09/03/2026
A lesson in Philosophy
jcopeland
A TRADITION OF CHANGE
There is an old saying that compares Karate to a pond.
"In order for the pond to live, it must have fresh water, streams to feed it. Without fresh water, the pond dies. If a teacher does not learn new ideas, his karate will die. It will stagnate, become boring and die of unnatural causes"
๐๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐ง๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฒ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ, but about the study of application principles. Styles born and die continuously, while principles are immutable. Styles are the product of a person, the founder of the style, and as master Kanken Tลyama said referring to himself, I believe it is right and in the nature of things that they die when the founder dies. The principles instead are dictated by the human body and its functions, in relation to universal forces such as friction and gravity.
๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐, but about sharing and contamination. Politics and associations tend to divide practitioners, with the result of setting them against each other; the sharing of ideas instead unites them and makes them grow.
๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ ๐, therefore. Funakoshi, in one of his most famous precepts, says that "Karate is like boiling water; without constant heat, it eventually returns to its tepid state". This phrase is explained as the need to practice continuously and diligently, without resting on the results obtained.
But what if the subject is not our practice, but the art of Karate in itself? What if the true meaning is "๐๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ฉ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ข๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฉ ๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ง๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ฌ ๐ก๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐, ๐ฃ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ง๐๐ฎ, ๐ค๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐ฌ๐๐จ๐ ๐๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ก ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐"?
Matteo
