OUR APPROACH
TO TEACHING
KARATE-DO
The image above shows the founder of the Shotokan style, Gichin Funakoshi, and his twenty guiding precepts (Niju Kun) for karate. His message is clear: karate is intended to be much more than just technique. It is a lifelong “way” (dō) of trying to recreate in ourselves the legendary attributes of the old masters. Karate-do gives us a clear path to a stronger mind and body, increased self-discipline, and greater self-control.
In 1868, for the first time in nearly 300 years, the reintroduction of modern firearms throughout Japan changed the practical value of karate.
Empty-hand fighting skills were no longer the only means of self protection in Okinawa, and karate entered an existential crisis - why commit the time and effort to learn how to defend yourself with hands and feet when you could quickly gain an insurmountable advantage over an attacker by learning how to use a gun?
Yasutsune Azato
1827-1906
Funakoshi's two karate teachers, Yasutsune Azato and Anko Itosu, were widely admired for their CHARACTER and their LEADERSHIP and that was what gave karate a second life. It was recognized that the training itself, whether or not one ever needed it or used it for physical self-defense, imparted a particular mindset and behavior that would benefit society and help produce men and women of strong character.
Anko Itosu
1831-1915
The vast majority of Funakoshi's early students in Japan had backgrounds in kendo, a form of modern fencing based on the sword fighting techniques of the samurai, and Funakoshi often used kendo analogies to make the principles of karate more familiar to his students.
In particular, the concept of shikai (The Four Weaknesses - surprise, fear, doubt, and confusion) were foundational principles of both arts.
In kendo and karate, while we may not be preparing for an upcoming fight in one-on-one mortal combat, we ARE training with that same level of seriousness and discipline - using the same techniques as a framework - to learn how to eliminate shikai in ourselves.
Only now, in modern life, our opponents aren't primarily other combatants. Our daily opponents are the challenges we all face at school, at work, and in our personal lives.
At Bucks County Shotokan, our training focuses on gaining precise control of placement and posture (kihon), gaining precise control of movement and balance (kata), and gaining precise control of distance and timing (kumite), all of which are then used to master our control of shikai in our daily lives.
The designation karate-dō, or the "path of karate", signifies approaching our practice with the same serious intent and urgent mindset of those who, in the past, relied on karate as their only available means of self-defense. But now, it's a path to a very different goal.
By preserving the original mindset of karate in our training, we strive to gain the same level of self-awareness, self-control, self-discipline, physical fitness, and quiet confidence that the old masters of Okinawa are still remembered for.
Although it's certain that you will become more capable of defending yourself against a physical attack, there's no need to be preoccupied with how good of a fighter you might become - that's not the ultimate objective of our training. It's not about becoming a tournament champion, it's not about belt ranks, it's not about anything external. It's about what changes inside you and how you make your way through the world.
Karate-do is truly a path that's open to everyone - the young, the old, the physically fit or the physically limited. At Bucks County Shotokan, it's a path to less anxiety, reduced stress, better health, and more friends. No matter where you are when you start, you'll find yourself in a better place once you begin.
This is what we focus on in our club - this is our approach to teaching karate.