Karate keywords

May 14, 2012 at 10:59 am · Filed under Research and tagged: Chinese, Iain Abernethy, Japanese, Okinawa

I can’t resist picking up books. Generally of all shapes and sizes but with my interest in Karate and Martial Arts I’ve got more than a few about both. At the moment I’m working my way through Iain Abernethy’s Bunkai Jutsu. It’s got a good introductory chapter about the history of Karate and Kata which had some stuff that I hadn’t seen in other Karate books.

A couple of things really struck me.

Firstly the wide range of influences that have played a part in Karate’s development. From Japanese Samurai who came and settled in Okinawa to Chinese Martial Artists who visited the island each bringing and adding their martial arts skills to the melting pot.

Secondly a sense of innovation which has allowed Karate to grow from it’s roots on Okinawa and spread right the way across the globe.

It got me thinking about what words could be descriptive of Karate. One that came to mind was Pragmatic. From what I’ve read it feels like Karate has developed in response to circumstances that arose on the island. When the average Okinawan was barred from carrying weapons to protect themselves they developed the skills required to do so unarmed.

Evolutionary is another. One definition of the word really fits, Evolutionary ‘A gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form.’ Lots of past masters have taken what they’ve learnt and blended in their own learning.

Am I going anywhere with this? I think where I’m going is that Karate can mean different things to different people depending on how they intepret what it has to offer. I’ve chosen a couple of words but on a different day, thinking about different influences I could easily choose very different ones.

The name of this blog continues to really fit how I feel about my Karate studies at the moment. I’m really enjoying exploring different aspects, seeing how they feel and if they feel right working to incorporate them into my Karate training.

What words does Karate evoke in you?

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