Cleanliness is next to Godliness
The MOP of everyone by the fallen legend. He mops the floor with everyone. Karate theory and philosophy is centered around a holistic approach that aims to create focus and discipline of moral virtue character and refinement of body, heart, and mind. The physical techniques are a method to achieve mental fortitude, self-control, and respect for others. The key points that karate emphasises, in its discipline, are, first of all, the emphasis of character over victory.
- The first Key Point: Seek perfection of character; to refine oneself, fostering patience, integrity, and humility.
- The second Key Point is self-respect and respect for others. Karate begins and ends with courtesy, humbleness, and a nonviolent mindset.
- The Third Point is the striving for excellence through effort, which is the aim of any martial art discipline, but particularly with Karate, is to have consistent effort, perseverance, and dedication required in training and life. Maintaining constant steadfastness in training, as soon as possible, until it’s no longer possible to train anymore.
- The fourth key point is to refrain from violent behavior, a person has to avoid conflict. Self-defense is an attribute that is fostered rather than aggression.
- Key Point number five. The defensive art of karate is designed for protection, for self-defense, and not for creating violent behavior.
- Key point number six: Self-control and respect applied to every day part of life, whether it’s in the dojo or in family life, community life, or wherever a person travels with their martial arts.
- Key point number seven: mental fortitude. Mental strength and control are superior to physical prowess.
- There are three pillars of karate: The kihon, the kata, and the kumite, which are essential for practicing and honing and developing the key points already mentioned above. The kihon, the first pillar is the foundational techniques practiced to build muscle memory and proper mechanics. This involves stances, strikes, punches, blocks, and kicks.
- The second pillar is kata: which is the form or the patterns. These are structured formal sequences of movements against imaginary opponents. This develops fluidity, rhythm, focus, and biomechanics. It is a moving meditation that creates mental clarity and spatial awareness.
- The third pillar, is kumite: which is sparring, that techniques are practiced against a real opponent. This creates adaptability, perfection of timing, distance management, control of emotion under pressure and finally theory into practical self-defense.
The attributes developed are discipline and self-control, focus and concentration, physical fitness, mental toughness, and ethical awareness. The key goals of karate are perfection of character, consistent diligence of practice, humility, respect, and calmness. Ethical development, refinement through moral virtue.
May MAS Oyama Punch and Strike again, through the art of karate that he fought, taught and mopped the floor with everyone.