Pursuit of Kyokushin

It’s fair to say that most people who are drawn to the martial arts have been influenced by the mystique and the dynamism of the arts, particularly the Asian forms.  And none more so as karate due to its immense power and speed generated in its techniques.  More often than not karate is perceived as an activity for kids and young people as it is seen to require a lot of energy and flexibility for vigorous movements and high kicking; nothing could be further from the truth.

Karate is a modern term to define a defensive system predominately concerned with kicking and striking.  In its origins karate was more of a hybrid fighting system for warriors to use in conjunction with their weaponry and for unarmed combat tactics.  These skills over time filtered into civilian combat activities such as wrestling which was, and still is, typical to many cultures.  Over time hybrid combat and defensive forms developed and the more effective ones became a unique style.  Styles that contained more kicking and striking techniques rather than styles that were predominately grappling, throwing etc became known in its modern sense as karate, even though most styles of karate aspects of joint locking, throws and strangles.

People of all ages – male and female – become involved in martial arts for as many reasons as there are different styles of martial arts.  Styles of karate can also differ from each other as much as soccer is from rugby; both use a ball and the goal is to put the ball over the line or in the net of the opposing team.  In karate although a front kick is a front kick, a reverse punch is a reverse punch as are most other basic techniques, however, in some styles the similarities can end there.  Styles of karate are founded around a philosophy that can govern the way they are practiced.

Karate, like most other fighting arts, have often originated from military fighting skills from times gone by.  However, modern culture and ideals have helped influence and shape various arts towards a sporting activity to suit the needs of the trends of today’s society.  With that said there are arts that retain a pathway of budo which is to say the martial way. Budo generally indicates a close resemblance to its original intent although we apply it to the modern day.  Some budo arts may have a sporting element but they retain a philosophy and training ethos of realism demonstrated through the training and conditioning for, for example, full-contact tournaments, which helps exponents realise and face the trials of realistic self-defence and is not solely focused on the sporting aspect.

Tamishiwari (the art of breaking) and the use of makiwara are more often than not associated with the budo arts and not often found in styles based on sporting activities.  The same can be said about kata; demonstrating kata to music with over emphasis on the kiai and facial expressions is not synonymous with budo. Kata can be seen as a physical blueprint for a set of self-defence movements.  The bunkai refers to the process of analysing kata and extracting fighting techniques from the movements which is called Oyo.

There is more to karate than just kicking and punching and there is more to kicking and punching than head-high kicks and punches.  Karate in its literal breakdown means empty hand and subsequently a philosophy of anything goes when it comes to life preservation.  For karate is not about winning over others it’s about survival through winning over the self.  When the self has learnt to deal with the rigours of hard training by pushing the self to boundaries unknown  perseverance under pressure, osu no seishin, and the maxim of seven times down, eight times up then one is beginning to understand the victory over the self.  This could be said where one is understanding the realms of budo.

Most are drawn to the combat attributes of martial arts, others are drawn to the physical challenges and fitness of training.  Others seek to add discipline and self-control to their lives. However, most people taking on the martial arts do have a consideration and concern for their own personal safety and self-preservation through self-defence skills.

All the above is karate.  Karate can be all things including strategy, tactics, fitness, health and wellbeing, spiritual awareness, challenge preparation, comradery, all the things we accept as part of life.

We all have a picture in our minds eye of an individual thrusting a kick followed by a strike with a loud shout or kiai in tail.  And where this is true of karate techniques it’s only a very small aspect of karate’s repertoire.  Real karate generally looks at the 5 ranges of combat.  The long kick and punch generally being in the ranges of 1 and 2.  All ranges from one through to five are often covered in generally practice and for specific defence techniques that incorporate throwing, strangles and joint locking are also found in the karate kata when one learns to interpret the bunkai.  Each style of karate have there own kata syllabus that is unique to that style, however, although many styles practice the same kata the techniques can vary and be interpreted differently based upon the foundations and the philosophy of that style.

In our training we preserve the legacies of the generations that have gone before us; learning from them, and building on them, to evolve as the dynamics of our society transform.

Our training opens the doors to a rich heritage of ethical principles, multiple training approaches for different capabilities that can enrich an individual which is very relevant in today’s society.  But without relinquishing any of the past that has merit to the ethos of the style.  We often find the old ways are the better ways and through sweat and perseverance (osu no seishin) under pressure a deeper understanding of karate can be realised and it is meant for all to practice.