Myths, Masters and Mayhem

Stories of the Martial Arts

1 - Budo or Bujutsu

Seido Karate is part of a much wider Budo world, which I want to explore in future columns.

But first before we go any further, what does this word Budo mean?

Budo is the name for Japanese martial arts - it literally means the "way of war". Alternatively it can be thought of as the Japanese name for the concept of the martial arts. As you may guess I prefer the latter. To me, Budo describes the state of mind or the rationale of the practitioner more than just defining the specific style or martial art.

Compare the word Budo with Bujutsu (the techniques of war). This highlights how Japanese and eastern philosophy distinguish the state of mind, or purpose of the practitioner. A person practicing Bujutsu is learning how to fight, to overcome his opponents. The practitioner of Budo is learning how to overcome himself, or herself; the practice is sufficient in itself. The fact that he or she is turning into a lethal fighting machine is just an extra-added perk, which with any luck will never be needed. Originally all the Japanese Arts were termed Bujutsu, reflecting the warlike times of medieval Japan. With the institution of the regime of Tokugawa Shoguns at the beginning of the 17th Century, the practice of these Arts evolved away from survival in combat to personal development.

This distinction was important to Gichin Funakoshi who informs us in his autobiography, Karate, My Way of Life, that when he brought karate from Okinawa to Japan in the 1920s, he standardised the Chinese characters to read the "way of the empty hand" rather than the "technique of the Chinese or empty hand". The change to empty from Chinese at around the same time is another story.

Shigeru Egami Sensei, a student of Funakoshi Sensei, wrote in the preface of his 1972 book KARATE-DO, Beyond Technique:

Karate-jutsu or Karate-do? The distinction between the two must be clearly grasped. Karate-jutsu must be regarded as nothing more than a technique for homicide, and that, most emphatically, is not the objective of Karate-do. He who would follow the way of true karate must seek not only to coexist with his opponent but to achieve unity with him. There is no question of homicide, nor should emphasis ever be placed on winning. When practicing Karate-do, what is important is to be one with your partner, move together, and make progress together.

In the few times that I have trained under Kaicho I always hear him very clearly refer to Seido as Karate-do. I think it is important that whenever we enter a competition or during dojo sparring we remember this simple, but important distinction when we are attempting to do our very best.