The way we live our lives, the freedom's that we have become the trap that destroys our way of life. With all of this freedom comes the worst freedom of all, the freedom to forget our past. The freedom to not to be responsible for our own actions or the actions of the people around us, that there actions do not reflect our own actions.
We seem to easily fall into this trap of forgetting where and how our arts were brought to us. We are good at using words and not backing them up with our own actions. You should not only be able to "talk the talk", but you have to be able to "walk the walk". This basically means that you have to be able to back up your words with your actions no matter what the outcome of your actions may be, take responsibility for your own actions.
In Karatedo, we as Sensei’s can site our own lineage, the ancestors that have brought us our martial arts knowledge. This then gives us an air of the debt we owe our students, but not the scope of what that debt really means. Can we really understand the time and effort that it took to bring our Karatedo to us? What our ancestors had to give up getting the understanding that they passed on to their students.
I have been teaching and training in the Karatedo for over Forty years. I have also been involved with tournaments for most of that time. Through that time I have met many people and judged tens of thousands of students. The trend with Sports Karate saddens me. Sports Karate seems to be running a poor parallel to the Chinese Wushu practitioners. This seems to be a poor mix of some Karate and some Gymnastics. The use of flash without a continuous flow, and a lack of balance coupled with a lack of Karatedo content seem to be the norm.
The use of Sports seems to be used by some Dojos to chase the buck not to build the proper Karatedo attitude. Through the chase of the buck and the trophies the teachings of Honor, Loyalty, Respect and the Karate Family are going by the way side.
I see the lack of respect for the Art's and the Senior Black belts who judge these students on a daily basis. A student is only a copy of their instructors and as such I judge the instructor by the student. Without the teachings of the Karatedo Family of duty to the system and the other students, without the value of Honor and Respect I cannot see a bright future for Karatedo as a whole. The Respect, Honor, Loyalty, Commitment and Family have to be more than just words.
We as Sensei’s have to walk the walk take responsibility and hold ourselves and our students to a higher value. That we may need to weed out the bad apples no matter the loss of money or the loss of a Sensei that does not adhere to these principles. We understand that we teach Karatedo and the true spirit of its meaning, this spirit needs to be forged in the Dojo not lost in the flash.
I challenge all the members of the World Sansei Koryu Goju-Ryu Karate & Kobudo Organization to rebuild their own Karatedo Family with an eye to the future, where Respect, Honor, Loyalty, Spirit and the Family are the ultimate goals.
We seem to easily fall into this trap of forgetting where and how our arts were brought to us. We are good at using words and not backing them up with our own actions. You should not only be able to "talk the talk", but you have to be able to "walk the walk". This basically means that you have to be able to back up your words with your actions no matter what the outcome of your actions may be, take responsibility for your own actions.
In Karatedo, we as Sensei’s can site our own lineage, the ancestors that have brought us our martial arts knowledge. This then gives us an air of the debt we owe our students, but not the scope of what that debt really means. Can we really understand the time and effort that it took to bring our Karatedo to us? What our ancestors had to give up getting the understanding that they passed on to their students.
I have been teaching and training in the Karatedo for over Forty years. I have also been involved with tournaments for most of that time. Through that time I have met many people and judged tens of thousands of students. The trend with Sports Karate saddens me. Sports Karate seems to be running a poor parallel to the Chinese Wushu practitioners. This seems to be a poor mix of some Karate and some Gymnastics. The use of flash without a continuous flow, and a lack of balance coupled with a lack of Karatedo content seem to be the norm.
The use of Sports seems to be used by some Dojos to chase the buck not to build the proper Karatedo attitude. Through the chase of the buck and the trophies the teachings of Honor, Loyalty, Respect and the Karate Family are going by the way side.
I see the lack of respect for the Art's and the Senior Black belts who judge these students on a daily basis. A student is only a copy of their instructors and as such I judge the instructor by the student. Without the teachings of the Karatedo Family of duty to the system and the other students, without the value of Honor and Respect I cannot see a bright future for Karatedo as a whole. The Respect, Honor, Loyalty, Commitment and Family have to be more than just words.
We as Sensei’s have to walk the walk take responsibility and hold ourselves and our students to a higher value. That we may need to weed out the bad apples no matter the loss of money or the loss of a Sensei that does not adhere to these principles. We understand that we teach Karatedo and the true spirit of its meaning, this spirit needs to be forged in the Dojo not lost in the flash.
I challenge all the members of the World Sansei Koryu Goju-Ryu Karate & Kobudo Organization to rebuild their own Karatedo Family with an eye to the future, where Respect, Honor, Loyalty, Spirit and the Family are the ultimate goals.