The extraordinary merits
of modern-day karate
— Changing the culture of hate, intolerance and
violence with a simple proven training process
It goes without saying that
hate, intolerance, discrimination and violence have been the mark of
mankind since the dawn of human history— and all efforts to curb this
characteristic behavior through laws, religions and other forms of
influence have failed.
In fact, male-dominated religions, the
largest, most organized and most powerful of these efforts, have fueled
rather than diminished the hatreds, the intolerance, the discrimination
and the violence that have plagued humanity since day one.
But despite the evils that have been
inherent in the dogma and teachings of religions and the propensity for
evil that is part of the primitive nature of men in particular, ordinary
people in many societies have achieved a level of civilization that is
praiseworthy.
However, most countries in the world
remain awash in irrational and violent behavior because their cultures are
generally incapable of instilling in people the mindset that is necessary
to build and sustain rational, positive, humane, and constructive
societies.
The reasons for these cultural failures
have been known to many people for ages, but the very evils that have
traditionally plagued mankind have prevented most societies from being
able to create the kind of cultures they should have.
And yet the answer to this challenge is
not mysterious or unknowable. In fact, it is simple common sense. The
answer is that cultures should not program their children to hate, to be
intolerant, to discriminate, and to engage in violence.
The problem is that the beliefs and
institutions that control present-day societies make it virtually
impossible for people to agree on and work together to develop and
implement training programs that would transform the way children are
raised, and most parents do not have the knowledge, the incentive, the
opportunity or the experience
to undertake the necessary training themselves.
As simplistic, and perhaps as
other-worldly as it may sound, there is one training program that all
children could be enrolled in at an early age that would go a long way
toward instilling in them all of the cultural attributes that are the most
desirable and admirable in human beings—and the only thing their parents
would have to do is enroll them in this program and keep them in it from
around the age of five to fifteen.
Churches, schools and other social and
governmental institutions would not have to be involved in any way. It
requires only a decision and a commitment by parents to give their
children the opportunity to develop the kind of attitudes and behavior
that would fundamentally and dramatically improve their chances for
success in all areas of life.
This program is nothing more than the
physical, emotional, intellectual and philosophical training provided by
the modern-day version of karate (kah-rah-tay), the martial art that originated in Okinawa
when that chain of islands was conquered by a Japanese warlord in 1609 (in
cahoots with the Tokugawa Shogunate) and the residents were forbidden to
have weapons of any kind.
Karate literally means “empty
hand,” and originally referred to a way of inflicting serious injury or
death on a person using only the hands. During the following centuries of
the Tokugawa era [1603-1868] this way of fighting was gradually subsumed
into the training of the samurai who ruled Japan, and later became a part
of the training of Japan’s imperial army and police forces.
After the fall of the Tokugawa
Shogunate in 1868 and dissolution of the samurai class in 1870 karate
was transformed into a sport aimed at developing the character of the
individual, with special emphasis on respect for others, concentration,
self-confidence, diligence, a sense of order, perseverance, honesty,
courage and compassion.
Today most people around the world are
familiar with the word karate as a result of movies, video games and comic books, and they
tend to see it as a fighting technique. But it is no longer aimed at
developing prowess in combat. It is aimed at building the kind of
character and behavior that all parents would like to see in their
children.
The number of karate training centers
around the world is growing as more and more parents come to understand
its remarkable benefits — how it can improve the character, personality
and behavior of their children.
I believe that the physical, intellectual and philosophical
discipline offered by karate training could go a long way toward reducing,
if not eliminating altogether, many of the evils that continue to afflict
mankind.
©Boyé Lafayette De Mente
2006 All
rights reserved
This page last updated 2008-06-16
Eyes on Japan compiled and edited by
David Appleyard, 2001-2008 |
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