Student Code

To help others and to better ourselves through the practice of realistic martial arts

A Brief History of Karate

The exact origins of karate are somewhat unknown There are records of fighting arts and self-defense systems in Japan that date back several thousand years. One theory is that a Buddhist monk, Bodhidharma , traveled across the Himalayan mountains from India to the Hunan Province in China in 527 AD to introduce Buddhism. While staying at a Shao Lin Temple, Bodhidharma noticed that the monks were physically weak and suffered many attacks from bandits. He then began to teach them meditation, exercise, and self-defense which developed into Chinese Kenpo and Kung Fu. The monks studied the behaviors of many animals. They adopted the movements of such animals as the tiger, leopard, monkey, snake and crane, into their self-defense system.

Eventually, the Shao Lin system was imported onto Okinawa by merchants who traded in China, Japan, Korea, and other areas of Southeast Asia. This system eventually blended with other indigenous fighting systems and was constantly changed and adapted.

The feudal lord of Okinawa banned the populace from using or owning any weapons, thus giving rise to the necessity and development, by the Okinawan people, of systematized self-defense techniques. Practice of these techniques eventually developed into what we know of today as kata. Later, as new kata were created and developed, each with unique applications for different environments, and each with a different emphasis on body dynamics, various schools, or Ryu, were formed. All of the major modern Japanese Karate-do systems, including, Shotokan, Shito-ryu, Goju-ryu, and Wado-ryu originated from these original Okinawan systems.

Literally translated, karate-do means "empty hand way". The word 'way' can be interpreted in many ways, but it usually indicates a constant, lifelong striving towards self-perfection through increased awareness, understanding and respect for oneself and for others. Shotokan, translated as "pine waves", is a style of karate created by the great teacher and scholar Gichin Funakoshi (1868-1957).

Today, Karate has grown to be own of the most popular martial arts in the world. There are Karate schools in virtually every major city worldwide.

A Brief History of Judo

Kodakan Judo has it's beginnings in an ancient style of Japanese combat known as Jujitsu which dates back to 1504 A.D. Jujitsu is a general term used in reference to all the various fighting styles of the ancient samurai, totaling over 2000 different ryu (systems). The word "Ju" translates to mean gentle, flowing, or yielding and "jitsu" translates to mean art or method. While the samurai did learn hand-to-hand striking techniques, they were considered innefficient against their heavily armored adversaries, so they resorted to devastating throwing techniques and ground fighting submissions. These techniques allowed the samurai to easily control an opponent with a minimal amount of effort in a way that even a small opponent would have the ability to overpower a much larger opponent.

In the 1880s Dr. Kano Jigoro who had been studying both the Kito-Ryu and Tenshin Shinyo-Ryu created the art of Kodakan Judo. Dr. Kano realized that before the study of Jujitsu had been purely militaristic and the main focus had been on technique. Dr. Kano wished to shift the focus to the developement of perfect technique through perfection of self. So rather than it being just a simple art, it would now become a way of life. "Kodakan" in fact translates as "School of Philosophy". Dr. Kano called Judo "the manifestation of life's truth". His motto on training was "maximum efficiency with minimum effort". Dr. Kano used his teaching background as one of the heads of the Tokyo University to create a structured system for advancement and learning. Judo was the first system to employ the use of the belt system that has been copied in virtually all martial arts schools today.

Judo is the foundation on which many other martial disciplines were created. Systems such as Russian Sambo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu were both created by Judokas who studied under Dr. Kano himself. Today Judo is practiced all over the world as both a self-defense art and a means to get into great shape. Judo is also the foundation of all of the martial arts training of the United States Military.

5-Principles of Judo

Here are the five elements of being as laid down by Dr. Kano Jigoro. These are the principle on which Dr. Kano believed we should practice both martial arts and life.

Seven Disciplines

Diligent training leads to mastering actual technique. Actual techniques must be preceded by training of the spirit. The essence of this is a modest, generous, and disciplined spirit that cannot be hindered. In other words, the student should put in his best effort, and nothing less. The following seven explanations deal with this concept.

Shoto Niju Kun

The following are the words of Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of modern Japanese Shotokan Karate-do. They are called the Shoto Niju Kun, or Shoto's Twenty Precepts. This is the original dojo kun of modern karate.

1- Karate-do begins and ends with courtesy.

2- There is no first attack in karate.

3- Karate is a great assistance to justice.

4- Know yourself first, and then others.

5- Spirit first, technique second.

6- Always be ready to release your mind.

7- Misfortune always comes out of idleness.

8- Don't think that karate training is only in the dojo.

9- It will take your entire life to learn karate, there is no limit.

10- Put your everyday living into karate and you will find the ideal state of existence.

11- Karate is like hot water. If you do not give it heat constantly, it will again become cold water.

12- Do not think that you have to win. Rather, think that you do not have to lose.

13- Victory depends on your ability to distinguish vulnerable points from invulnerable ones.

14- The battle is according to how you maneuver guarded and unguarded. Move according to your opponent.

15- Think of the hands and feet as swords.

16- When you leave home, think that you have numerous opponents waiting for you. It is your behavior that invites trouble from them.

17- Beginners must master low stance and posture, natural body position for advanced.

18- Practicing kata is one thing, and engaging in a real fight is another.

19- Do not forget:
(1) strength and weakness of power,
(2) stretching and contraction of body,
(3) slowness and speed of techniques.
Apply these correctly.

20- Always think and devise ways to live the precepts every day.