This is the eighth in a series of posts to examine Shotokan’s niju kun, Gichin Funakoshi’s list of 20 guiding principles for karate.
The eighth principle is:
道場のみの空手と思ふな
In Romaji:
Dōjō nomi no karate to omou na.
I’ve seen the following English translations:
Karate goes beyond the dojo.
Don’t think that what you learn from karate can’t be used outside the dojo.
Do not believe that Karate-do training is restricted only to the dojo.
The first one is very succinct, but its brevity belies its complexity, as we discuss below. The second one is equivalent once you remove the double negative. The last one has a different flavor to it - almost the opposite. Instead of talking about karate’s utility outside the dojo, it warns that what you do outside the dojo affects your karate training.
In other words:
What you do in the dojo affects your life outside the dojo, and vice versa.
The first half of that seems pretty obvious. We practice karate in the dojo so we can protect ourselves outside the dojo. But karate isn’t just about physical skills. Karate teaches us patience, perseverance, teamwork, learning by helping others, humor, and how to have a thick skin. Yes, you’re training for self protection, but you’re also disciplining your mind and body in general.
Back when I taught mathematics, I’d often be asked, “When are we ever going to use this?” I taught Geometry and Calculus, not “checkbook math”, so I explained it like this:
Weightlifters don’t lift weights because they think they’re going to be walking down the street some day and find someone trapped under a barbell. They lift weights to become stronger in general, and use that strength for other applications.
Likewise, most of you will never need to prove two triangles are congruent, but learning to do it improves your ability to think clearly and construct a logical argument, which are skills you will need almost every day.
Genwa Nakasone’s interpretation is more in line with the “what you do elsewhere affects your training” translation. He explains that the purpose of karate is to discipline your mind and body. On the other hand, eating or drinking to excess, or engaging in “other excessive activities”, weakens the mind and body. Thus, doing both is acting at cross purposes. The latter serves to undo the benefits of the former.
I can’t find the quote right now, but I recall Iain Abernethy saying something like this: Karate is about self protection. You’re far more likely to be killed in an automobile accident or by heart/lung disease than you are by violence. So if you eat a poor diet, smoke, and refuse to wear a seat belt, karate training isn’t the best use of your time.
He’s not wrong.
On the other hand, it was Choki Motobu, who said:
It is necessary to drink alcohol and pursue other fun human activities. The art (i.e. karate) of someone who is too serious has no “flavor”.
Notice he doesn’t say to do these things in excess … only that it’s important to have some “flavor” in your life. That is to say, the life we’re protecting needs to be worth living. All things should be taken in moderation, and everything can be done to excess, even training.
To summarize:
Karate is about improving the mind and body.
What you do in the dojo affects the rest of your life, and vice versa.
Avoid excessive behavior that can harm the mind and body.
