of those who came before me but different. 

I use a term that you seldom see, “Eclectic Martial Art and Karate Way.” Eclectic because what I study and train in is a compilation of experiences, knowledge and understanding influenced not just from a traditional way but one that is derived from ideas, styles, systems, and beliefs of a broad and diverse nature and range of sources. All of us at one time or another select and selected doctrines, beliefs and traditions from various sources from various cultures, beliefs and people (Sensei, Kohai, Senpai, etc). 

Setchū-tekina Karate-do [折衷的な - 空手道] Eclectic Way of Empty Hand!

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