KARATE-DO by Karen Hicks
There's a Japanese word that we all understand,
translated, in English, it means 'empty hand';
Its history and roots are still shrouded in doubt,
Karate's the word that I'm talking about;
Research has been done, and as far as we know,
Karate was founded five Centuries ago;
In Okinawa, an Isle off the coast of Japan,
King Hashi, the Shogun, decided to ban
all weapons, to try to enforce law and order;
This worked very well, until, over the border,
came Samurai Knights from the Satsuma Clan;
The Okinawan's did well, they fought hard every man,
but it wasn't enough, the battle was lost-
They all did their best and then counted the cost
The Samurai ruled and they liked to attack,
The Okinawan's were helpless, they couldn't fight back,
so gradually developed a form of defence
that needed no weapons - you see, it makes sense;
They practiced in secret, telling no-one,
The art was passed down from father to son;
That was the way it might always have been
but Funakoshi Sensei came onto the scene;
He gave the first public demo of this fine Martial Art,
in Okinawa at first, but this was only the start;
The following year - nineteen twenty two
the Crown Prince of Japan asked him to do
a demo for him in mainland Japan,
And this art of our style, Shotokan;
Ever since then, Karate has grown,
all over the World, you'll find it's well known;
But over the years, Karate has changed,
its traditions and values have been re-arranged;
We'd do well to remember its humble beginning,
Too many of us think only of winning;
The ultimate aim of true Karate-Do
Lies in perfection of character, this much we should know;
I quote Funakoshi, but my views are the same,
Karate's a Martial Art, not a game;
It just doesn't matter who won or who lost,
How much does a little humility cost?
We should train hard, with respect, our minds should be clear
of feelings of hatred, or anger or fear;
if our students can learn this, when we're dead and gone,
traditional Karate will still carry on
There's a Japanese word that we all understand,
translated, in English, it means 'empty hand';
Its history and roots are still shrouded in doubt,
Karate's the word that I'm talking about;
Research has been done, and as far as we know,
Karate was founded five Centuries ago;
In Okinawa, an Isle off the coast of Japan,
King Hashi, the Shogun, decided to ban
all weapons, to try to enforce law and order;
This worked very well, until, over the border,
came Samurai Knights from the Satsuma Clan;
The Okinawan's did well, they fought hard every man,
but it wasn't enough, the battle was lost-
They all did their best and then counted the cost
The Samurai ruled and they liked to attack,
The Okinawan's were helpless, they couldn't fight back,
so gradually developed a form of defence
that needed no weapons -
They practiced in secret, telling no-
The art was passed down from father to son;
That was the way it might always have been
but Funakoshi Sensei came onto the scene;
He gave the first public demo of this fine Martial Art,
in Okinawa at first, but this was only the start;
The following year -
the Crown Prince of Japan asked him to do
a demo for him in mainland Japan,
And this art of our style, Shotokan;
Ever since then, Karate has grown,
all over the World, you'll find it's well known;
But over the years, Karate has changed,
its traditions and values have been re-
We'd do well to remember its humble beginning,
Too many of us think only of winning;
The ultimate aim of true Karate-
Lies in perfection of character, this much we should know;
I quote Funakoshi, but my views are the same,
Karate's a Martial Art, not a game;
It just doesn't matter who won or who lost,
How much does a little humility cost?
We should train hard, with respect, our minds should be clear
of feelings of hatred, or anger or fear;
if our students can learn this, when we're dead and gone,
traditional Karate will still carry on
