When people think about karate, the idea comes to mind that its practitioners are deadly experts in fighting and self defence. There are few outside of karate circles that realize that in addition to the 7 qualities of a good fighter;

• Waza (technique)
• Chikara (power)
• Hayasa (speed)
• Kime (focus)
• Ma-ai (distance)
• Ma (timing)
• Zanshin (awareness)

Students of karate are also expected to maintain the 7 qualities of good character:

• Humility
• Honesty
• Responsibility
• Respect
• Courtesy
• Integrity
• Equanimity

Why do we need both, shouldn’t we just focus on the fighting? Gichin Funakoshi (the founder of modern day karate) has this to stay about the real meaning of karate, “The ultimate aim of karate lies not in victory or defeat, but in the perfection of the character of its participants.”

It would seem that you cannot truly have great strength without strength of character. For example, a psychopath with martial arts skills would be an extremely undesirable person indeed, but it also follows that someone who is spiritual but lacks the desire and physical ability to help or defend others would not get on well in many traditional karate schools.

For me, Guro Dan Inosanto (a Filipino martial artist) summed it up well when he said, “The practice of a martial art should be a practice of love – for the preservation of life, for the preservation of the body, and for the preservation of family and friends.”

I think many take up karate with the expectation of becoming tough, streetwise or just someone you would not want to mess with. What most karate-ka find is that once they get started they are learning something else along the road. Yes, in most cases they become strong and good at fighting, but the real benefits come from learning how to master and control the tiger that lies hidden deep within us all.

The Washinkai logo is a case in point. It is an image of a flower with 7 petals radiating from a closed fist in the centre. It reminds us that with great strength comes responsibility. The 7 petals represent the 7 essential qualities of all good martial arts practitioners.

Karate is not easy to learn. It takes time, patience, persistence, practice, but above all it takes desire. We have to really want to improve. Everyone has their own battles to fight, but real karate-ka always know that they will find their biggest opponent staring right back at them each morning from the mirror.  Oss!