This stems off the idea that Bu makes a nation prosperous. Karate-Do is as much philosophical, if not more so, than it is combative. One of the first things all students are taught in the majority of karate and Tae Kwon Do classes I have seen is that everything revolves around respect.

If you do not have respect for your teacher, you need a new one. If your student does not have respect for you, then you do not need that student. If your partner does not have respect for you, then you will never be able to achieve your full potential, and you need a new partner. This mutual respect between Sempai and Kohai (senior and newer karateka) and between fellow karateka is paramount to complete instruction of karate-do.

Trust is Paramount

In my Shodan Research Paper, I explained that you have to be able to trust your instructor to learn some of the more dangerous techniques in karate-do. If you are constantly afraid of getting hurt, then you will most likely be the cause of yourself getting hurt. Continuing that idea, you need to trust your fellow karateka of equal rank when practicing together.

Two of my sensei, who taught me most of what I know about karate-do, are great examples of how important this is. One enjoyed practicing full speed and with power behind every move. Master Itosu would be proud of this, but my other sensei did not appreciate it. When they would be learning new things at seminars, one was trying to move slowly and memorize the patterns, while the other was practicing like it was life or death. Neither teacher was right or wrong. The problem was that they were unable to show mutual respect and find a middle ground. This lead to them not working together at seminars, and since they were the two most able to reteach the techniques, the dojo would end up learning two slightly different interpretations of the same instruction.

Respect in Everyday Life

Similar to the way that the “Bu makes a nation prosperous” concept shows how karate-do applies to all aspects of life, this notion that “karate-do begins and ends with rei” applies to all aspects of life. Someone who is practicing karate-do, rather than just learning to hit and block, should strive to show respect in all areas of life.

The mentality that, “I am going to knock him senseless,” is wrong. A karateka looks for any excuse to avoid fighting. A karateka knows that there is never a moment in life when they should want to fight; only times that they need to fight. The karateka shows respect for their opponent. He sees his opponent as a living breathing creature and strives not to kill him, but rather, disallow him the ability to cause harm.

Rethinking What you are Learning

A fellow martial artist was explaining his school’s curriculum to me. It included some rather brutal ways of ensuring death to an attacker. It made me reexamine my own curriculum and question why I practice complexes that involve neck breaks and multiple arm breaks. The conclusion I came to was that these complexes train you to do the more lethal things in the event they are necessary; if you were outnumbered or your attacker had a weapon. It is important to understand when these techniques are necessary.

Always show respect towards others, even those who would do you harm. You must try to avoid fights, even those you know you will win. Just because you can fight off an assailant does not mean you should. An article in Black Belt Magazine talks about when Gichin Funakoshi was in his 80’s, after World War II had ended. He was mugged by a younger gentleman who took his umbrella and tried to hit him in the head with it.

Funakoshi’s Response

Funakoshi, without hesitation, “blocked the umbrella with one hand as he stepped in and grabbed the man’s testicles with his other. He then proceeded to hold the man (so to speak) for the police.” While Mr. Thomas’ article details the effectiveness of his Karate, he fails to mention that Master Funakoshi was deeply troubled by his actions afterwards and says that he should have just given the man his handbag, because a little bit of money wasn’t enough justification to hurt someone. He explains that the toll the war left on everyone was why the man wanted his money and that he probably needed it more anyways.

It is hard for most of us to go to those extremes of nonviolence when being attacked, but it is one of the best examples of what a karateka should be striving to achieve. As practitioners of karate-do, we must be responsible with our knowledge of lethal attacks and only use them as last resorts.