There's No First Strike In Karate: (Really?)

Gichin Funakoshi is generally regarded as the Father of Modern Karate.

Among his contributions is a list of 20 core beliefs that every karateka should subscribe to.

At the very top is this one: “There is no first strike in karate.”

The idea is that karate is about self-defense, primarily, and only secondarily is it a fighting art.

Funakoshi didn’t want to spawn generations of bullies. I think it is right to say he wanted to sire gentle men and women, people of refinement; in a word, civilized folks, and not just more barbarians.

Before unleashing fury and destructiveness a person must be sure it is the right thing to do, that he isn’t making a mistake, and that he has exhausted better ways of reducing conflict.

But what if you KNOW someone is coming for you or your family or your nation? What, then?

Can you strike, peremptorily?

Funakoshi is silent about this, at least from the reading of him that I’ve done so far.

But a story comes to mind.

I was exhausted one late afternoon after having flown to Houston, probably for the 40th time in as many weeks, so by the time I reached the rent a car counter at the outskirts of the airport, I was in a terrible mood.

They didn’t have the make and model I had reserved, a convertible as I recall, and being used to getting everything I wanted on the road, I blew a gasket.

The manager felt I was being verbally abusive, and I told him, more or less, when I needed his opinion I’d give it to him.

He asked me to step outside to “Settle this" with him, and I recall saying something to the effect that “I’d be delighted.”

I hadn’t been in a fistfight since high school, and I was probably 25% more massive than this guy, so his “choosing me off” was almost comedic.

We stood face to face, with about two feet separating us, and I could tell he was waiting for me to make the first move.

But I came to my senses after having weighed the idea of defending a lawsuit or worse, a criminal charge in court.

Also, I heard a little voice inside say, “Don’t make the first move!” and I heeded it.

Anyway, I think I grumbled, “This isn’t worth it,” and he told me to never darken their doorstep again.

Many moons later, after studying karate, I learned about Funakoshi’s aphorism: There is no first strike in karate.

And a few things came to mind:

(1) I was pleased I de-escalated and walked away. It’s one of the only ways to “win” a fight.

(2) I always wondered if this guy had karate training, and he was forbearing because of Funakoshi’s philosophy.

(3) I did act rudely, and things hit a flash point because of me.

In any case, I lived to “not fight” again, and so did he, presumably.

Fighting should always be the last resort, and only when we have no other choice. And as far as that question I raised above, I think we should be so attuned to our potential enemies that we can see the stirrings of hostility in them before they ever become an overt threat to us.

By doing so, we can avoid difficulties before they become unavoidable.

Moreover, we should always be aware of how we’re coming across, and restrain ourselves and struggle to be polite, especially when we’re convinced we have the right to act otherwise.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, “The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable,” published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations from Santa Monica to South Africa. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

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