deadly beauty

The deadly art of Isshinryu Karate is encased in beauty. The physical expressions that enable devastating power in self-defense are arranged in aesthetic patterns that contain a harmonious flow of movement and power.

Few potential students take up karate training with the thought present that they want to learn how to maim or kill other humans. Indeed, such a candidate would be very suspect to a responsible teacher. In most Isshinryu schools that I am familiar with, the lessons are structured to ascertain a student's character, then foster their development. A demented person would learn appropriate behavior, or leave the class out of fustration - before deadly skills were developed. But, sometimes people slip through the cracks.

I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said before. In Richard Kim's classic work, "Weaponless Warriors," he remarks that it is most difficult to convince people of the morality inherent in karate practice.

It falls on the shoulders of the instructor. What is his personal background, and his training background. There is the benefit of having good geneological history. It's the test of time. That is why the Okinawan masters are held in high esteem. The have endured to develop the skills and character worthy of samurai. The samurai placed equal value on developing deadly martial skills and learning to express beauty.

This represents the yin and yang of the human experience.