What is a "martial art"? And what is "karate"?

 After thinking about it, I realized that I have no sense of how common these terms are for people NOT in the martial arts world and so it may be worth spending time talking about martial arts in general.

“Martial arts” are a catch-all term used to describe a number of different fighting traditions and methods. I would say that martial arts usually have two sides to them –

1) specific techniques students can use in a violent confrontation with another person (the martial part)

 2) a competitive or philosophical focus on improving the student (the art part)

“Martial arts” is such a general term that there is lively debate over what fits in and what doesn’t. 

For example:

• Boxing and kickboxing are sports. It’s about competition and besting your opponent, not necessarily self-improvement or self-defense. So are these martial arts?

• Tai chi and similar practices focus on developing balance, breathing, and cultivating inner harmony. Very few Tai Chi practitioners are focused on attacking or defending against attacks. So is Tai Chi a martial art?

Eh, I don’t know. This argument shouldn’t be taken so seriously, and, after all, “martial arts” is supposed to be an umbrella term. How big of an umbrella do you want?

A final point: The term “martial arts” usually suggests Japan, China, or other East Asian origins. I think this is a holdover from the post-war period when a lot of Eastern martial arts were being introduced to the West, along with a strong component of exoticism. This seems to have died down as familiarity has grown with terms like karate, kung fu, and tae kwon do, and as more Western practitioners have reached high ranks in these arts. But there are Western martial arts as well. Boxing and wrestling, for sure, but also there has been a revival of European weapon traditions contained in medieval manuals for broadsword, longsword, rapier, and whatever else.

Alright so in this stew of martial arts, what is karate?

Karate is an unarmed martial art, originated in Okinawa and spread through Japan, that focuses on self-defense and self-cultivation. Karate-do translates as The Way of the Empty Hand. “The Way” signifies a journey as the student progresses through the art, while “Empty Hand” simply means weapons are not used, but rather the hands and feet are developed for blocking and striking.

One last point about karate – it isn’t actually very martial. Meaning it was not developed by or for the military and it was not used on the battlefield. Unlike other martial arts, like Japanese jujitsu which is rooted in techniques that samurai would use if they were disarmed, Okinawan karate was developed by civilians for self-protection in the ports and on the ships of Asia. As a maritime trading nation, the Ryukyu Kingdom had extensive relations across southeast Asia, China, and Japan. This could be dangerous, but also provided plenty of opportunity for learning other martial arts from the region, especially southern China. A few hundred years of this resulted in a good martial arts base on the islands, which would be further refined after the Japanese conquest (and ban on weapons) in 1609.

More emphasis on personal development and personal improvement would continue to be added to karate, especially when Okinawans start promoting the art in mainland Japan in around the 1900’s.

Contrary to most of what you may read on the internet about karate, I believe that today we are seeing a great flourishing of karate in all its forms. Sport karate is a mature arena that includes many different types of contests, from point sparring to forms to full-contact fighting. Many karate students practice “healthy lifestyle” karate to stay active and fit as they age (it doesn’t have to be all bang-and-crash). And many practitioners have turned their karate study towards practical self-defense applications. For myself, I have decided to focus on teaching karate as a martial art. Not a sport or a defensive tactics course. And I’m certainly not the only one doing that.

I hope this explanation helps a bit with the terminology. Like any enthusiast, it’s fun to learn and debate different martial arts and styles, but I wouldn’t get too wrapped up in it. The best martial art is one you enjoy training in and can get to class regularly.

Who trains in karate (as an adult)?

I’ll be making some generalizations in this post, but I think these broad categories may be useful to someone thinking about karate training. You may be asking yourself: What kind of adult does karate?

Well, there are three major types that I’ve seen:

• Let me start with the one that is near and dear to my heart because it could have been me – the person who trained as a kid, but then stopped (for whatever reason). The 90’s were a golden age for kids’ karate. You have Karate Kid in ’84, plus the sequels, the ninja turtles and similar cartoons and comics to start the karate craze. My gateway drug was the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. All of this created good demand for karate classes and strip mall karate places start popping up like daisies. In my hometown there were three in the same area and a decent percentage of kids in my high school had done karate at some point, especially in elementary school.

But you grow up and you pick up other things. Traveling soccer, football team, theater, a band, a job, whatever it is. Karate just slips away for most people. And if I had a shred of talent for any of this it probably would have for me too.

Now it’s 10 years later… 20 years later… and your old ass ain’t playing football anymore. In fact, all the NFL players are younger than you now. Or your clarinet is gathering dust in your parent’s attic and you don’t remember how to read sheet music.

And you’re feeling the itch. Karate was fun! And you were pretty good at it. And there was so much more that you didn’t get to before you stopped.

If you were one of these kids, I encourage you to pick it back up. There’s a lot there for you!

Karate is a good physical challenge, a good mental challenge, and it’s something really sustainable as you get older and as your fitness level varies over your lifetime. 

• The second type of adult that you see training in karate are those who wanted to train as children, but couldn’t. Maybe there wasn’t a dojo nearby, maybe it was too expensive, maybe they moved a lot or were just shy or busy. These are the people who kept the dream alive, nurturing that flame until now when they are in a position to do something about it. I love that and I think it is so empowering when someone decides to pursue a long-held dream. And these people are hungry for it. The knowledge, the training. Just great students. If this sounds like you, just go do it! Even for just a few months. You learn so much about yourself from even a little training. And honestly, we need more people chasing a dream.

• My last broad category of adults who start to train in karate is the active adult looking for a challenge. Maybe you’re a fitness enthusiast who is bored with working out. Maybe you’re a former athlete dealing something that has sidelined them from their original activity. Like the gymnast who’s aged out, the tennis player with a bum knee, whatever. These are active people who enjoy physical activity combined with skill development. Karate is often described as a lifelong pursuit and this group is here for that.

Your training changes with your life, but I think karate is an activity that is beneficial at any stage and really sustainable (physically) over the long term. Goju-ryu especially. We are deliberately cultivating this balance of hard and soft. It’s not all high intensity bashing and crashing. Add in how the curriculum itself progresses – the kata (forms) get more complex, we add in weapons and partner work – and you have a really robust traditional to dig into. I’ve always struggled with jogging and lifting because of the boredom. But I’ve never gotten bored with karate because there is always another facet to examine.

Alright, alright, I’ve left out a few categories that are still worth mentioning -

• I’ve left out the obvious category – adults who develop an interest on their own – because I have no sense of how big this group is. I can imagine an adult who enjoys watching MMA or boxing and decides to start training in martial arts, but does that person end up in a traditional karate dojo? I’m not sure. But hey, if this is you, let me know!

• I’ve also left out a smaller, but also obvious category – adults who need combat and self-defense skills for their jobs. Law enforcement, security guards & bouncers, military personnel, orderlies & nurses, EMTs, bodyguards, trained assassins, vampire hunters, demon slayers, the list goes on. The distinction I make here is between those who want to learn the skills and techniques and those who want to learn the martial art. I’m teaching the martial art. While I think this will be useful to someone in any of these professions, I’m not offering a laser-focused defensive tactics type course. You’re gonna get all of the art. The useful and the useless. And it’s going to take time. So, I exclude this group because I feel what I’m offering isn’t quite checking their professional boxes. But hey, if this is you and you’re ok with what you’re getting, I think there’s a lot to like about traditional karate. Certainly several of my Sensei worked in these jobs and the training only helped them.

People come to training for all sorts of reasons. Maybe I’m right with what I wrote above, maybe I’m off base. But again, if you have an interest in this, the only way to know if it scratches the itch is to get in the dojo and try it.