No First Attack in Karate: What the Masters Had to Say

Mark Tankosich is an American who has lived in Japan for close to 15 years. A former executive director of the Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania, he has a master's degree in Asian Studies and is fluent in both spoken and written Japanese. He has dan rankings in Sho-ha Shorin-ryu karate and Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei Jodo. Currently, he lives in Hiroshima. Employed at the Hiroshima University of Economics, his duties include researching the history and traditions of the Japanese martial arts. Mark can be contacted via marktankosich@yahoo.com

This enlightening article discusses what the Masters had to say on the subject of "No First Attack in Karate". I feel it is vital that this concept is thoroughly explored and understood if karate is to be effectively applied in self-protection situations. Mark Tankosich has written what I consider to be the best article I've read on the subject. I am therefore extremely grateful to Mark for sharing this great article with members and visitors to this site.

All the best,

Iain

This is a slightly revised version of a paper that originally appeared in Vol. 27, No. 1 of the Hiroshima University of Economics Journal of Humanities, Social and Natural Sciences.

Karate ni Sente Nashi: What the Masters Had to Say

by Mark Tankosich

Introduction

Perhaps no Japanese phrase is more familiar to karate practitioners around the world than "karate ni sente nashi." Typically translated as, "There is no first attack in karate," this maxim has become known primarily through the teachings of Gichin Funakoshi. The founder of Shotokan and, according to many, the "father of modern karate-do," Funakoshi made the principle the second of his Niju Kun ("Twenty Precepts"), following only the directive to not forget that "karate begins and ends with courtesy" (Funakoshi, "Karate-do nijukajo").

Clearly, for Funakoshi, the maxim karate ni sente nashi was of great importance. In addition to including it as one of his "Twenty Precepts," he stated in a 1935 magazine article that he "view[s] it as [expressing] the essence of karate-do" (Funakoshi, "Karate no hanashi" 65). Nor is he alone in this view: Shoshin Nagamine, respected founder of the Matsubayashi school of Shorin-ryu karate, wrote that, "This phrase [. . .] embodies the essence of Okinawan karate" (Nagamine 13). Similarly, Masatoshi Nakayama, longtime head of the Japan Karate Association, stated that, "[. . .] it is not an exaggeration to say that it is these words that succinctly and fully express the spirit of karate-do" (Nakayama 80).

With such esteemed masters as these expressing such strong sentiments regarding the significance of the sente nashi principle, one can only assume that the principle represents a way of thinking that is -- or at least should be -- profoundly important for those who consider themselves to be serious practitioners of the art of karate-do. Specifying