“Have you ever used your karate?”
This is a question I am frequently asked.
“Yes, of course”, is my reply.
“Oh, have you been in lots of fights?” People are eager to hear stories from some Karate Kid movie. And they are always disappointed when I tell them that I use karate to avoid fights, and that I use karate in a myriad of ways that have nothing to do with fighting. Disappointed, and probably a little confused. They don’t get it, so they just nod and change the subject.
To be fair, I do use karate punching, kicking and blocking techniques outside the dojo frequently. I generally close the cutlery drawer or fridge with a back kick. I like to turn off light switches with a punch or open hand strike. But those applications of my 35-plus years of training only generate eye rolls from my children.
Yet I use karate all the time. I use my balance training to not stumble on uneven ground. Or when I do stumble I use my reactions and footwork training to not fall. Or when I am unable to prevent myself from falling I use my understanding of how to fall safely to not hurt myself. Or when I do hurt myself, as I did when I fell less than two years ago – protecting someone else from falling – I use my determination and spirit to recover. After the fall in 2019 where I ripped the ligaments in my knee, the consultant told me I would be lucky if I didn’t need a cane to walk, and that I should probably forget about karate.
When I ran a consultancy business, I used karate regularly. I often cite the time I was in a boardroom negotiation with a very large multinational company who was trying to bully me into a contract on their terms. I was outnumbered in the meeting six to one. I used breathing techniques from tai chi to keep me calm and focused. I used body language such as posture and eye contact to appear confident and unintimidated. And I used strategies of dealing with multiple opponents at once to split up the six and ‘pick them off’. And I ended up with a contract on my terms. No punches or kicks, but I won the negotiation battle with karate nonetheless.
Funakoshi Sensei tells us to “Karate-ise everything” with number ten of his 20 Principles of Karate: Apply the Way of Karate to all things; therein lies its beauty. When we start to understand this, and apply it to sitting down, standing up, walking, lifting, throwing, and the many other physical activities we do every day; when we apply the mental training; when we apply the lessons of discipline; when we apply the lessons of determination; then we can really begin to reap the benefits of training in karate.
So use your karate every day. Karate-ise everything you do. Just be prepared for the eye rolls when you close the fridge door…
Written by Sensei Seamus
Stamullen Martial Arts 