The Case for Real Shotokan Karate
I practice real Shotokan Karate, and the rest of the world doesn’t.
Don’t you just love a knucklehead statement like that? I mean, the fellow who makes it has broken rule number one: he thinks he is the only one, and therefore he is knee deep in loco.
That said, let me give you a rundown on real Shotokan Karate, and what the rest of the world is practicing.
If you are learning a tradition with respect, no matter who the teacher is, no matter what the argument is between form and function, you are learning real Shotokan Karate. And, hey, while we’re at it, this statement extends to such arts as Karate and Taekwondo and Kenpo and whatever.
And, to put it another way…are you learning, or are you fighting?
Now, here comes the part where I offend people. The UFCers and the MMAers are fighting, so they are not doing a martial art. They are doing a martial sport.
A lot of people get upset with me when I say something like this, they take it as a personal attack,and then explain how their school is different.
And that is the dividing point, is their school teaching, or is it promoting fighting?
It is a simple question, with a simple answer, and Beavis and Butthead can’t answer it.
You know Beavis and Butthead? They are the fellows with bad grammar who go to forums and sites and drop comments like UR STOOPID! (note the misspelling), and F*** U! (No asterisks)
Brilliant fellows these, and they don’t study real Shotokan Karate. They study ca ca humor and eat with their mouth open and it’s really important who won the fight.
But it’s not important who won the fight. What’s important is whethere an individual is actually learning, becoming more disciplined and aware, exploring the manifestations of spirituality that a human being is.
The real fight, you see, is not between the gladiators in the ring, it is between the edification of the human spirit, and the degradation of the human meatball.
That’s why I study real Shotokan Karate, and that is the dividing line one must find in their own art if they are to win the martial art war.
