09/19/2026
I didn't write this, but this is my belief:
Why Karate Has Lost Its Soul These Days...
When I began training way back in 1978, Karate was much different than it has become in modern times. I am not just referring to the training being harder and, sometimes, more brutal either. I am referring to the instilling of respect, tradition and the importance surrounding those two words.
Respect was not something one came by lightly in the dojo. It was established from the moment you signed up to train and was enforced as long as you were still training. These days, it often seems that disciplining students who show a lack of decorum has been thrown out the window in favor of making them happy so they, or their parents, continue paying that tuition.
The same can be said for honoring one's art, or tradition.
Sometime back in the mid-'90s, I noticed a trend where people seemed to jump from school to school. They didn't want to master a martial art but, rather, go where they felt it fit their ideals. Now, there is nothing wrong with finding the martial art that is a fit for you, I even encourage that, but these days, people leave a school without even spending enough time to truly understand the art being taught.
They also seem to quit the first time they are reprimanded or disciplined...or parents let their kids quit because of the same things.
Karate has long been known for more than just building strong, capable individuals who can adequately protect themselves against violence. It is well known that solid, traditional Karate training builds a strength of character that helps people excel in their pathway, both inside and outside of the dojo.
Somewhere along the line, enforcing respect and tradition was thrown to the wayside in favor of raking in cash, I believe.
Yes, it is true that each time we discipline a student, we run the possibility of losing them and their tuition. But in the long run, those who learn through that process become the ideal of what Karate seeks...perfection of character.
Those who quit simply because they were disciplined have a difficult road ahead of them. In my experience, some will eventually learn, but many never develop the same strength of character that they could have developed had they stayed and worked through the difficult moments.
In my dojo, and yes, I teach full-time, I will never throw out respect, discipline or tradition just to make a buck...ever.
I was always told that maintaining the integrity of what we do when teaching Karate is vital and, to lose that, means we are also failing as a Karateka...and especially as a Sensei.
Ok, I get it. Society is different today than it used to be. That is definitely true. But society needs the true discipline, respect and adherence to integrity that good, authentic Karate training instills more than ever today.
Society is full of enough "What's in it for me" people and Karate can change that negative character flaw.
Some people, and yes, I have dealt with this as well, refuse to follow the traditions found in a good Karate dojo. They want to argue about bowing and other aspects that "don't fit their wants."
Sorry, but that, to me, means you need to find someplace else to train that will cater to your personal wants because I will not. I am here to teach Karate, not bend down to labels, ideas and your personal ideas of how things should be.
A good Karate dojo will not throw away what has made Karate great just to please a student, or parent...ever.
Now, that being said, there are also limitations on how we, as the Sensei, should behave.
We should never be quick to just drop students for pushups because they did something wrong. We need to train them, educate them and teach them before simply dishing out discipline because they forgot to bow or call us Sensei, Sir, Ma'am or whatever one uses in their dojo.
We also need to be patient, understanding and helpful to our students so we can build a love for the amazing traditions that we also grew up learning and have grown to truly care about.
Discipline isn't about punishing people...It is 100 percent about teaching them.
All over the place, be it at tournaments, seminars or even watching social media, I see newer black belts talking about "their way." Many of them seem to think they are above decorum, tradition and even earning respect. They assume that, just because they have a black belt to some capacity, how they see things is how it should be.
That isn't how it works. A black belt doesn't mean you suddenly know everything.
It should mean you have finally learned enough to understand just how much more there is to learn.
A friend of mine said that this might be the result of people getting black belts at young ages, or so quickly as they often do these days. Perhaps he is correct but, honestly, I believe it is because people want to please their students instead of teaching them. They hope that by making the student "happy" and "having fun," they will keep paying that tuition.
Okinawan Karate culture is an amazing thing. The traditions, the manner in which we train, the way we truly want to help our students become the best version of themselves and the adherence to the way Karate is supposed to be are things anyone who trains in the art should never disrespect.
This doesn't mean blindly following one's Sensei. It means honoring and respecting your art even if you do what we all do and pick up more knowledge from other martial arts.
Too many times I have seen people simply throw away their foundational martial art and start mixing things together instead of using their experiences to strengthen, grow and build their understanding of their core art.
That leads to what we have today...plenty of "jack of all trades and masters of none."
This isn't a shortsighted way to look at Karate either. It is the way I have grown through almost five decades of training, and I believe in my heart it is a great pathway. Everything I have experienced, including training in other martial art systems, strengthened my understanding of my core martial art.
I didn't just throw away the traditions in favor of making money. I didn't loosen the discipline expected in the dojo just to make a living. I also never bastardized our Kata or curriculum just to appease my own way of seeing things, or make it easier for my students to get rank.
Everyone can do what they want. That is a fact...but Karate is not just about fighting. It goes way deeper than that.
Dropping traditions, allowing kids to screw around in the dojo (or adults, for that matter) and letting things slide without discipline destroys the very integrity of what we do.
And once that integrity is gone, what exactly are we teaching?
You can have all the fancy uniforms, flashy techniques, social media followers, trophies and certificates in the world, but none of those things make someone a martial artist.
Any moron can buy a black belt and even get a fake certificate off Amazon these days. In the end, they aren't a martial artist. They will always be, as I said...just a moron.
Respect. Tradition. Values that matter. An art that means something more than just belts.
Integrity in what we do is what has faded but, as for me, I can look myself in the mirror and look every single student I have right in the eye because I know I am doing this the right way.
