When I teach Karate I often talk about my rules of Karate. Not the Dojo kun, not the Niju kun or the specific rules of Karate, But my rules for Karate. These are not like “how to live” or any wise words that will make you Ghandi or anything like that. Just my guidelines on how I try and do my own Karate, and some fairly basic ideas on enjoying Karate and doing it correctly…here are my ten rules of Karate!
1. Don’t get hit! The first rule of Karate is don’t get hit! This is true self-defense!
2. The only way to fail, is to give up! I have seen way to many people join up and throw in the towel at various points of Karate. Firstly the training should be for life, not till I get my “Add belt color here”! I have seen people train hard, come down three times a week and bust their butts, get a black belt and say “well that’s it isn’t it”…..NOT EVEN CLOSE! Karate truly begins at black belt! Or someone cannot test, or fails a test and says “well this is not for me”…the true failure is not in the testing but in the person giving up!
3. A tiny bit each day is actually better than a 2 hour work out…once a week! I always joke and say “ we all do our homework right”, well I know that most people come to the club and “Do” Karate twice a week and don’t give it a second thought at home. We are not a exercise camp or Yoga class, Karate is much different. If you took 5-10 minutes a day and did some light stretching and threw a few kicks and punches in the air, maybe did your Kata…you Karate would grow in leaps and bounds!
4. Be respectful to gain respect! One of my biggest pet peeves are instructors and students that DEMAND respect but act disrespectfully towards others. Why in Gods little green earth would you think that you could walk around like a putz and then get respect from others? The key to respect is you have to give it to get it!
5. You get out of Karate what you put into it! If you are here to be an athlete and compete, your training should focus on Shiai Karate! If you are here for your health and your fitness, well you training will focus more on basic work outs to promote these. Looking to not get sand kicked in your face or to fend off “Evil” muggers and violent criminals , well Goshindo Karate is your goal! If you want to take your training to the next level and learn and train in traditional ways and promote old style Karate then Showa Karate is the way for you. However, no matter what your focus if you don’t put anything into it…that’s what you will get back…nothing! Remember the instructor is there to guide you, the rest is up to you!
6. Do your best, that’s all we can ask! We have specific standards that we look for in each level of Karate. White to Yellow belts are given far more lean way to make mistakes than brown and black belts. I cannot ask a 55 year old student to keep up and be as nimble as a 12 year old student! I always say do your best and we will view you as an individual!
7. Test yourself every day…not just once every three months/six months/year at a testing! I know of students that slack off 2.5 months of the testing cycle then pour it on for 2 weeks to get ready for testing for green belt or purple or what have you. They come out or more times than not…miss classes…most of the time then expect to test and expect to progress. If a black belt is that important to you…I will sell you one for about $50! But you wont get much out of the deal other than expensive cotton! Keep in mind that Karate is about mental, physical and spiritual growth, you can not do that with focusing on testing alone. Don’t be the kind of person that pushes only at the end, be the kind of person who does not HAVE to push at the end!
8. Learn karate….don’t just do it! Karate is a unique activity! It is mental, physical and spiritual in nature. Some people do Karate as a sport and don’t live it outside the dojo! Others think they have to be some kind of silly samurai wanna be to be doing Karate. Karate is about exploration of the self, it’s a physical test that has positive effects on the person’s life, body, mind and spirit. Don’t just show up and kick and punch, drive yourself and be persistent in seeking new ways to learn and experience Karate.
9. Balance your training! By balanced training I don’t just mean “remember the three K’s (Kihon, Kata and Kumite)! I mean go out and hit things, remember to do Karate in nature, Stretch out good, eat right, run, have fun and be serious! Its about balance in your approach to Karate!
10. Have fun! If you are not enjoying what you are doing…something is very wrong….wrong instructor, wrong Dojo, wrong style of Karate, wrong focus of the dojo or you need to ask yourself why you are training! Once you know why you train you can start enjoying it! I don’t like it when students come to the club and don’t like training in Karate and are forced to stick it out because they have a contract or there parents make them, or some other thing. This is why I am happy not to have contracts with students but rather focus on ensuring they have good classes and can find something to enjoy about training.
Those are my key elements for training success!
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