Why Train Karate?
Kikukawa Hanshi demonstrates a wrist lock against a punch on a young Nick Sensei as James Rault Sensei and Mike Ong Sensei look on.
Martial arts are a very personal endeavour. Everyone who begins training does so for unique reasons, with their own unique body, mind, and past. With so much individuality, it's no wonder there are so there are many discussions around which martial art is “the best,” particularly online and among novices. It’s easy to be swayed by current fads and to spend excessive amounts of time scrutinizing details trying to choose the perfect style to train. I believe these discussions often lose sight of what I feel is the primary factor for success: enjoyment. When I look at our wall of black belts, I can say with firm confidence that everyone up there has a completely different way of fighting, different favourite techniques, and different specializations. However, the one thing they all have in common is that they enjoy the act of getting into the dojo and practicing karate.
“空手道”
This concept aligns with a philosophy in my life right now which is to focus on the journey rather than the destination. I try to enjoy the process of everything I spend my time on, and I think this approach applies well to martial arts. In fact, Karate-do, Ju-do, Bu-do: all include the Japanese character “do,” which can be translated as “way.” While I am sure this has many meanings beyond what little I know, I do think that this character speaks strongly to the idea of following the way, or path, of practicing your passion rather than doing something solely for the end result or because you’ve been told it’s the best.
When I was much younger and first beginning to train jujitsu with Kikukawa Hanshi, I asked him how much I should pay him for the lessons. To my shock, he simply grinned and said, “Just enjoy!” He continued to train our group every Sunday without ever asking for anything in return, however it was clear that he was having a blast the whole time (particularly when he was demonstrating techniques on us! 🙃). Years later, after a demonstration in Tokyo, the various organizational heads were giving speeches. When it came to Kiku’s turn, he basically said, “Just enjoy your training!” and sat down. I thought his speech was hands down the best one.
So why train karate? Do if because you love it! If I only did karate because I was told it was the most efficient, strongest, most traditional or whatever, I never would have been able to stick around for so long. Bottom line, if you are looking for the perfect martial art, simply find something you enjoy and keep doing it.
