The Facets of Ryukyu Budo

There are several areas of development that define true martial arts training, specifically within 'Ryukyu Budo Training'. 

People say that Ryukyu Budo is many things, a form of self-defence, fun fitness activity and a way of life. But what does it entail? What is involved?
Obviously, depending on your priorities and reasons for training this may vary, but in my opinion there are several things that are involved in real training of Ryukyu Budo (and most other martial arts).


The term 'Ryukyu Budo' includes all styles of Karate & Kobudo that originated in the Ryukyu islands (predominantly Okinawa).


It is important to note here that these days much of modern Karate (Te) and Kobudo have strong cultural influences from mainland Japan, which does differ quite a bit from traditional Ryukyu culture. Many modern Budo clubs do also have heavy influence from Eastern societies, especially from the US. The customs and traditions that originated in this way have only been introduced to Ryukyu Budo in the last 100 years or so.


While many of the physical techniques within Ryukyu 'Te' originated mostly from Chinese Quan Fa (Kung Fu), the philosophical aspects of it are directly a consequence of being developed within Ryukyu culture, which comes from several places and belief systems from all over Asia. The same is true of Kobudo.
These places include Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Bushido, teachings of Lao Tzu and Sun Tzu and other cultural practices & traditions of the old Ryukyu Kingdom.

In today's society, it is important to pass on the philosophical traditions as well as the fighting skill, as a true Budoka (Budo practitioner) one must be strong, skilled, wise and have integrity.
Without the conditioning of the mind one will be weak willed and will give in to base instincts, becoming a thug and/or a coward.
The Okinawan masters talked about ‘perfection of character’ being a required along with ‘perfection of skill’.

While still stressing the importance of constant need to improve skill and always seeking to be better physically, the masters all knew that the constant need to improve the character and the mind too.
Bunbu Ryodo  <-- read this, very interesting  ;)
With great skill and a strong mind, one will have the confidence within themselves to never use that skill. This is the true purpose of Budo.


The character development is only one 'facet' of training in Budo. The following is a list of different areas within a 'complete Budo system', all of which are of equal importance. I have divided them into separate categories here, but they are all related and are intertwined with each other.




Hohan Soken
Shorin-Ryu Master

Character Development

Becoming a Warrior




Physical Skill

Martial Technique

Physical Development

Strength, Agility, Balance, Control and Flexibility


Knowledge Development

Acquiring the Information

Knowledge Understanding

Precursor to Wisdom

Martial Technique Practicality

Bunkai

Martial Understanding

What to Do & What Not to Do

Polishing of the Spirit

Being Better



Each of these 'facets' require constant work and development if you are to find the way.
In my next few posts, I'll be going into more detail of each of these different facets and explain my understanding of them.


In true Budo training there are no set timeframes for certain achievements or goals. True Budo training is a lifetime activity. Every Budoka is different mentally and physically so, logically, every Budoka's journey is going to ebb and flow at different times.
We all have good days and bad days; we all have periods of great improvement and little improvement. These variations will never coincide with another's.

To compare yourself to other people is to mistake the way and misunderstand what your own progression should mean to you.
Your progress is determined by you and only you.
What other's do, right or wrong, is irrelevant to your journey.
This concept is important to understand. While it could be categorised as being part of the 'Character Development' or 'Knowledge Understanding', it is a requirement for any serious progression within all facets of Budo.




Comment below to share any thoughts or opinions you might have.  :)

Thanks for reading.
Derm

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