Getting Back on Track, Another Post on Courtesy in the Martial Arts

I would like to clear up something regarding my last post which may have been a little provocative. I want to make it clear that my intention was not to suggest that every Japanese family leaves all responisibilities of parenting to the teacher but rather show that, in my experience here, the school is more integrated into the family dynamic than my experience in North America. I admit, I got a little off topic and I would like to get back on track with this blog.

I would like to share with you a story about a situation I found myself in shortly after coming to Kumamoto. I was put in a difficult spot and needed to act quickly in order to make a good 第一印象 Dai Ichi Insho, A Good First Impression. This story is much more in keeping with the theme of this blog.

I had been working at the 西合志役場 Nishigoshi Yakuba, The Town Office in Nishigoshi in the deptartment of the board of education for a few Months and had gotten to know most of the staff in other departments as well. One staff memeber appraoched me at a staff party one night and told me that he practices 合気道 Aikido, I had practiced Aikido only a few times in 北海道 Hokkaido while I was studying there but, noticed many similarities to the applications of 千唐流空手道の分解 Chito-Ryu no Bunkai. (Bunkai are the practical applications of offensive and defensive techniques commonly found in kata which are broken down an practiced as self-defense techniques) He asked me if I would like to join his class someday and I said I would like to very much. A few more Months rolled by and I never heard back from him. I thought he had forgotten or maybe it was just a kind gesture that he made but never really intended to follow through with, a concept known as 本意と建前 Honne to Tatemae, Showing and hiding One's true intentions. (This is a huge topic that demands its own blog post. Therefore, I will discuss this in detail later)

Courtesy in the Karate Do Context

The ongoing theme of manners and respect are and will continue to be prevalent throughout this blog as good manners are of the utmost importance in Japanese martial arts. Ginchin Funakoshi Sensei (founder of 松濤館Shoto-kan Karate Do) stated that, “Karate Do begins and ends with courtesy.” This statement is very profound and in fact courtesy can be found in every aspect of most traditional styles of Karate Do. From the way one enters and leaves the 道場 Dojo, Training Hall, to the way a 空手家 Karate Ka, Practitioner of Karate Do conducts themselves in the course of their daily life, ‘Courtesy’ can be found in every breath and every action of intent. 

 

It is believed by many that acting in such a way brings honour to the individual. However, during my time in Japan, it seems to me that people don’t perform this kind of genuine courtesy in order to bring honour to themselves, but rather because it is natural for them to act in that specific manner in the given situation. This may bring honour to their community, Dojo, and their Snesei but, make no mistake, their courteous actions are not, in any way, performed to draw attention to themselves.

 

Furthermore, In my experience, showing proper manners through specific etiquette is a requirement for effective communication in Japan. So much so in fact, that different speech patterns were developed in the language to demonstrate this in everyday dealings with each other (see previous blog on Keigo). This concept of courtesy in daily life is known as 礼儀作法 Reigi Sahou, The Application of Courtesy. More accurately, the first two kanji mean Courtesy and the last two kanji mean Manners or Etiquette. When placed together they mean the practice of 'good' manners through courteous actions. In his book, ‘Bushido the Soul of Japan; An Exposition of Japanese Thought’ (1909) Nitobe Inazo discusses the many aspects of Japanese courtesy in the Budo context. It is a bit of a difficult read but I highly recommend it to any serious Karate Ka. In fact, over half of the book is dedicated to things such as Politeness, Sincerity, Honour and Self-control all of which are connected to Courtesy. Through out the text which is a collection of letters and essays Nitobe compares Eastern and Western philosophies on these subjects and reflects on them in detail.