character development in traditional martial arts

[magpie]

The ultimate aim of Karate lies not in victory or defeat but in the perfection of the character of its participants - Gichin Funakoshi

The primary objective of most traditional martial arts (TMA) from the very start of their history was to blend the philosophy of character development with and through fighting technique; this philosophy is still embedded in genuine TMA’s today, although it may take a while before you find a school that teaches your chosen martial art as the complete package.

Imo all martial arts have the potential to provide both character development and fighting technique side by side, whether a large world organisation or a one of corner store, the genuine traditional martial arts (TMA) whether Muay Thai, karate, kung fu, judo etc. can all provide an environment where these traits are nurtured and encouraged provided that the organisation or school upholds these values.

I suppose the masters of old that developed TMA foresaw that setting loose cannons of into the community would not be such a great idea and would definitely be a big wrong, giving people the ability to fight with bare hands or weapons also demanded that these people were going to be mature and responsible for their actions and would not mindlessly use them at the drop of a hat.

There are bad apples in every basket even in TMA's I’m not saying that all TMA practitioners are angelic, you are born the person you were meant to be, but atmosphere/environment and the teachers you choose in your life can also have a big bearing on your attitude towards life.

The thing that sets TMA’s apart from the new fad MMA’s imo is traits like respect, humility, ego, character building, self control, these traits are not only dependant on the individual instructors within the organization but also the organization itself as a whole, and generally TMA have a well established philosophy on all the above traits and how they should be nurtured.

So whether you’re training in Melbourne Australia or Paris France there is a standard that is held on an international basis and it doesn’t matter whether you’re a star student or instructor or a novice white belt after a few months of training everyone starts to realize what is expected of them.

Just look at karate styles like Kyokushinkai and JKA shotokan as examples of the types of world standards that I’m talking about when it comes to fostering character development through fighting technique.

For the people that can’t handle this type of philosophy and discipline they generally dismiss it as a bunch of nonsense throwing out all sorts of reasons as to why.

Also the culture/ethos and philosophy within the organization on a world scale is what sets the standard for each and every individual instructor at their local dojo, it’s not up to the individual instructor at your local dojo to create his or her own set of standards and rules as they see fit, the standards are already in place.

There will always be individual TMA instructors who do break all the rules and don’t conform to the standard set by the organization that they are a part of, but these types while they may be around, once they are discovered don’t last too long and will be expelled.

I’m sure there are also many mma instructors out there who want to nurture more than the trait of coming to training discipline or that stress just the physical side of martial arts, John Will (Australian mma instructor) springs to mind as most of his articles that I have read always talk about such things.

Discipline is a part of any long term endeavour and in my mind there is no doubt that mma athletes have discipline just like any other athlete that competes at the higher end of his or her sport, for without discipline they would not climb to the great heights that they have the potential to achieve.

This same type of discipline can be seen in Olympic athletes, footballers, basketball players, ballerinas, judoka, karateka, and people that hold down a job for their entire lives, etc you get the picture, but this type of discipline on its own doesn’t advance the person as a human being.

The way I look at it is having the discipline to go training is part of the equation but not all of it, that training itself builds character, I agree it does but you also have to have a philosophy, atmosphere and ethos-culture to go with the physical, otherwise we should just attend bar rooms with violent reputations and make them our dojo.

The point I’m trying to make is that the genuine traditional martial arts (TMA's) do have an atmosphere/environment ethos-culture and philosophy that harnesses the traits of character development through martial technique.

[medulaney]

The primary objective of most traditional martial arts (TMA) from the very start of their history was to blend the philosophy of character development with and through fighting technique; this philosophy is still embedded in genuine TMA’s today, although it may take a while before you find a school that teaches your chosen martial art as the complete package.

It is the beginning of the statement that will cause the most problems. What exactly marks the start of history for Traditional Martial Arts?

[MAGon]

On a related subject, I've often heard over the years that, in Japanese MAs, the main difference between gendai and koryu arts is that the former give more emphasis to character develoment and the latter are more into combatives. I've been exposed to both, and frankly I don't see much of a difference in the mental and "spiritual" aspects between them.

[harlan]

I've run across some real dicks on the forums. Supposedly high level in their 'traditional' *cough* art, with some big name teachers, and heard tales of others that are power-trippers, misogynists, wife-beaters - downright abusive to anyone they get their hands on and the whole idea of 'character development' tied to the art is nothing more than a joke to them. I suspect, even, a sign of weakness.

Who knows what really goes on in private, behind closed doors? The dojo kun...was it a marketing ploy or a standardization of a known ethic lived by past masters? I kinda wonder...how old is this idea of 'character development' in 'traditional' (Eastern?) martial arts anyway? To my way of thinking, nothing really needs to be posted on a wall, as a teacher is a role model anyway. In the dojo as sensei, and if he wishes to pass along a set of values. out of the dojo as well.

I used to know a court bailiff that taught boxing to troubled kids, produced a couple of Golden Glove kids, and insisted they stay in school, and keep out of gangs and live clean. He was mentor and coach, and his ideals were openly a part of the deal. Not sure how 'traditional' Western boxing is, but he subscibed to the idea that structured activity with an ethical foundation was a WAY to turn troubled youth into upstanding citizens. But plenty of kids fell by the wayside. In the end, it really depended on the student. He wasn't blind to the fact that two types of students stayed: the 'good kids' (basically, already primed to accept his ideals), and those that 'played the game' for as long as they got something out of it.

[shoshin]

personally I feel that the whole character development element of martial art training has been driven by civilised society, the lack of actual need for functional martial arts (in the mainstream), getting parents to bring their kids ($ or £'s), and of course the old favorite - power and control.

Granted a number of decent philosophers have been involved in martial arts, so cross over happens.

It also seems that the older a martial artist gets, the majority of the time the character development element becomes more significant to them, and how they teach. why is this?

I do not teach martial arts for character development, however I only teach people of reasonable character and they may adjust their views on life BECAUSE of training, it's a very honourable and interesting side effect of training to me.

Having met many 'Masters' in my time, very, very few even come close to what I feel would be a simple, decent character (you know honest, caring, friendly), and many, many of them were a complete nightmare on a personal level - why is that?

[CVV]

I do not teach self-defense.

I believe that training karate has as goal to become a better human being. Karate teaches in essence to be respectfull for everything from yourselve to your fellow-student to your teacher even to people you do not know.

By being respectfull one is treated respectfull. Kei Miyagi writes in one of his books that karate begins and ends with courtisy wich means showing respect to others and to yourselve.

In my opinion the character building part of karate is exactly that what was the essence in teaching karate 19th and 20th century. It was part of the upbringing of adolescents into adults. Even the Bubishi mentions these values as the values of th true martil artist.

But I never talk about this to young students or to people who want to enlist. I have come to understand that most people by overcoming the conflicts and hardships of physical training, eveolve into strong charactes with good moral. Of course there is more than a karate teacher to show good moral.
Not everything has to be preached to become obvious.

[JKMann]

I think it is important to note that the Japanese sense of "character development" in various budo, but also other do forms, is not only about ethics. When one practices judo, chado, or shodo, as a shugyo, that is, an austere physical and mental discipline, it is about more than developing good moral character. It is about developing oneself as a whole person. This includes patience, attention to detail, respect for tradition, diligence, an indomitable spirit, manners, self-control, among others. Many of these are connected with ethics, of course, but more than what we associate with morality.

As for its place in karate, I think Shoshin Nagamine was probably right. He wrote in his Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters,

“To recognize this historical phenomenon is to understand how and why such overemphasis was placed on physical conditioning and practical application. By the time of the Meiji (1868-1912) and the Taisho (1912-1925) periods, karate training, a discipline void of the spiritual element, came to reflect this physical orientation. Most, if not all, teachers of karate placed more emphasis on kakedameshi (fighting) than they ever did on the inward journey. In spite of disliking such practices, I first learned karate under these circumstances.” (121)

“I believe it is safe to conclude that the connection between Zen and martial arts dates back far into Chinese history. However, as I mentioned before, because of the Satsuma prohibition on religion, Buddhist practices as observed in old Okinawa were reduced purely to rituals for birth and death. In the case of defensive traditions, I’m afraid that there was little or no emphasis ever placed on spirituality, and the martial arts were perpetuated through its gitai, or physical rituals only.” (126)

However, what Nagamine wanted to see is different:

“Void of its spiritual foundation, karate is reduced to common brutality. It is of the utmost importance that physical training be balanced by philosophical assimilation and methodological introspection as a single practice.”

[Syena]

My own perspective on this is that the origin of character development in the traditional martial arts stems from the problem of possibly teaching lethal and dangerous techniques or skills to someone who could misuse/ or abuse them. I think that the respectable teachers of old, along with the martial techniques and strategies of their school, tried to impart also the appropriate martial virtue which guided their correct use. For example, that they should never be used for any selfish or egoistic reasons or because of injured pride, but only in self-defense, or in the defense of those who can't protect themselves, or the defense of the society in which one lives, etc, etc.
I think that the ideals of society and ancient culture were that the fighting instincts and energies should be channeled and used in the proper way, according to the ethics of the day, and not for the wrong reasons, or without reason at all.
Other than that, I think that the pursuit of personal perfection and spiritual development, apart from these basic ethical guidelines, was a rare and individual occurrence rather than a universal pursuit common to all. I think that the reason this side has maybe become more pronounced in our day is that the actual need of defending oneself on a day-to-day basis is very much diminished in modern society. Self-defense has become no longer the immediate objective of training for many people; it is rather that through the training, one can develop many useful capacities and skills, mental and physical, plus get some exercise, etc. that has become more predominant. Witness all the thousands or millions of people who practice Tai Chi and wouldn't actually be able to defend themselves if their life depended on it. Of course, that is probably more for cultivating health than anything else, but I think the general drift is the same. The emphasis has maybe shifted from the original premier importance of learning to defend oneself, to these other things like cultivating health, or developing character, or the pursuit of personal perfection and excellence, or sport, or spiritual reasons.

Angelo

[dandjurdjevic]

Here is a paper a friend of mine wrote about the role of martial arts like karate in society today.

http://www.wellskarate-do.com/page.asp?content=217.asp

I think it is an excellent analysis of the potential karate has in shaping developing minds and steering them into self-discipline and structure.

[JKMann]

Dan,

Thanks for that. I think it came up once before, but I enjoyed reading it again.

I had wanted to bring up the following question, and this seems like the perfect fit:

Let's suppose, hypothetically of course, that I was writing something about the place of zen and do in the contemporary world of martial arts. What articles or books should I read and what topics should be addressed? Thanks.

(This isn't a question only for Dan, of course.)