Excerpted from the book by Terrence Webster-Doyle

There is a fundamental and dangerously different perspective contained in the above quotes; they are two contrasting ways of dealing with conflict; they are also the basis of two radically different approaches to the martial arts. one approach lays the foundation for violence and increased aggression under the guise of self- improvement, while the other nurtures self-understanding and intelligence.

The martial arts have been portrayed as deadly systems of self-defense techniques. we read of musashi, the “sword saint,” who, at the early age of 13 killed a person, and went on killing over 60 people before his 30th birthday just to prove that he was invincible. we read other bizarre tales of incredible feats of prowess and strength by martial arts “masters,” such as the story of a well-known karate teacher who killed bulls with his bare hands to prove how strong his method was. many people want that power, that energy that seems to emanate from one who knows these fighting arts.

There is a great sense of powerlessness today. people are seeking more and more ways to get power, and the martial arts, especially karate, appeals to many. with its emphasis on aggressive fighting skills, and the fascination of mysterious knowledge from the east, it has become increasingly popular. and there are many martial arts magazines, schools and instructors who exploit this desire for power and for the arcane.

It seems to me that the traditional martial arts, the violent, military, egotistic, popularized, romantic view, is a devastatingly perverted misapplication of what is in essence a way of life devoted to developing sensitivity and understanding. whereas many traditional martial arts are concerned primarily with lethal self-defense techniques, conquering and “killing the enemy,” and proving one’s self through competition, the art of karate is concerned with understanding violence, “subduing the enemy without fighting,” thereby creating the means of going beyond conflict.

The word budo is a key word in the martial arts. it means literally, “the way to stop conflict.” the word karate has come to mean “empty hands,” to defend oneself without the use of weapons. its deeper and more significant meaning from a taoist and zen buddhist perspective means “empty self,” with the emphasis on kara or “empty.” budo and the art of karate as a way to empty self are very similar. the similarity lies in the words conflict and self. in karate, as in most martial arts practiced worldwide, the self, the ego, the “me” has been glorified, and becomes powerful, dominating, undefeatable, invincible, thus creating a steely veneer, a calloused spirit of invulnerability. lip service is occasionally paid to “spirituality,” but actually most practices are really ways to fill one’s self up, to inflate and toughen the ego under the guise of self-transcendence. self-improvement is thus seen as self- enhancement, that is, self-centeredness, focusing inwardly on an image of self that is the root of conflict.

In the art of karate we find something radically different. although one may not see a difference on the surface, it is there. the main similarity of traditional karate to the art of karate is in technique. both train vigorously in self-defense skills. both derive confidence from these skills. but this is where the similarity stops and the radical divergence begins. where traditional karate begins and ends with technique, the art of karate has just begun. the confidence gained in traditional karate comes from developing technique. the confidence gained in the art of karate also comes from technique, but it goes far beyond these skills; its intent is to develop an atmosphere of trust, of understanding. without this much deeper and more comprehensive aspect of genuine self-enquiry, learning only self-defense skills causes one’s practice or understanding to become unbalanced, destructive. within the context of authentic self-understanding, self-defense skills may have a place, but if one’s mistaken goal is to empower the dissociated self, the ego, then one is simply reinforcing fear, which compounds the problem of aggression and violence from isolated self-centered activity.

The art of karate is not a strategy, “skilled management in getting the better of an adversary,” as the word is commonly understood in many traditional forms of the martial arts; nor is it a “skillful means of attaining an end.” that way is the way of fear, of a cunning mind that is mischievous and detrimental. it is the seed of exploitative “cutthroat” competition; it pits person against person in a struggle for dominance. the art of karate is a “non-strategy” - neither a way to get the better of anyone, nor a means to any end that the contrivance of self can create. it is rather a vehicle through which one can understand or have continuous insight into the causes of the breakdown of relationship, thereby bringing about simultaneously a sense of order, harmony and unity.

The intent of the art of karate is to give one the opportunity to discover who one is. the intent of the art of karate is to act as a mirror so that one can readily and non-judgmentally come into direct relationship with what is usually hidden and resisted. by creating a confident and trusting environment, it allows students to become aware of their pent-up aggressions, tensions and conflicts. allowing everything that was hidden or resisted to be observed is the central most important aspect in the process of “emptying self;” that is the heart of the art of karate. where the traditional martial approach in karate develops the tough hide of invulnerability, the art of karate fosters flexibility, suppleness and sensitivity. it allows one to be vulnerable - and, paradoxically, this is a great strength. real power comes from being open, questioning, being susceptible to oneself and others. only a false sense of power can come from feigning the image of confidence, the image of strength.

If the mind is like still water and reflects what is there without judgment, without distortion, without holding on to what it sees, without saying that what it sees should be anything else, then there is a living moment of learning, then the mind will not fill up with dogmatic assertions, conclusions, opinions. the mind will continually empty itself each moment, renewing itself because it has understood what is reflected and has gone beyond. the water flows, clear and deep, ever new - the mind flows, clear and deep, ever new. . .