Karate and Character

Here's a little something for all of you to ponder. I received an email today from someone who reads the blog, who is requesting feedback from martial artists for his thesis.

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He writes:

"I'm currently doing my dissertation on karate senseis... My organisation is called the Karate Union Great Britain, and it issues a license to all its practitioners. In this book is the dojo code, which asks us to strive for the perfection of character, to have good etiquette etc, I'm sure you've heard the "ultimate aim" speech of Funakoshi before. The thing is it's obviously quite important to a lot of karateka.

So if that is the ultimate aim of karate, why do we spend our time teaching each other to punch, kick and strike, up and down the dojo for six hours a week? How does this perfect our character? How do the senseis TEACH us good character? They certainly don't always succeed, do we know that they succeed at all? Could the people with good characters in fact have got them from elsewhere?

This is what I am dedicating about six months of my life to, any comments you have would be useful."

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This is one of those questions that arises time and time again, and the answers come from all ends of the spectrum. There are those who argue from the purely physical end, that karate has nothing to do with character except in the minds of a few fuzzy-minded pseudo-philosophers. The other end says that karate is just a means to an end, character being the end goal, karate being the path to achieve it.

My initial reaction is that I believe that karate does build character, but I don't know that it is necessarily the duty of the senseis to "teach" you character, nor am I at all convinced that it can be "taught". Personally, I started karate out of curiosity, started it for fun and for the physical endeavor. Several years later, I can say that I have gained so very much more than that.

So, why do I think that karate builds character? Why would punching and kicking help someone become a better person? Quite frankly, it doesn't always. Any more than any purely physical endeavor will build character, if the person is not dedicated on a deeper level, and is never open to anything deeper. Although any physcial effort that is sustained over time will develop dedication and a will to overcome obstacles, if nothing else. It takes a certain amount of character to keep going when you're tired, to keep training through the pain.

What exactly do we learn from a good sensei then, that I think goes beyond simple physical endeavors? We learn how to be a good, fair and dedicated teacher, one that practices what they preach, always ready to help, always drives you to improve and encourages you to believe it's possible, and rejoices with you when you do overcome the obstacles. We learn patience and tolerance. We learn discipline. We learn how to treat people respectfully, no matter what rank they fall into by comparison with ourselves. We learn the immense gratification that comes from working really hard for something that could not be gained by any lesser effort, and having that hard work rewarded. We also learn that sometimes, you can work very hard for something, NOT achieve it, but still find that the work itself was worthwhile after all, and that those around you will commend you for the effort. We learn to avoid conflicts, to deflect blows (literal or symbolic), we learn not to be the aggressor but to start only and always from a defensive stance. With any luck, we carry some of these same principles out into our everyday lives, and are the better for it.

In this sense, I believe that a good karate sensei helps build your character, teaching you by example more than anything else. Whether consciously or unconsciously, anyone who sticks with karate for many years must have a good sensei, so they will end up absorbing many of these principles. If they don't, they will find it very hard (in our organization at least) to get past a certain level, for they will lack the will to continue in the face of setbacks. They will lack character.

Comments

[Chadie]

One thing I been thinking about is that in our society in Sweden many people have the attitude that if they failure it is always somebodys else who shall fix it. It is always somebody else who has the responsibility for your life. In karate this does not work. You only learn if you try yourself. That is an important truth of how life really works, I think.
Maybe this does not have so much about to build tyour character to do, but it is an important part of karate, I think.

[James Birney]

Firstly I'd like to thank you for posting my question. On the whole I agree with what your comments.

The thing is you seem to have said that the sensei is like any good coach. People will learn to be good, fair, dedicated etc. from a good football coach just as you claim we learn by the example of our senseis. Very little of what you said was specific to karate or to senseis.

Now I would argue that Karate creates people with a stronger character, admitedly in an ill defined way, than football. For proof: I don't know if you've seen some of the pictures of the football hooligans in this country, but they depress me. I know that they aren't representative of all the fans, however I find it hard to believe that Karate fans would ever get to that stage, I just don't believe it. So what is it that's specific to karate? The abstract in Rob's Shintado notes pulled up the nice definitions between people becoming a certain way because of the sport, and people who are a certain way being the ones who join the art. I'm beginning to lean towards the latter, simply because I can see very little that Karate does that is different to say, football. We train in differnt ways, but both require dedication and responsibility etc. the skills we learn from a good sensei you could learn form a good coach. This depresses me, I would like to believe that there is something in our art that makes people better, not that it just attracts people of a certain type.

thank you again.

[Shannon]

When ever I hear this question being posed (the "what does karate teach me" or " Does karate increase our character") I always have to wonder who the answer is for. Anyone who has taken and practiced the art can experiance first hand how it builds strength of character. Unlike organized sports, karate can be taken for a much more personal meaning/level. True - a football team needs each player to "do" thier thing as best they can. The quarterback practices throwing - the receiver catching - the punter - kicking. And each player can take "their part" to heart, and do the best they can. But karate varies from this in that there is no team. There is only 1 - you. Lessons learned/taught in karate can be extrapolated to real life. If "I" don't do it, it won't be done. In contrast, a receiver may feel - if I dont catch the ball, we have 3 more downs, and they can always run it.
Not to knock sports - but I can't think of a single other "sport" that contains all the physical, psychological, spiritual (if you want it), and moral lessons that one can get from karate (or any other martial art - at least one with decent traditions - not 'street fighting fu')
In martial arts, you can be on a team - sparring team - competition team - you may consider your dojo a team. But in the end, it's a personal drive that will either make you want to push on - or give up. No other sport that I'v been in has instilled a sense of "I can do it" like martial arts has. When you stop playing football, you carry the lessons, but dont run around catching things. WHen you stop playing on a soccer team - you can remember how to do it, but seldom will run through a mall kicking a ball. But karate - karate you carry with you daily. You can use it to bring in 10 bags of groceries from the car - to balance on one leg when tripped (with a baby in your arms) - to walk with confidence that if neded, you can defend yourself. Not just the pyhsical, but I think your character will be forever changed. You learn not to judge someone by thier size, to extend courtesy regardless of rank in life, to have self confidence to stand on a mountain top - and still be humble enough to bow to another.

Shannon

ps. Just saw how much I typed - hope you dont mind how long winded I got !!

[LirianFae]

I would not dispute that certain types of people are more drawn to martial arts, while other types of people are more drawn to sports such as football.

However, I disagree that any good coaching always teaches the same principles. How is a "good coach" defined in other sports? The stated aim of traditional karate, is not and never has been "winning". However, in sports such as football, that usually is the goal. Many sports coaches encourage their students/team not just to excel, but to WIN:

"Winning may not be everything, but losing isn't anything."

"Second place just means first loser"

etc., etc.

In "sport karate" dojos, where winning tournaments is deemed most important, I have seen many people who are in it for the glory, and their behavior reflects that.

Any time that the end result of winning is emphasized more than the process of learning, I think you lose character-building aspects. Although ideally coaches in competitive sports should encourage good sportsmanship and reward you for hard work (whether you win or not), I think that's frequently not the case. The ones who get rewarded with starting positions are those who help you win, whether or not they work the hardest, whether or not they behave respectfully to their teammates or coaches.

I also agree completely with what Chadie said, at least as far as the United States goes. Many people here do not hold themselves accountable for their own actions, and there is a tendency to blame someone else if things go wrong. Maybe that's universal, I don't know -- but I do know that it's much harder to get away with that in a traditional karate dojo.

Perhaps that is a big difference then: Who is accountable?

If a sports team is losing, the coach will probably get fired. He's not producing. The "talent" is there, he just can't coach them right. His job is usually to find a way to win.

If a karate-ka is not growing, the focus is on the karate-ka. They are encouraged to keep going, maybe work harder. Maybe some understanding is missing. It is the sensei's responsibility to try to help them to grow and understand, but if someone does not pass a dan test, nobody gets "fired" -- it is just a question of needing to grow more. Same as tournament: If you do not finish high up, you have not "failed" and neither has your sensei -- you will just be given suggestions on how you might improve the next time around. You will be given things to work on. Working on them, that's your own responsibility.

[LirianFae]

My post was almost simultaneous with Shannon's, but I wanted to add now that I think that post also brought up some extremely relevant points.

[Wichi Dude]

I would like to share some of my thoughts, disjointed as they may be.
We have both, good and bad, coaches, Sensei/Sifu/instructors. The "bad" ones are out for the "winning". The "must-prove" attitude.
The "good" ones, are there to teach.
I also agree that there seems to be an attraction to the arts by a certain type of person. One with character to begin with. A good instructor will help that person "develop" that character.
Now, how do you tell if a person has that character? Beats me.
When I got involved in the arts, I was a short fused person with a need to bully. The arts looked like a way to back up that desire.
Until I found out it took a lot of work to beat someone up. And it took a lot MORE work to get beaten up.
Tha made me rethink the whole program. THAT was when I started seeing the beauty behind the art form.
And my Sifu smiled and noded, and said he knew I would see things differently.
It wasn't a team thing. It wasn't a "winning" thing. It was "I'm going to show you something" thing. And that "something" I saw was myself.
That is what a good coach, Sensei, Sifu, instructor does, they show you what is there. Then show you how to make it better. The work is all yours and THAT is what builds the character. They help, but YOU do.
In closing, I was at a class a few years ago watching the students work out. A couple young kids were arguing about how to pronounce Tae Kwon Do. The student instructor went over to them. I initially thought he was going to discipline them. Instead, he got down to their level, looked at them and said, "It is pronounced, 'I can do'."
They just looked at him with that blank, confused look kids get.
He continued, "when you go to do something, think, 'I can do', and eventually, you will. Here, or anywhere."
Best lesson they ever received.

[James Birney]

OK, I really like both Shannon and LirianFae's arguments about team sports, I would agree that the down side of being part of a team is the "his problem" mentality when mistakes happen. But that doesn't complete the picture, what about boxing? Gymnastics? Long distance running? All these are "personal" sports, do these fill the same catergory as the martial arts? I don't know enough gymnasts to judge their general "character" so maybe say gymnastics does have the same positive aspects as the martial arts, they certainly can't blame anyone else if they screw up.

I also liked Wichi Dude (and, if I may say, what a brilliant name!) describing how the martial arts lets you know how hard it actually is to beat someone up. I also feel his parting comment is maybe one of the more enlightening of all of them. I refer to the "I can do" speech

My sensei says the same thing, a lot. He also gets annoyed at the more negative members of the dojo if they say that something's "impossible" or if he feels they're using their injuries as an excuse. Now, gymnasts and other "individual" trainners may have thoughts about character and positive thinking and the rest, but that will be their way of trainning. The martial arts have these thoughts right in there from the start, you can't train without coming across some of the philosophy at some point, and whether you agree or reject it, you HAVE to think about it. Our arts have a tradition of meditation and philosophy behind them, and so we carry our thoughts out of the Dojo, as Shannon said, we think about how what we do affects our life, maybe gymnasts don't, or maybe some do but martial arts pushes people towards it more.

One final thing (sorry, I know I also go on a bit) LirianFae made the comment about the "win" mentality, I feel that the thing about the martial arts is not that we have a reduced "win" mentality, but a far larger one than the other sports. For the martial arts, the true test of what you know would be a self defense situation, in that situation you HAVE to win, because if you don't then the consequences are dire. Therefore all the sparring and trainning we do before hand is exactly that, trainning, not the real thing, thus we can take a step back and say, oh I didn't block X, I need to work on that. EVERYTHING we do is just trainning, and when it becomes real, we won't need to be reminded it's important, because we'll know. Now a footballplayer, when he steps onto the field for a big game, has to remind himself that this is for real this time, that he can't fuck up and he has to give it his all. Because if he fails, it WON'T be a matter of life and death so he has to make it one in his own mind. This is why there is this difference between the two, and also a strong contender for the differences in approaches to trainning. What do you think??

thank you for these and any other comments you may have, with your permission I would love to use some, well, all of these communications in my dissertation.

[LirianFae]

Haha okay, maybe it depends on your definition of winning.

Why do you train? If you train primarily for your own benefit (mental, physical, emotional) then I think you get a different dimension to your training than someone who is training primarily to demonstrate the results in competition. Lots of long distance runners, for example, run only because they love it. They probably could win races, they're in phenomenal shape, but they never enter, because that's not why they run. They aren't interested. I don't do karate so I can compete, I compete because it's part of how my organization does karate.

But now I'll play devil's advocate for just a minute. Training has always been what I loved, and competition something that unfortunately is tacked on -- if anything, I've frequently regarded it as a distraction! In tournaments, I was nervous and uncomfortable, performed badly, and hated the whole thing. However, participating in some competition is encouraged in my organization, so I've spent the past year entering every tournament that I could, trying to get past these issues.

The end result is, I still do karate for the same reasons, and I still prefer training to anything else. However, forcing myself to overcome my dislike of competition, trying to become stronger mentally and less self-conscious, has been good for me. So, although I don't think that competition provides the same type of character improvements that everyday training does, and I still probably value the character improvements from training over those from tournament, I will say that competition also CAN lend itself to character.

However, whether or not that happens I think depends on why you are competing to begin with. If you compete so that you can measure your progress on some level, measure yourself against your own weaknesses and maybe see how you compare to some of your peers, then you can learn and gain a lot -- including realizing that if you go out and screw up in front of a crowd, the world will not end (very humbling!). If you are in it to win, and regard anything short of 1st place as a failure, then that's all you will ever gain -- the knowledge that sometimes, you are a failuer.

[Shannon]

I really liked the last paragraph ( I liked more parts - but wanted to comment on this one in particular). The idead that what you learn depends on why you are competeing (or who you are completing with). Got me thinking that, in my training (current), I'm fully understanding when the 18 yr olds can do kicks that I can't, or have better stamina - because Im not competeing (internally) with them. I'm competing with a 14 yr old that had limited abilty, but the ki (chi) to make up for it. I compete aginst myself. (I was 14 when I started in martial arts). I remember how much spirit I had when I started, and try to match that each time I train. Maybe, if more people competed against themselves, instead of each other, they'd have a better attitude.(Brown belts and shodans in particularly- no offense if any of you are at these levels).

Shannon
ps. Interesting that Cross Country running was mentioned - I did that in grade skool before starting martial arts. It has alot of the same "on my own" ness that karate can have. Also teaches good conditioning and endourance. Just with a lot more running, and a lot less punching and kicking before hand!

[Shannon]

Is my browser messing up, or have there been no new post since the "Character" one?

Shannon ([email protected])