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Did the 'west' change the 'eastern' meaning of using karate?


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Posted

Of course. The Karate that was first used was against the samurai on horseback with weapons. I hypothesize that in those times, emphasis was put on practicality, not flair. Many different students train in techniques over and over again because it doesn't look or feel right. A real fight isn't clean cut and surgical. It can turn into a scrap fight in the blink of an eye. If I seem to favour the West, I do only because I have not experience Okinawan Karate of old. For myself, I actually do prefer the Eastern practices, since my culture is based in India. I only spoke of Western culture because I have found that some western aspects are changing Karate. These changes aren't bad, in my opinion. Just another weapon to the arsenal. As in the ancient Karate, you took what worked and used it. In the end, you trained in Karate for a purpose....to fight and survive. Though that is not the only reason Westerners may train, it is still a key component and also the reason why I started to train.

"Never hit a man while he's down; kick him, its easier"


Sensei Ron Bagley (My Sensei)

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Posted
Though that is not the only reason Westerners may train, it is still a key component and also the reason why I started to train.

 

Why did you start? What motivated you?

 

8)

'Karate is a set of beliefs and practices that are never grasped in their totality and that generate more knowledge and more practices' Krug (2001)

Posted

I started to train because when I was about 9 years old I kept getting beaten up by my classmates. Everyday, I would come out of school and get taken down and punched. No reason for it, they just did it. After a while I was able to fight back. They still would beat me down simply because there were more of them, but after a while, I was able to defend myself. I switched from Kickboxing to Karate after a disagreement with my instructor and found karate more worthwhile.

"Never hit a man while he's down; kick him, its easier"


Sensei Ron Bagley (My Sensei)

Posted
I switched from Kickboxing to Karate after a disagreement with my instructor and found karate more worthwhile.

 

Why do you find karate more worthwhile?

 

:karate:

'Karate is a set of beliefs and practices that are never grasped in their totality and that generate more knowledge and more practices' Krug (2001)

Posted

Yes, the west tend to perceive it as a competitive sport only. The east use it for all that personal enlightenment.

If your enemy refuses to be humbled......you must destroy him.

Posted

The kickboxing class only taught me how to defend myself. The karate class I am in teaches me about being a better person, gives me more dynamics to work with, allows me to explore the meaning of different techniques, provides a better workout, has a comfortable environment, and teaches me things that I never thought I would learn, such as joint manipulation and close quarter combat. Its an all around club.

"Never hit a man while he's down; kick him, its easier"


Sensei Ron Bagley (My Sensei)

Posted
Yes, the west tend to perceive it as a competitive sport only. The east use it for all that personal enlightenment.

 

Could you add more to this?

 

:roll:

'Karate is a set of beliefs and practices that are never grasped in their totality and that generate more knowledge and more practices' Krug (2001)

Posted
Karate is not a philosophy. In a karate class, students don't and never have learned about creation or man's happiness. It's a discipline, an art, but it's not a philosophy or religion...Karate is as separate as anything can be from philosophy and religion.

 

Sorry to go back to this but is philosophy not a set of basic principles or concepts underlying a particular sphere of knowledge or A precept, or set of precepts, beliefs, principles, or aims, underlying somebody’s practice or conduct.

 

If so, according to Gary J Krug (who wrote the article 'At the feet of the master: three stages in the appropriation of Okinawan karate into anglo-american culture') Karate is an object of knowledgeand a set of beliefs and practices.

 

Many other writers have made a similar assumption. Practitioners in the west would maybe mot adhere to this yet but this 'philosophical meaning' of karate is essentially its essence. Would you not agree?

 

I have been researching more into this...hence the late comeback on this.

 

Ta

 

:karate:

'Karate is a set of beliefs and practices that are never grasped in their totality and that generate more knowledge and more practices' Krug (2001)

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