It can't be denied that, within the world of karate there are many conflicting ideas and beleifs. There is a huge difference in where people stand morally on sport karate while some strongly disagree with children taking part in karate and others are all in favour with some individuals taking a more liberal view.
Those are just a few examples of how many experienced karateka have strong views on how certain things should be done and will disagree just as strongly with the opposing views of others, which there is nothing wrong with. Personally, I am of a much more liberal mentality due to my lack of experience and I know it's likely that I will probably become more opinionated in the future.
But for now, I would like to offer my somewhat naive take on the conflicting ideas within karate. I think, although the diversity in karate has, some people might argue, 'torn it apart', as a result of conflicting opinions, perhaps it's also beneficial and one of karate's strengths. This is because that anything one person thinks or says about it will, inevitably, be put in question by another. It's this disagreement that means viewpoints are constantly challenged and therefore never blindly accepted. If they were, then perhaps karate could be in a much worse state than many people think it is? Also, because we have to constantly justify our beleifs, even if just to ourselves , it keeps us in touch with why we beleive it and the way which we go about training. Especially at a time like this, when the internet and youtube means that any dedicated and serious karateka will come across opinions and ideas different to their's or their sensei's.
For more experienced readers shaking their heads at my naivete, I do know that there are definitely some ways not to do karate, like anything involving laziness and generally not making an effort. But, there's also more than one way to do it right. I will probably regret writing this in the future but I feel it's an interesting angle to consider it from.
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