KNIGHT METHOD KENPO

As you become skilled in the martial arts, you become capable of great violence. You also develop levels of resourcefulness and personal power that make you able to do more than many of the people around you. These abilities could easily be used to hurt others, instead of just to protect the helpless and improve your own life. 

 

That’s why warrior cultures throughout the world developed ethical codes as part of their training and lifestyle: to prevent these powerful individuals from misusing their power. Our ethical training at KmK is the Code of Bushido. 

 

Bushido is a code of ethics and conduct used by Samurai in feudal Japan. It’s roughly similar to the Chivalry codes practiced by Knights during feudal times in Europe. Followers of Bushido strove to develop seven ethical principles within themselves:

 

• Truth – being honest with others, even when that honesty has unpleasant repercussions. Telling the truth is one of the earliest tests of character and warrior spirit anybody faces. Warriors learn how to pass that test. 

• Bravery – having courage in the face of fear, whether that fear is from physical, emotional or social sources. Bravery is not a lack of being afraid. It’s being afraid and doing the right thing anyway. 

• Courtesy – showing good manners, because acting respectfully toward others demonstrates and develops respect for yourself. Acting with courtesy also helps maintain a good reputation for both you and the students you train with. 

• Compassion – being kind to those less powerful and fortunate than you, which is a warriors main job in any civilized society. Both heroes and villains are individuals of action and violence. Compassion is the difference between the two. 

• Sincerity – being honest with yourself and analyzing what you think is motivating you until you know the truth behind what you do and why you do it. Without sincerity, a warrior can easily be fooled into bad actions.

• Discernment – also known as “wisdom.” This is seeing into the heart of what a situation really is. It helps you make the right choices with your power because you know what’s really going on and what best to do about it. 

• Loyalty – doing right by the people who did right by you. This can be any and all of loyalty to family, to country, to a martial arts community, or to anyone else who has earned your care and trust. 

 

These seven ethical principles guided the daily thoughts and actions of the Samurai, and we ask our students to follow that example in their own daily practices. To those classic principles, our ethical curriculum adds two more concepts:

 

• Whatever it Takes – a commitment to accomplishing your goals inside and outside of the KmK martial arts training program. By promising to do “whatever it takes,” you eliminate the possibility of letting excuses stand between the person you are and the person you want to be. 

• Until the Last Day – is a bit poetical, but it does stand for an important warrior concept. Commitment to your training, to your fellow students, to your family and most cherished friends, isn’t something that comes and goes. It’s something you commit to until the last possible day. 

 

You might notice that these last two aren’t ethical principles like the original seven. They’re more like tools you can use to succeed in pursuing the Ethical Code of Bushido. When you have trouble living up to the standards you set for yourself as a warrior and a martial artists, you can reach for these tools and use them as much as you need. 

 

Why Bushido?

 

Human history tells the story of thousands of warrior cultures, each with its own ethical code. Why, then, choose Bushido in an American martial arts studio in Arizona? We chose Bushido for three reasons:

 

1. Kenpo Karate spent a lot of time developing in Japanese territories and among Japanese warriors. Teaching Bushido along with the physical skills of Kenpo is a way to pay homage to that lineage. 

2. Students of Asian martial arts seem drawn to Eastern philosophies like Zen, the Tao and Bushido. Teaching universal ethics in the frame of an Eastern philosophical framework serves that.

3. Our teacher, Lee Sprague, was enamored of the Bushido Code and made it a central part of his life. Just as we honor the Japanese lineage of Kenpo with Bushido, we pass on Mr. Sprague’s passion as a way to honor and celebrate his life and contribution to the arts. 

 

Commitment to martial arts training requires commitment to both the physical and the mental aspects of becoming a Warrior. If you’re ready to accept this challenge, we’re here to help you in any way you need. If not, we’re here to help you when you are ready. 

 

Until the Last Day,

 

The Knight Method Kenpo Team