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.
Read MoreWhen I first heard this precept, it was during an explanation about Kata, and why all Kata start with an Uke – or in English parlance a “block”.
I can already hear the gasps and the rush to make a correction.
Of course, my understanding now is that all Kata start with an Uke which is often a form of attack whilst defending – for beginners though perhaps it’s ok to teach Karate a particular way.
This precept has also come up in discussion online over the years. You surely know which one I am referring to by now.
Read MoreIf there is ever a resource that acts as a top-notch guide and learning tool for all karateka it must be one of my all-time favourites that I constantly reference throughout my life.
Funakoshi Gichin’s “The Twenty Guiding Principles of Karate” – a.k.a. ‘the twenty precepts’ is a book that all Shotokan practitioners will have read and many Karateka from other styles will have surely heard of if not also read.
I was going to say let’s look at number one, but of course they are all “Number One” – Hitotsu, so to be pedantic I’ll start from the precept that you’d read first on the list.
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