Zen and the Art of Kata Maintenance
Channel: Goju Ryu Philosopher
Date: 2020-08-08

Is Zen, the "religion of the samurai", an important part of karate? What does Bushido, the warrior code of the samurai, have to do with the martial arts of Okinawa? Do Bushido and Zen Buddhism have anything that they can teach us karateka?


In this video, I'm going to take a look at why Zen has NO connection with martial arts, why Bushido is an entirely modern invention of the post-Meiji era, and how karate got all wrapped up in these two unrelated ideas. If you practice a traditional Japanese martial art, especially outside of Japan, you've probably been introduced to a lot of these misconceptions about Bushido as well. That's why this video also includes a discussion of what we can take from these concepts for our modern practice!


Sources:
Benesch, Oleg. Reconsidering Zen, Samurai, and the Martial Arts
Herrigel, Eugen. Zen in the Art of Archery
Wilson, William Scott. The Lone Samurai: The Life of Miyamoto Musashi
Tokitsu, Kenji. Miyamoto Musashi: His Life and Writings
Suzuki, Daisetz T. Zen in Japanese Culture
http://www.philtar.ac.uk/encyclopedia/shinto/shin.html
https://zenhabits.net/mentalstates/