Karate wa shōgai no kenkyūdesu (Karate is a lifelong study)

 

Posted by ADAM CARTER on SEP 24, 2022

Karate wa shōgai no kenkyūdesu (Karate is a lifelong study)

 

空手は生涯の研究です- Karate wa shōgai no kenkyūdesu (Karate is a lifelong study) – Mabuni Kenwa (1889-1952)

Relatively speaking, there is still relatively few who choose to dedicate their lives to studying martial arts. In terms of sports, many choose more mainstream pastimes such as football, basketball, baseball, or soccer, as apposed to the martial arts. So what makes some people choose to study the martial arts?

Many people fall into the martial arts by accident, seeing an advertisement for a class, regardless of style, in a local hall, sports center or store-front school, deciding to either give it a try for themselves, or being made to go by their parents.

In my opinion, traditional martial arts are not a sport, they are to some, but they are not ‘just’ a sport. The traditional martial arts can produce effects not only on health and fitness but also on your emotional and psychological balance, promoting, in fact, a holistic development capable of radically transforming for the better, the quality of life of the practitioners.

Therefore they ‘should’ be a lifelong pursuit. For many this is difficult to comprehend. Sports certainly takes skill and athleticism, yet a lifelong pursuit? They are not.

Many practitioners stop when they reach or approach black-belt level, thinking that the goal has been reached, the illustrious black belt has been attained. Yet for those committed to the martial arts, this is simply one step along a very long path, one in that you may never reach the end.

The martial arts are unique in the fact that you can constantly improve both physically and mentally.

“Through my years of training, the only thing I’ve learned is that I don’t know everything.” – Doug Perry 10th dan Shorin Ryu

Numerous high level black-belts I have spoken to over the years, say how they are still learning, and that every lesson they teach shows them something new. They admit they will never achieve perfection in the martial arts. For some this makes the martial arts difficult to study. To others however, we see this as a challenge and wish to learn as much as we can, from everyone we can, in order to be the best that WE can be.

Some day when I am (really) old, I aspire to keep practicing my craft, still growing, and expressing my art. In our culture, we tend to focus on outcomes. Winning versus losing. Gaining material things. In the martial arts, I’ve learned that process is growth, regardless of outcome. A journey in the martial arts is a journey from within. To that end, as we grow old we need not stop growing.

One of the biggest lessons I learned in the martial arts is that life’s greatest battles are fought within. Even in actual fights, the greatest obstacle we face is our own fear.

A true martial artist starts with this simple fact in mind. The battles will be won when we’re willing to face ourselves.

Conflict begins and ends from within.