From Wikipedia.


As I train, these all come to mind. But are there any of these precepts that we should value more than the others?
Not that these just apply to shotokan karateka....

Hi Tom,

It depends on whose translations you accept as correct. These 20 precepts have been translated in a number of ways. I think they are of real value but the characters need to be translated in context with the time in which they were written.

Here is another translation for comparison. I don't say it is better or more correct.. it is just another translation.

Cheers,
Boz

Funakoshi’s 20 Precepts

1 Karate-Do begins and ends with courtesy.
2 There is no first move in Karate.
3 Karate assists justice.
4 First know yourself, then know others.
5 Spirit more than technique.
6 Keep an open mind.
7 Misfortune is a product of negligence.
8 Do not think that Karate is restricted only to the dojo.
9 Karate is a lifelong pursuit.
10 When you learn how karate is related to everyday life, you will have discovered its exquisite charm.
11 Karate is like hot water, without constant heat it will turn cold.
12 Do not think to win, it is necessary to focus on not losing.
13 Change your tactics according to your opponent’s movements.
14 Fighting depends on how you apply strategy.
15 Regard people’s hands and feet as sharp swords.
16 When you go out, it is best to act as if you had a million enemies waiting for you.
17 Fixed postures are for beginners, later, use natural stances.
18 Technical skill is one thing, actual fighting is something else.
19 Don’t forget about the relative power, flexibility and the speed of your technique.
20 Continually think how to develop (the art) further. Ie innovate.

I`d probably agree that "Karate supports justice" sounds better than "Karate supports righteousness"

Precept 15 seems to be nicely reversed to fit in with the self defence aspect of karate though.

There are probably lots of different translations and variations on these, after all look how many different styles of Shotokan we have now.
I`d say that your translations are probably more in keeping with our times though Boz.
Anyone else?

With apologies to those whose computers will not display Japanese script...


says (approximately) "karatedo ha rei ni hajimari rei ni owaru ji wo wasuru na" which can be interpreted as "Do not forget karatedo begins and ends with respect/courtesy". Actually since it uses 礼 "rei" which means salute, bow or ceremony and not 礼式 "reishiki" (etiquette or manners) or 礼儀 "reigi" (manners or courtesy) this does make it open to interpretation. You could just as easily say "karate begins and ends with a bow". This can mean different things to different people.

More than one person has commented that the nijukun were short and meant to be interpreted each in their own way by the person reading it. But this could be one person saying it and others copying because it sounds good.



The famous quote "Karate ni sente nashi". There is no first move in karate. "sen" is before, ahead or previous and "te" is hand, so "the hand that goes first" is a reasonable approximation. This is something which has been debated around different boards. Saying "no first move" is slightly different to "no first strike". IMO perhaps the best assessment of it might be that you don't pick a fight but that doesn't mean you can't strike first if someone else has started one.


More to follow...


Mick