“Karate is a lifetime journey” is a phrase often thrown around, usually by people thinking they know more than they do to impress those who know only slightly less.

This phrase often seems to encourage the myth of mysticism about Karate. It’s also sometimes used by higher grades to make lower grades hold them in greater respect – the imparted concept being “gosh – they know so much more than I do. I’ll never be that good”

Has anyone been able to ever tell you (actually answer - in a non condescending way) why Karate is a lifetime journey?

Well – here’s the answer kiddies, and it’s nothing you need to translate from Sanskrit to Klingon whilst enduring the twelve trials of mee-soh-horr-ni wearing a lap-lap. Everything is a lifetime journey. Yup – Karate aint so special after all. Its just basic human evolution and desire to further ones chosen passion. How would the human race be if science wasn’t a lifetime pursuit? Well we’d kinda stop in a big technological hole wouldn’t we. I wouldn’t like to visit a hospital if those studying medicine felt they had done enough once they got to the point their predecessors had. Heck even pursuits that have fundamentally changed little over millennia such as farming still strive to perfect the way things are done, and be open to new ideas.

Why then does everyone go “ooooh” when someone suggests karate is a lifetime pursuit?

Maybe its not whats being said but who's doing the telling.......

I went to a seminar a few years back run by the Chief Instructor and founder of the style. Some of what he said didn't make any sense whatsoever, but because of who he was, people took it as gospel that that was the CORRECT way to do things.......

I think you could class karate (or insert-Martial-Art-of-choice-here) as a lifetime journey in the same way as paying off the mortgage is - its just somoething to be done if you choose to do it.

In November I was grateful to train for one session under Leo McDermott Sensei. He is fantastic. I've also had the pleasure of training under Tracy Foster Sensei a few times. Both where above and beyond what I've ever seen in karate. And for them to have been at it for decades and still acknowledge they still need to practice and still have much to learn was significant to me.
Although they had not said 'life long journey', they both gave to me the hope of karate will never become stagnent.

I totally agree with your post, Matt. It does get my back up when I hear that karate has this unobtainable magic, and lifes ending will deprive me from its truth.

I wondered if maybe the life time of learning also stems from the idea that doing and knowing are the same thing - the unity of knowledge and action. Knowing what is the right thing to do and doing it, understanding an action so that it becomes part of our nature, understanding the motivations behind the actions - like the creed of the Samurai warriors.... I think that's what it is that takes a lifetime to learn, not the actions or the discovery of new actions or applications, but the living and unconsciously doing of the actions.
See what happens when I get too much time off the net?