An Insider's Look At The Benefits Of Karate

The origins of Karate are to be found in 12th Century China. There were a number of ancient Chinese systems, collectively known as KEMPO or "Way of the Fist."

Karate consists of self-defense practices and an entire way of life that gives students an approach to continual self improvement. It can be practiced simply by visualizing its movements within the mind, without involving any actual physical activity. In this way, it gives students the means to manage their everyday lives with discipline and focus.

For students who have learned karate, its unique marriage of technique, physical, mental and emotional conditioning became an integral part of their lives. Studying karate will help you continue to hone not just your mental and emotional skills but also your entire being.

Karate encourages combat without weaponry, but it also encourages peaceful existence. Rather than focusing on extraneous or unnecessary details, (including mind chatter), karate encourages students to focus on the heart of the matter at hand. After all, the mind itself is a karate student's most powerful asset because it encompasses not only students' ability to think, but also houses instinctual responses and one's connection to soul.

At Tetsu Shin Dojo, our student creed is as follows:

One: To strive for the perfection of character
One: To defend the paths of truth.
One: To foster the spirit of effort
One: To honor the principles of courtesy
One: To guard against impetuous courage

We encourage students not to strive for the belt, but for the KNOWLEDGE that the belt represents. In the earlier times, the intensity of one's training was represented by the dirt on one's white belt. The longer and the more intensely the student trained, the darker his belt became until the white belt, which was the beginning, became the black belt of a hard-training teacher.

Karate connects the mind, body and soul, so that all three can be used as one exquisite tool as one makes one's way through life.