Styles Define the Path – But the Practitioner Defines the Journey.

 

Posted by ADAM CARTER on MAR 25, 2025

Styles Define the Path – But the Practitioner Defines the Journey.

(Approx 2 minute 10 second read)

“What style do you practice?”

I get asked this question whenever someone learns that I practice karate or when someone with a little knowledge of karate inquires about joining our dojo.

It’s as if the style of karate you practice is more important than the kind of martial artist – or person – you’ve become. And of course, your answer invites judgment.

I’m not saying styles are unimportant. On the contrary, they are. They give karate its distinctiveness and variety. In fact, the developmental process of karate, known as Shu-Ha-Ri, requires you to start with a style. It’s where you learn the basics, the fundamentals, and create a solid foundation.

However, once you reach a certain level of understanding – and this level must come first – the longer you practice, the less your style matters.

One comment I often hear is, “My style is the best.”

But what does best even mean? People looking for the best karate style often assume it means the most effective. But effective where – in the dojo, in a ring, in competition, or in self-defense?

Believing your style is superior to all others is a very limiting mindset. But there are those believers!

Setting competition aside, all martial arts share the same foundation – they existed to teach self-defense, develop the body, and strengthen the mind.

Styles, at their core, are simply different expressions of the same fundamental principles. They offer varied approaches to cultivating the skills needed for self-protection, conditioning, and personal growth.

Any style is just a framework – a teachers set of principles, techniques, and methodologies. It’s the practitioner who brings it to life, refining and adapting it based on their understanding, experience, and personal attributes.

A skilled martial artist can make even a flawed system effective, while an unskilled practitioner can render even the most popular styles useless. In the end, an individual’s training, mindset, and application matter far more than the label of their style.

All that matters is what you can do and what kind of person you are. That’s why I simply answer, I practice and teach practical karate.

The most powerful lessons are found in the similarities between styles, not the differences. As someone close to me says, “Karate is karate.”

I’m often accused of disregarding those who practice karate for fun, exercise, or other non-combative reasons. My response is always the same: karate, in its original form, was created for self-defense. Of course, not all karate has evolved in the same way, but it’s not my problem that some styles have moved away from that original purpose.

I have tried many iterations of karate – many styles and interpretations – but I have always wanted my karate to be practical and pragmatic. The frustration of not finding it for many years nearly led me to quit and just keep playing rugby. Perhaps the impetuousness of youth.

In the end, I practiced both. And both have come in handy for self-defense. Styles – who needs them? It’s you and the commonality of technique that matters – if you know where to look.

Written by Adam Carter.