Sport vs Traditional Karate

A detailed Summary of Sport vs Traditional Karate

During the years after World War II, American servicemen stationed in Okinawa trained in the traditional art of Okinawan Karate. Most of these servicemen were in Okinawa long enough to gain only a very basic understanding of the art. Upon returning home, these men introduced their interpretation of karate to the American public for the first time. Since then, karate has grown to be one of the most popular sports in the United States. Most people would see this increase in popularity as positive progress in the evolution of karate, but it is not. True to form, Americans have taken an art from a different culture and "Americanized" it beyond recognition. American Sport Karate is the direct antithesis of Traditional Karate in several ways.

In Okinawan traditional dojo (schools), a prospective student had to undergo a rigorous selection process. Once accepted, the student had to continually prove his worthiness to train by exhibiting correct attitude. The sensei (instructor) was ever on the watch for any reason to expel the student from training.

In the traditional dojo, students had to follow a strict code of conduct and dress. This code included intricate protocol, which taught t

Finally, the emphasis of traditional karate was character development. Students had to exhibit honor, sincerity, respect, loyalty, politeness, veracity, bravery and benevolence, the character traits of the samurai code of bushido.

In recent years, the public image of the martial arts has become distorted beyond all truth. Unscrupulous commercial schools have mass-marketed the martial arts with the image of a sport pastime. Consequently, millions of people have taken up training with the mindset of pursuing martial arts as a hobby. Popular movies, books and sporting events have led the vast majority to believe that karate and other martial arts are to be used in obtaining money, glory or revenge. Many others view them as a way of violence and bloodshed. Some tournaments offer nothing more than a venue for the egotistical to show off their supposed prowess and increase their trophy collection while tournament promoters rake in the profits. Sadly, this is the state of modern mainstream martial arts.

The training process of traditional karate involved repetitious meditative movement. Following the idea that you "fight like you train," students concentrated on learning to hit vital areas out of pure reflex action. In this way, karateka (karate students) learned to execute deadly techniques to vital areas reflexively -- without conscious thought.

The modern Sport Karate school solicits students through advertising schemes, tournaments, and public demonstrations. Once a student

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Approximate Word count = 1011
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Sports