Hokum
Hokum is a 1917 theater slang meaning “Melodramatic, exaggerated acting”, probably formed on model of Bunkum/ Bunk or perhaps influenced by the term base Hocus-pocus! It means none sense or fakery and is a sarcastic term used for myths, bunk and other junk that has replaced a lot of wisdom and truth because it is flashier and more sellable by others.
In Karate we suffer from a lot of Hokum and in a lot of ways the seniors who taught us Karate, and their seniors are to blame! We see so much of this crapola/Bunk passed on and then altered even further from the truth that people who study the history and really tray and follow the traditions get bogged down by this misleading crap that it’s sad.
What is even sadder is when we try to be more Japanese than the Japanese are! We have traditions that we follow and I find that some are followed more properly than others, and some are so far off base that it’s kind of sad. Also, we are not Japanese…well I am not. I’m a brawny little Welshman that lives smack dab in the middle of Canada and about the most Japanese thing about me…other than my training in Karate and liking to wear white PJ’s is my affinity for Sushi!
Even the Japanese have corrupted much of the early Karate traditions and have made the Okinawan system seem even less Okinawan than it started with. Let me explain a few myths and Hokum that have made its way into Western Karate.
1. High ranking black belts are more deadly than low ranking black belts! I wish this was true, that the level of your rank meant that you were just as deadly as it suggested…but realistically all it means is that you know more about the style than others lower than you. As we age or as time goes on we lose the youth that we had and the spring in our step becomes the pain in our hips and knees. I know of a few Nandans that could not fight their way out of a wet sack! The fact is that to get to a higher level in Karate takes time, and most people don’t start Karate at the age of 10, most start as adults, so by the time they get to Third Dan or higher they are probably in their 30’s and by the time they get to fifth Dan they are int their 40’s…keep going…Now show me a 50 year old that will take a healthy 20 year old and mop the floor with them consistently and I will say they are a HUGE exception to the rule of diminishing returns.
And all of that is fine! Its not that our ability to kill someone or dominate in Kumite is better, its that our knowledge is better. Hell when I was 20 I could do the full splits…both ways and side kick well above my own head! Now that I am in my 40’s with a tone of injuries built up, well my side kick is firmly stopping at the ribs now! I hope to see my kick land at the hip and finally at the knee someday…that means I have stuck around long enough to really grasp the meaning of Karate!
2. All Japanese people sit in Seiza, they don’t have chairs in Japan! So, no chairs in KFC in Tokyo or McDonalds in Osaka? Really! I was told this gem by a instructor who should have known better and he was seriously telling the class that no one in japan owns chairs….Someone better tell Ikea Japan that they need to turf the chairs in their stores…no one is going to buy them!
Seriously, I have been told some stupid things before and this is just one that demonstrates the “ I really should have thought that one out before it oozed out of my mouth!” kind of category! Yes, they have chairs in Japan…and from what I have been told they are often more western than we are! And they try to be that way…its cool to be western in Japan…the way we think its cool to be eastern in the west! They have fast food restaurants popping up that are serving Western food and it is accepted and flourishes the same way we have Swamra restaurants popping up and Sushi joints…And I bet the new McDonalds in Isaka will have great seating….on chairs!
3. Gis are white to show purity of spirit and mind! OMG, so now I know why people think we are a Eastern version of the original flower children…all spiritual and such! The true history of the Keikogi is that the Judo folks started using them to grip better and not leave the kimono they wore traditionally in shambles…..it was at a time when western clothing was starting to become popular as well….so can you imagine us doing Karate in a sport coat and slacks or tee shirts and slacks because Kano designed a Gi that looked more like the western clothing he loved so much?
The color of the Gi is simple as well, the gis were created at a time when the Dyes that were being used to color were being used for military uniforms or were so expensive and lets face it the country was at war and probably had other things to worry about….that they went with a woven jacket that was off white! The classic Karate uniform was modeled after the Judo gi so the fact that its white reflects the fact that the Karate uniform was designed and created around a time when Dye was not available for material, in fact the white Kimono became very popular at the time in Japan as well and pale white/yellow clothing was normal…if you had colored clothing it was a sign of wealth.
4. You have to go to Japan to learn real Karate! Really, so the fact that they sent out their BEST to teach around the world and spread Karate means nothing? The JKA set up the best and brightest to go around the world and spread Karate to the masses, I assume they did their best job and I also assume that other groups like Shito ryu, Goju Ryu and the like did similar things.
So, suggesting that you must go to Japan to learn true Karate is a bit of a back hand to the very founders of the JKA and to master Nakayama….and the other masters of other systems. The truth is that men like Schmidt in South Africa, Dingman Sensei here, Greer Golden in the US and thousands of others around the world took the knowledge that the masters brought to them and built on it….to learn real Karate you simply need to find someone with enough knowledge to teach you..the rest is up to you.
5. Karate was created by farmers to defend themselves against Samurai! My GOD! I have had a argument with someone about this the other day and left the whole thing feeling like “really, you are so uninformed and brain washed that you believe this in the face of facts”. Todays students deserve better than the Hokum that we were told as students!
Karate was created by SAMURAI in essence because the men that created Karate were royal retainers/body guards and had the same jobs as high level Samurai in Japan. They were the Shimazu class or Pachurin class members of the royal court that had enough spare time on their hands to dedicate to training and also the need and social ability to decide to learn this. It would be socially and psychologically unheard of for a farmer to think about fighting a Samurai at all, they were instilled with the idea that the samurai were ruthless killers and the samurai would kill people just to incite fear…
No, Karate was not created by farmers and fishermen!
6. Bowing and scraping! OUS! Rei!!!!! To much of this is looked upon as silliness that us western folk seem to love and adapted from the Japanese. Bowing is a specialty of the Japanese with a dynamic set of rules and regulations, we tend to scrap that and just bow deep and often and get upset when they are not returned. Then the scraping part!
Some instructors feel that because they get to a specific level that people should bow and scrape and worship at their feet….why, the students PAY YOU for your services. Do they need to show respect, well yah, just as you need to show the same respect right back and not pray on them and their adulation. The thing with the respect thing is it is a two way street. If you don’t respect your students, who are showing great respect for you…they won’t be your students very long!
If you find that you have a chip on your shoulder then you are not in the right business! And if you find that you are wanting others to worship you….become a movie star or something, this is the wrong place for you!
7. The word Sensei means Great Teacher and it is reserved for only high ranking masters of martial arts! Nifty little ignoring of facts here….Sensei is a term for ANY teacher in Japan. I have a friend that teaches English in Japan and they often call him Sensei in class.
Some other terms for Teacher in Japanese are “Kyoushi, Kyouyu, Kyokan and Kyoshi” but Sensei is more commonly used in Japan and a more recognizable term for a instructor in a school.
Also, depending on your system and organization the title or Shogo for Teacher/Sensei can be restricted to 5th or even 6th Dan instructors or given out to anyone that teaches, including and not restricted to brown belts and even purple belts in some cases. The fact that Rank traditionally has nothing to do with titles has been confusing for western Karate people for years!
8. “I speak great Japanese”! Probably not! And you probably only know “Karate speak” and not real Japanese. I was told once by a exchange student that my Japanese pronunciation is almost perfect when I was saying things to her in Japanese…but it was all Karate stuff and mostly “Mimic” type stuff. I can say the Dojo Kun in my head and to others, but it is just repeating a phrase that means little to me. Yes I know what the meaning is for the translation, but if you ask me what Jinkaku means…NO IDEA!
Your ability to parrot the Japanese language aside, the Japanese may feel you “sound” good but I doubt they will then walk up to you and assume you know the language, because they know you probably don’t!
I once sat in a room full of Japanese Karate students and was “engaged” in conversation by a few of them. They tried their best to speak proper English and did a great job, but I listened as they spoke to each other and in a 20 minute back and forth…I might have recognized two words!...and I am guessing at them as well!
Lets not suddently think we can speak a new language on a few hours a week and think we are now fluent or able to even ask for basic things like the bathroom…which I actually did learn. I have been doing Karate for 34 years or so now and I don’t even pretend to think I know more than a few phrases in Japanese that are passable, but I laugh my butt off when others act like they can say the Dojo kun in Japanese so they are good to go to a trip to Japan!
9. the Japanese never changed their belts, the belts got dirty and bloody and that is where the colors came from! In a word EWWWW@WWWWW! The truth is that the Japanese are an extreme clean nation! They were doing the whole HOT BATH thing while Europe was trying to cover up the smell they had with powerful perfumes and avoiding water at all costs.
The typical Japanese bath is more of a soaker tube….you wash before you get into the tub! They insist. First you sit on a small seat and you scrub the skin raw and wash all dirt and extra oil off your body and Then you sit in that hot bath to relax. And you never wear the same Kimono without it being cleaned…and the under garments are changed as often. Even Japanese farmers were cleaner than nobility in Europe!
So, the story of the unwashed Obi changing colors would have HORRIFIED the Japanese! Its simply not true!
10. Jumping kicks were designed to knock Samurai off of horse back. I am 5’6” and at my most athletic I could probably kick my own head with a jump kick….the Kiso horse or the Archery horse is roughly 4’6” tall…which means that the armor wearing Samurai who on average was an additional 5’3” was sitting about as high as I can kick to get him in the hip or side….yes that jump kick could work then, but most kicks that are thrown jumping are about 3-4’ in the air….landing square in the ribs of the horse…not the rider!
Jump kicks were also made popular in the 60’s…the 1960’s not the 17 or 1860”s. The Jump kick was not used to knock a rider off a horse, that’s what the spear was made for!
I have dozens more but these are my favorites! The problem is that someone will say “Make sure your gi is clean and you show your pride” and a generation down the line we get crap like number 3…and people say it with a straight face and don’t realize how foolish they sound!
And we also have things that we do in Karate that some don’t understand. Heck most people outside of Karate don’t understand why we dress up in our PJ’s and scream at each other! Some Home Made Hokum that people think about Karate and is not true would include things like……
1. Karate people break boards and tiles to prove their strength! Tamishiwara is a test of technical proficiency, but the board breaking you see today is mostly done with wood that the Japanese did not have access to in Japan or they are complete hokum and done with baked boards!
If an instructor does a demo and board breaking is involved throw some Japanese red wood in their or Ash and make sure he does not bake the moisture out of the boards to make them brittle….now that’s a true test!
2. You have to register your hands with the local police once you get your black belt.! LMAO, yah….no cop in my area knows I am a black belt…nor does any intelligent person care. What makes me dangerous is not my years of training in Karate…its my temper and aggressive nature when upset! Karate has actually toned that down a lot over the years, so the fact that I am a black belt is nothing to fear…its my saving grace in a lot of ways!
3. Put your Kid in Karate and they will learn to be better People! A) its not my job to teach your child how to behave outside of Karate, just to keep them in line as long as they are in the club. B) if I have that much influence over your kid and you have none…what is wrong with this picture? C) I can not fix in one hour a few times a week, what you FAIL to fix in 24 hours a day 7 days a week!
The fact is that Karate can have a huge and great impact on kids lives, but it takes a village to raise a child and a parents influence, for good or for bad, is going to mean 10,000% more than an instructors influence! Its just a fact!
I have seen far to many times when parents drop kids off at “Karate day care” and wonder why the kid still has attitude issues and does not pay attention in school…so they take the kid home, feed him a cheese burger with fries and a sugary coke and put him in front of his video game or TV till he goes to bed…and that is the extent of their parenting skills!
We will work with you, but you have some changes to do at home as well!
4. Karate is a deadly art and anyone that trains in it will be DEADLY! Really, we have a wide variety of people who train with us, and I can only name a handful that I would see as “Deadly” most are just good people who work hard and who want to be better at Karate.
You want deadly, join a gun club and pack heat…you want healthier and happier then you can come train with us. We don’t turn out monsters that can be deadly and hurt people, we try and avoid those kinds of situations actually!
5. Karate is for men between the ages of 16-25 only. Karate is perfect for everyone because it can be used to improve health for everyone. The problem is that sport Karate is probably better suited for 16-25 year old male/females who are more athletic…but it should not be the focus of training at all.
We have had members as young as 4 and as old as 80 training in Karate!
6. Karate is linked to some kind of Eastern religion. No more than baseball is a Catholic linked sport or Basketball is a Christian sport! Karate is influenced by the Eastern traditions, but not religion! We bow, which is like a hand shake, we say the Dojo Kun, which the boy scouts of America also say an oath so are they Religious in any way?
We do not pray or worship any ancestors in Karate, and we only have pictures of Funakoshi and other instructors up to show respect. I once had this conversation with a religious kind of guy in his church when he said, “yah, well we don’t bow to picturs and woship them, we only have pictures of Jesus up and angels and Mary and….” I stopped him dead in his tracks and said “okay, two things…one you are worshiping Mary when you have her picture up and put them next to Jesus right”! He said yes, to which I said “but the bible says she is a simple and honest women and should not be worshiped “ she was a vessel for God to bring his son to the world and as such she is no different than an egg that brings a duck into the world….He got pissed…Then I pointed out that they also have pictures of the pastures and junior pastures up on the walls and its no different than us saying thank you to the instructors in Karate!
Yah, he did not bite and got very agitated because he was unwilling to admit that we are not doing something that he thought we were doing and he would not sway from his position, so I pushed it and said that they were breaking church “law” by putting up pictures of others on the walls of a church that were reserved for Christ, Angels and Mary! And then said…what do you think God things of this?
The conversation went no place after that but it was fun!
7. Karate is no good for real fighting or MMA fights! Machida, Bellfort, GSP, Liddell, Set Petruzelli, Bas Rutten, Guy Mezger, Yuki Kondo, Katsunori Kikuno, Rory Markham,Jeff Joslin, Ryo Chonan, Takanori Gomi, Semmy Schilt, sam Greco, Antoni Carvalho, Jeff Newton, Shonie Carter, David Louseau, Ed Ratcliff, Jason Dent, and a slew of other fighters would suggest your wrong!
Karate is a versatile tool, but is only as good as the person using it. It can be used for many things and as was proven by many different MMA fighters it can be used for that SPORT!
8. If you train in Karate you will be able to defend yourself! Just like the last one, this is a bit of a “Depends on who you are and how good you are” kind of situation. I have met fifth dans that I am fairly sure would suffer at the hands of a street thug! And I have met people who don’t need Karate to be great fighters and able to defend themselves..
Like any other martial art, people take Karate for different reasons and excel in different ways. It never guarantees that you will be good at defending yourself just because you show up to class!
9. Bowing is a form of worship! If that’s true then handshakes are a form of worship too! Bowing in Asian cultures can be seen as a greeting, a show of respect and other things, worship is not often one of them really. When someone bows they are not praying or saying “oh, man in the picture I worship thee”…
Bowing is no more a form of worship than hand shaking and saying “Welcome” are! This argument is normally made by narrow minded religious people, of which I run into them infrequently enough to make me happy not having to deal with it.
My thoughts are that Religion and karate don’t mix and should not be forced to mix. I once read a story about a Dojo that in place of the Dojo kun said the lords prayer and had Jesus on the wall and not a founder….talk about scary and confusing all at the same time.
I could probably go on and on about these Hokum situations but to be frank..their are way to many of them to deal with in one blog!
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