Sport or Traditional Karate

               This has been the debate of many modern martial artists. I have heard every single argument and everyone’s opinion is valid and true. Sports do develop values and discipline and so does Martial arts; Combat sports help propagate the Martial arts. The old masters however, were wise and have foreseen that if we turned martial arts like Karate-Do into sport, we would lose its essence. 

    Many have resolved to have the best of both worlds and I think in this era, it is how it should be. I realized that there are three aspects of Martial arts; Karate in particular. The Self-defense (Combative) aspect and the Character development (Spiritual) aspect which are both associated to “Traditional Karate” and the Sport aspect. Can I share someone’s experiences while learning Karate-do? I’ll hide him under the name Wally Gozum. 

     I was a Karate student doing Dojo training, a balance of Sport and Traditional Karate under my teacher David Lay Sensei. When I became a Sho Dan  I was selected to be part of the athletes training pool. I trained in Sport Karate for many years, participating in Inter-clubs, Regionals, Nationals and International competitions. As an athlete I became very competitive; I loved winning and I hated to lose so I trained and worked very hard. But I was also learning about the principles of Karate-Do, which were all about letting go of pride or ego. What was it going to be? “Winning is the only thing” or “Do not think you have to win”? So I thought to apply the principles of Karate-Do to my Sports training. Back then it was easier because Sport training was not much different from Dojo training. We still followed strict dojo etiquettes in our sport training, we trained in our Gi most of the time, cleaned the dojo after practice (Soji). I was always assigned to clean the glass windows and mirrors. We did Mokuso (meditation) before and after our sport training. Things we do in Dojo practice open our

Meditation helps in easing emotional and mental
strains of training and competitions, Increases 
awareness.

 minds to grasp the path of Karate-do and allow us to stay grounded. Back then the local tournaments were truly an extension of the Dojo. The participants were all lined up sitting beside the Tatami (Mat). Respect or humility was emphasized by repeated bowing, but now it is less. Even if we lost we stayed and waited patiently beside the mat area so that after the event all players, winners; losers and the officials will bow together. Today it is not impossible to merge Karate Sport and Karate-Do. I’m not saying bring back the old ways but maybe we can make new ways to keep  our sport aligned with Karate-Do. The competitive atmosphere was there; performance evaluations, politics will always be there. Amidst all those noises we can still manage to marry the principles of the sport and way of Karate. By applying the “Way” we can become or make better athletes and sport officials.

          A year after I retired from competing I had my first and only self-defense experience. It was a road rage. A plus 80 Kg guy knocked down my friend and I had to engage; I was a minus 55 Kg. On that very stressful; very intense situation my training had kicked in, tournament skills like Kizami, gyaku tsukis, mawashi geri; I was hurting him but he quickly recovers, I was not even knocking the wind out of him. No I was not controlling my techniques. I was putting everything I got into every blow. I was naturally and accurately landing my techniques on WKF legal targets. My friend and I could not escape and the defense turned into a fight. The Big guy tired and sore just gave up and that was the only time we escaped. You must realize that self-defense is not about winning a fight it is about escaping or surviving that dangerous situation very swiftly. I realized that I needed to fill the gaps in my training; so I studied Hung Fut Kungfu under Master Alex Zamora and I trained in

Kakie or Push Hands is an exercise
for Intuitiveness; for Proprioception 
(awareness of space and self-movement)

Combative Karate under Sempai Hubert Posadas. I also learned from different Martial artists whom I crossed paths in my journey. I saw that our combative exercises also helped in my timing and improved my awareness of my opponent during point sparring or Kumite. I do believe that Kumite (Sport) allows one to learn all the dynamics of fighting in the safest way possible. Later on I organized a small group to practice with and further develop our Self-defense program. As I trained to respond to violence my mind was becoming violent, I felt a lot of aggressive energy. I noticed that my ego was getting bigger. I was becoming hot headed. So again I resolved to bring back the “Way” (Do) in my group’s self-defense training to be able to refrain from violent behavior. When we did our drills, responding to violent stimuli our minds remained clear and calm.      
                                                                                                                                                            As per my experience, I realized that a Sport Karate athlete has excellent agility and speed, timing and accuracy, stamina and endurance that put him into great advantage for self-defense but he

Hojo Undo
(Karate strength and Conditioning)

has very limited technique and tactical training, not for consensual   fighting but for self-defense. Sport training gives non-athletes great physical   conditioning. The Combative Karate practitioner has the vast techniques as   well as the intuitiveness to survive dangerous situations and can apply that   intuitiveness  when he performs Kata or fights in Kumite competitions. The   “Do” or the spiritual aspect keeps the Ego in check and makes sure that we   do not stray from the path of perfecting our character. However; there are   those who gain knowledge of the philosophies of Karate-Do but do not take the opportunity to gain deeper understanding by engaging in combat. Martial arts (Budo) came from either military arts like swordsmanship or fighting arts like Karate. As ancient warriors sought a way out of their entanglement in conflict, Budo became 

Functional/Sport specific Conditioning

an instrument of peace. But the enlightenment of great warriors was not realized without their experiences in the battle field or in real fights. I’m not saying that we should go to war zones or pick fights in the streets, but we should go out of our comfort zones and join tournaments because by participating we can at least experience combat but in a very controlled environment. In other countries elder Karatekas still compete as long as they are able. We can also do some drills for the more dangerous Karate techniques. We can practice real life self-defense scenarios. In Dojo training always have the mind-set “to kill with one blow” or ikken Hissatsu. This mind set will put us in combat or in life or death situation whenever we practice. By experiencing combat we experience the principles of Budo/Karate-Do.

I believe it is better if we did not have to balance “Traditional” and Sport training or to choose to specialize in one aspect. But instead we unify them and create a holistic approach to training because each aspect of Karate will greatly benefit the modern Karateka, especially our athletes.

Jodan Tsuki

Jodan Teisho uchi

          


    

Be the Lord's Warrior.