Budo: The Martial
Ways
An interesting article. It explains a little bit about
Budo and the differences between what we do at this
dojo and what some other schools do.
Budo is often translated into English as "Martial
Art" (or Martial Arts, if the plural is intended).
However, this is not particularly informative, since
the Bujutsu are also translated identically. In order
to make the distinction, and there is a real distinction,
Budo is therefore often rendered as "Martial
Way". This is appropriate since, according to
Donn F. Draeger (one of the foremost Western historians
of the martial practices of Japan), the distinction
between the Bujutsu and the Budo was delineated when
the character for Jutsu (art) was replaced by the character
for Do (road or way). This helps but it conveys little
extra meaning unless one already understands the intention.
We follow Draeger and separate the Budo into two categories:
1)The Classical Budo
2)The Modern Budo
1)Classical Budo
The classical Budo began to emerge
in the Tokugawa period as the culture changed in
Japan and the practice
of individual combat became less important. While
these Budo systems have their roots in the older
Bujutsu, the purpose of the Budo arts was not to
server the warrior in combat on the battlefield
but rather to be tools to change the practitioner.
The
aim of the Budo was self-perfection.
So while the
technical aspects of the art changed, it was believed
by the proponents that the arts were
evolving to serve a higher purpose. As I'm sure
is obvious, the discussion about whether the arts were "evolved" or "diluted" continues
to this day!
Therefore, the intent of the Classical Budo was
to follow the Do (way) to develop the characteristics
of
Satori (enlightenment)
Fudoshin (immovable mind)
Muga-mushin (no self)
within the practitioner. The
Martial aspects of the practice are related to
the vigor and seriousness
of the training; combat skills are a side effect
rather
than the primary focus of the training.
To achieve this purpose, the priorities of
Classical Budo practice are:
Moral Development
Discipline
Aesthetic Form
2)Modern Budo
The modern Budo are the most recent development
in the Japanese Martial arts and are probably what
most
people think of when hearing the term Martial Art.
The principle difference between these arts and
their elder brethren is the introduction of an element
of competition into their training.
This kind of
art does not sit well with traditionalists as is
illustrated by Dreager when he refers to the
Modern Budo as an ass in tiger's clothing. Proponents
of this development argue that this is the way
to include significant elements of stress and reality
in ways
that are acceptable to our modern society, and
so
argue that the sporting aspect is an improvement
over the
traditional ways.
Theoretically, the aims and principles
of these modern arts are the same as the Classical
Budo.
Modern Budo Today
Most of the "Do" schools
one encounters today are of the modern variety, in
that they are likely
to include some form of competition as a
major element of their training. Well known examples
include:
Olympic Judo (some would argue that Kano Judo
is a true Classical Budo)
Most modern Karate-do
ryu (the traditional Okinawan ryu probably fit better
under
either Classical
Budo or Bujutsu, depending on their focus).
Kendo
In order to avoid the ambiguity mentioned earlier,
we propose the following translations
Classical Budo - Martial Ways
Modern Budo - Martial Sports
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