Sport Karate, 2020 Olympics, and being an (older) "amateur" karate-ka

Whatever your take on sport karate may be, it will be included in the 2020 Olympic Games.  While I do not believe that sporting events, or even competitions, reflect the true purpose of karate, anything which presents karate in a positive light is a good thing.  Increased awareness leads to increased interest, and hopefully an increased number of people practicing and studying karate.


That said, sport karate is not about fighting or self-defense.  It is about winning competitions.  "Real" karate is a traditional fighting system having as its purpose combat effectiveness in a self defense situation, which is quite different from getting in punches and kicks for a judge to score.  Whether these punches or kicks would actually work on the street is not taken into consideration.  It is considered bad form to bloody an opponent, or even to cause minor injury.


Learning a traditional form in a traditional dojo is a fortunate thing.  The techniques we learn, recorded in our katas, are the same tested techniques which have been handed to us through the generations and across nations.  When we practice an old kata like Chinto or Bassai, it is almost as if the old masters are teaching us directly.


Most people who enter a dojo end up dropping out of practicing karate for various reasons.  Most of us who continue to study karate will never reach the level of competence where we would be considered a "professional."  Many who do reach higher rank and continue their study past 35 or so are considered senior citizens in the martial arts world.  This is fine, as karate should be a lifelong study. 


The future is uncertain, and the end is always near, especially on the street.  Olympic karate, I am confident, will be an entertaining spectacle for those interested in martial arts.  It is reassuring to know, however, that what I have been taught will give me at least a fighting chance in a self defense situation.  There are no silver medals in a street fight.  The "winner" gets to survive.  In that light, being an old amateur is not so bad.

Bubishi

Anyone who has had even the briefest introduction to the history of karate understands that the roots of the art are in China. The Bubishi is the "ancient Chinese secret" of karate, a text of techniques and philosophy, that was handed down on Okinawa from master to student. In many cases, the old masters whose names are familiar to us today made hand copies of the text that their teacher themselves had copied. This information was considered top secret until the early 20th century, about the time when the kanji name for the Okinawa fighting system was changed from "Chinese Hand," or just "Hand," to "Empty Hand," and karate was introduced and popularized on the Japanese mainland. Featured in the video below from, who else, Jesse Enkamp, is a teacher of karate named Patrick McCarthy, who has made a recent translation of the Bubishi. He demonstrates some of the techniques in the video, and explains a few of the colorful names. I especially like "Monkey picking the peach."