I have been writing this article for several months, having started it prior to losing my instructor and finishing it after he passed. It’s been changed due to me being inspired by other’s writings, teachings and talks. I have read old books, new books, watched YouTube and other social media, listened to peers and instructors. There are many many organisations “teaching” Kyokushin with most still pertaining to the teachings of Masutatsu Oyama and his disciples and all with one thing in common…. The Way of Ultimate Truth.

So what does “Ultimate Truth” mean?
It may be something different to each student. In my 4th decade of Kyokushin, and, as metioned, having very recently and suddenly lost my Shihan and lifetime instructor, only now can I even start to verbalise and understand, maybe even ramble on a little about what it is to me and maybe others, so here we go…

Kyokushin Karate is not about chasing belts or promotions. Whenever students chase promotions, and especially belts, they begin to focus on shortcuts. I often say to my students “Castles were not built on sand”. As a student, read this article, keep it, revisit it and understand it. As a parent or guardian, remember, young children don’t give up, parents do!! Encouragement in the face of adversity is part of life and part of this art of traditional Kyokushin Karate. Done right, there is so much to learn, so much to absorb and so many benefits to gain. Read on and please let me indulge…

Before I indulge, a quick and shortened story. My instructor was a Sensei at this time. I now understand that he underestimated his own teaching. He had 3 young brown belts training for Shodan grading with the then Shihan, Steve Arneil. I was one of them. It’s important to understand I joined the club without a parental support network so literally came training with friends or whoever I could travel with. I had adversity in life so was a resilient young man. My Sensei decided to send the other 2 brown belts to national grading due to parental pressure and leave me out. I felt I was better than them in every single session and in every aspect. I still feel the cut of that dojo announcement to this day. The day came. They passed! They were BLACK BELTS!! 10 years later I’m still a brown belt.

Many, many years later I asked him why? He said….”I sent them to fail, I didn’t think they would pass but wanted to teach the parents a lesson”. I replied…yes but it didn’t work!! Now a Shihan, he replied “yes it did SENSEI, not as planned but where are they now?” I will never forget the lesson it taught me. It was 20 plus years in the making but played a huge part in me being the instructor, student and Karateka I am today.

Now, let’s get back to the “Ultimate Truth”. Every student young or old, must spend the required amount of time to properly evolve through each belt. To progress correctly, carefully, and consistently, not only to better understand various techniques for a belt or grade, but to evolve as a future Yudansha (black belt) by having a deep understanding of one’s personal journey there. It is said only 1 in 100 students, maybe a higher proportion in the modern world, make it to black belt in our style, with the understanding of that journey being paramount in character development. A worthy thing to note is, unlike other arts, we have NO junior grades. You make black belt, you deserved it.

The Karate journey is the ultimate road to self-discovery, to self-improvement, to better physical and mental health; and so much more. You learn how to be a mentor to others and how to give through.

Karate unconditionally, as our Shihan’s, Sensei’s & Senpai’s have done before us. Each visit to my dojo fills me up with pride, especially seeing teen students, male and female, befriending, encouraging and setting examples to the youngest of my students, in the way they train hard and never give in. They are learning humility, overcoming adversity, and a commitment to always getting up after you fall, each time, EVERY time. The old Japanese proverb about resilience tells us “Nana korobi ya oki” literally meaning “seven falls, eight getting up”.

Kyokushin Karate is your opportunity to build the best version of YOU, and if you ask any Kyokushin Black Belt they will have many stories about their highs and lows, each one important to the development of that person’s character. Any real black belt understands that their journey has only just begun. A little-known Japanese way of making small changes to improve helps this way of training become sustainable. It’s called Kaizen. We climb that ladder one small step at a time, adjusting if needs must ensure we remain on a steady route to improvement.

Occasionally, one’s life takes its toll and we find ourselves stuck on a particular step of that ladder. If, and this is a very pivotal “IF”, you never attempt to make another step and are happy standing on that step, make that your step and be content with what you achieved. That’s character.

DON’T fall into the inevitable trap! If that flame still flickers, the trap one falls into, the one flaw that will contribute to your discontentment and will slowly extinguish the flame for good, is the false promise of “I’m going to start training again!!”. Your old instructor NEVER wants to hear this, whatever your age or grade, they just want you to walk back into the dojo. Your peers don’t want to hear it and more importantly if you harbour the desire to continue, your heart and mind doesn’t want to hear it…..just turn up. This is real character.

Many in the modern world talk about mental well-being, resilience and the ability to cope. We need these things in life, yet the world has changed and with so much on offer it can be tough for young people to develop in this way. Character development and these particular traits are some of the most prevalent bi-products of a person’s developmental years spent in a strong, tough, rigorous martial art like Kyokushin Karate.

When students chase belts, when students complain they aren’t being promoted or graded fast enough, when students consider leaving for another dojo or style, for the sole purpose of getting their next belt, they are robbing themselves, their future students and their future training partners in a major way. How? Because their Karate journey becomes rooted in compromising loyalty & resilience for the false grandeur and self-glorification of the next promotion (especially pertaining to Black Belt). This spills over into other aspects of life.

Far too many high-grade Karateka, in many styles including ours and who were previously in the organisation I am part of (and inevitably others will emerge from it in the future), have learned how to manipulate and lure others by promises of immediate promotion. Are these the type of shortcuts you want to take? Is this the type of student you want to become? Shortcuts that will surely poison one of the most sacred aspects of Karate which is loyalty? Loyalty to your dojo, instructor, training partners and loyalty to the traditions of your style and the founders that lay the path we have before us.

Remember, Karate is not about the belt, about the trophies or titles. You’re only a champion for a day. It’s all about you being the best that you can be every single time you step into the dojo, because when all is said and done, the spirit of Karate starts when the training stops and you walk out of the dojo back into your life. You may have been a “legend”, but that was yesterday! There is no yesterday or today, only how can I be better tomorrow?

Being that “best you” continues. Our founder Sosai Mas Oyama said in one of his 11 mottos “introspection begets wisdom. Always see contemplation on your actions as an opportunity to improve”. You can read deeply into this but in short, we never lose. We succeed or learn.

This is where your Karate training begins to shine. In your life outside of your Gi and on a daily basis. It will help in all aspects. Work, education, other sports, relationships and more.

Don’t take shortcuts in Karate nor in life. They will never lead you anywhere good. Have patience. With this patience a student needs to recognise and understand that a true master pushes his student not just physically, but psychologically as well. Then, he observes.

Will the student stay the course? Will he stop and give up? Will he become angry? Feel betrayed? Is he led by his emotions or ego? Will he break? These tests go on for years. In that time, an individual’s true character will emerge. The true disciple never wavers throughout his life, his spirit sharpened. He rises to a level of master himself one day. Such students are rare. Maybe one or two in a lifetime. Most disappear of their own accord. Yet, those few that stay humble and remain, rise alongside the master, mirroring his image.

Another of Oyama’s mottos states “The true essence of the Martial Way can only be realized through experience. Knowing this, learn never to fear its demands”.

In closing, here is some advice for all our students and maybe parents of very young students: Trust your instructors and don’t you or your child, be focused on the next belt. We will get you there. The student will look upon us as a light, guiding them on a path they really have no idea about and we WILL do our best for THEM, not ourselves. The Kyokushin Philosophy states, “Keep your head low (modesty), eyes high (ambition), mouth shut (serenity); base yourself on filial piety (follow in the steps of your masters and honour them) and benefit others”.

Recent writing by one of the foremost masters of Shorin-Ryu Karate, Chinen Sensei states…. “karate has not been built on the principles of winning. Sport is about winning; karate is about learning and developing. In sport is a coach, in traditional martial arts is a teacher and disciple. The competition element which says you have to be stronger than the other person is not at all important in traditional martial arts. To win, it doesn’t matter if you are a good or bad person, you just have to win. This is where we are different” .

Enjoy your Kyokushin Karate journey one day at a time, because the dojo doesn’t lie, and when needed, if ever, your training and techniques won’t lie, they won’t let you down. For many the karate journey never ends. Be one of those people and you will never regret a single moment of adversity you faced in that dojo.