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Isn't Karate from buddist origins?
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American popular media has led people to believe that the Martial Arts came from
Buddhist temples and the like. Evidence of Buddhists using the Martial Arts cannot
be found until around 500 AD. To say that the Martial Arts came from Buddhist temples
is to assume that there was never any physical conflict until 500 AD. We know this
is not historically true. Most people trace Karate from Japan to Okinawa and then
from Okinawa to China and to the Buddhist temples and then stop there. Well, I am
not a historian and do not claim to be, but I searched a little farther and found
that the Buddhist religion was founded by an Indian monk named Siddhartha Gautama
who later took the name of Buddha around 600 BC, give or take. But, it was a monk
named Ta-Mo, who would later be called Bodhidharma, who was influential in the formation
of the Zen sect of Buddhism and who is often given credit for introducing Martial
Arts training to this sect of Buddhism, and he is often given credit for bringing
what would later be known as Kung-Fu or Wushu from India into China. From India
it is not too difficult to trace it through what is now Pakistan and through the
Holy Land and straight to Ancient Israel. The Bible is replete with accounts of
great battles fought by God’s people who were mighty warriors. David himself gives
God the credit for his fighting prowess. (Psalm 144:1) We can rest assured that
Abraham’s 318 trained men (Gen. 14:14) were not trained in underwater basket weaving.
We know that the ancient Israelites sat around the campfire and told the tales of
scripture through strict oral tradition. Ancient Hebrew history also tells of “war
dances” held around the campfires in preparation for battle. Some Martial Arts styles
still perform such “dances” today such as the Brazilian Art of Capoeira and many
of the African Martial Arts. One of the most fundamental training exercises of modern
traditional Karate that is widely used today is called “kata” which is a series
of prearranged moves set in a specific pattern that increase in difficulty as the
student progresses in skill. The Japanese term “kata” is most often translated as
“form” but is more accurately translated as “dance”. The Dead Sea Scrolls depict
hundreds of Martial Arts movements that were said to have been used by King David
and his Mighty Men, and there are many Egyptian hieroglyphics dating well before
Buddhism that depict hundreds of Martial Arts movements that are still used in such
styles as Karate, Jujitsu, Kung-Fu and a variety of others. These hieroglyphics
also suggest that some of these movements may have been learned by the Egyptians
watching the “War Dances” of their slaves. These are just some of many examples
of Martial Arts before Buddhism.
While it cannot be denied that some Martial Art
systems do teach philosophies and principles from other religions, the occult, and
eastern mysticism, for every one that does there are many, many more that do not
teach such things. You must realize that there are literally thousands of different
types and styles of Martial Art systems, many of which do not even come from the
Orient. However, the Orient, with its methodical, disciplined way of doing things,
has had a tremendous impact on the development of the arts. That is why the Orient
is so frequently associated with the Martial Arts. But, even within the Oriental
Arts there are wide variety of different types, styles, and schools and not every
one of them is the same or teaches the same things. A lot of what is taught depends
on the views and beliefs of the head of that style or the individual instructor
at a specific school or studio.
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