Following on from my previous post regarding the Precept Karate Ni Sente Nashi – there is no first attack in Karate, this next one homes in on the idea that karate is on the side of justice; it’s what is used by the good guys, against the bad guys.

Surely those reading this publication in 1938 would be in no doubt that Karate was to be a useful tool for good?

Then again, it depends on what is defined as “Justice”, and what the “good” and the “bad” are.

KarateBenjamin Eayrs9 December 2019karate, Funakoshi, Budo, Karatedo, philosophy, twenty guiding principles, Shotokan, twenty precepts, KarateDo, Karate, niju kunComment

Who put the 'Bu' in Karate-Dō? Part 2 of 2

In last week’s article I explored some of the history of the development of Karate and of Budo culture in Japan.

In part 2 I hope to get to the point in why I began writing such a body of text by exploring the matter of what we understand as "traditional" karate practice, where it fits into the changes made in Okinawa, and what we perceive as being Japanese.

But firstly, a little clearing up to do.

Karate, HistoryBenjamin Eayrs6 February 2018Budo, Karate, Karatedo, Okinawa, history, traditional, japan, japanese Comment

Who put the 'Bu' in Karate-Dō? Part 1 of 2

The Bu in question is the term for Warrior, as in Budō - Way of the Warrior. If you have trained in a Japanese style of Karate, even some Okinawan styles you will have heard this term at some point.

It is often associated with a sense of learning “traditional” Karate. I use these quotation marks for reasons that I will go into.

But first, let us take a step back in time….