Dojo Kun
by Dan Blackmore
29 Sept 2014

“The Twenty Guiding Principles of Karate” is a book that was published in 1938 that outlines Gichin Funakoshi’s Niju Kun (twenty instructions).  In Shotokan styles, five dojo kun have been derived from these principles, and are recited at the end of each training session in some schools.  ”Dojo Kun” literally means “training hall instructions.”  It is interesting to note that each rule is listed as being the first principle, signifying that all rules share equal importance.  As one trains seriously in any martial art, it is important to reflect upon the guiding principles of the style.  The following is an outline of the Shotokan Dojo Kun, and a short discussion/interpretation of each of principle.

Shotokan Dojo Kun

• Seek perfection of character.
• Protect the way of the truth.
• Foster the spirit of effort.
• Respect the principles of etiquette and respect others.
• Guard against impetuous courage and refrain from violent behaviour.

Seek perfection of character.  This indicates that karate training is meant to reach beyond improving just the physique; the mental and spiritual attitudes of the individual will also endure training.  In the end, karate is meant for self-defence, but the individual learns how to put power into technique with intent to harm the target.  Without a moral/ethical compass, this violent practice might overtake your common sense.  You might feel the impulse to face confrontation with physical violence, even if there are alternatives to fighting, like reasoning, or just getting out of there.  While many can relate to the feeling of wanting to “try out” your skills, including myself, that’s no reason to put yourself in a more dangerous situation.  Even if you win a real fight, it doesn’t end there – you might have to call an ambulance and the police, submit reports, go to court, face fines, anger management, community service, or even jail time.  This is why it is important to keep your character strong to counterbalance the violence involved with martial arts training.  You need to be able to keep your ego in-check and stay in control of your impulses, and have better judgement.  In the meantime, use your karate training to your benefit – if you want to strike something, the makiwara is available.  If you want to feel accomplished, register and compete in the next tournament to see how you fare.  If you win, great!  If not, then face defeat with more motivation to improve your skill for next time.

Protect the way of the truth.  This is about honesty.  I interpret this to mean not only to be honest in the way you carry yourself, but also to stand up for truth for others around you.  Support ideas that you believe in, whether you are voicing opinion/feelings or voting on matters that affect yourself and others around you.  Voices that fairly criticize or praise should be heard equally, and if you feel that that isn’t the case, speak out.

Foster the spirit of effort.  To me, putting forth your best effort in everything you do leads to a healthy sense of pride in your accomplishments.  Success in karate is not based solely on results.  For example, in a grading, sometimes pass or failure is judged by how well you can demonstrate the techniques in kihon, kata, and kumite, and by your cumulative efforts in the dojo.  Your sensei and peers notice the attitude you demonstrate regularly while training.  You choose for yourself whether you want to be a positive or negative example of a student who is putting in effort.  Oftentimes it becomes easy to compare your performance against the performance of your peers in the dojo.  While a healthy spirit of competition might be a good motivator, this can also lead to negative results if left unchecked.  You may judge yourself to be better than others, inflating the ego, and leading to the idea that you don’t need to try as hard to stay ahead of everyone else.  You may judge someone else to be better than you, leading to jealousy, or even to the feeling that you could never catch-up, de-motivating yourself.  Good leaders do not compare students against each other; instead a student is compared to his/her past self.  Simply focus on improving yourself or your rate of progress and realize that karate is not about which individual is the best, instead it’s about each individual presenting their best attitude and performance.  Strive to lead by example.

Respect the principles of etiquette and respect others.  This simply means to be polite and respectful – I am sure that we are all encouraged to act this way everywhere we go.  In almost every situation, there are certain acceptable codes of conduct, which are sometimes unspoken/unwritten.  In the dojo we are given rules, which is what this discussion is all about, but there are other forms of proper dojo etiquette that are not always explicitly defined.  In general, you must respect your sensei and higher ranks by paying attention to what they have to show, and you respect your peers and lower ranks by allowing them space to train/develop.  Also, as a senior student, following instruction without adding your interpretation and advice to lower ranks is a sign of respect to your sensei at times when you need to focus on action, and not discussion.  There shall be opportunities when discussion and interpretation are encouraged, but too much all the time just takes time and focus away from performing repetitions when working on an exercise.  Follow the lead of your elder ranks, and allow your fellow students to develop their own ideas as you develop your own.

Guard against impetuous courage and refrain from violent behaviour.  This simply means to keep from acting impulsively, and to avoid being violent wherever possible.  Gaining control of your emotions and impulses requires thinking before acting.  I am talking about the situation that precedes a fight; once the fight has already begun, you must act in self-defence.  Perhaps someone is being belligerent, rude, and/or insulting.  You may just want that person to settle down, or go to away.  Your first impulse might be to match his/her attitude in your words/actions, and then you have started escalating the situation into a physical altercation.  In any case, you must first become aware of yourself in such a situation – you must be ready to defend yourself, but not eager to do so.  Perhaps you could just walk away from the situation without incident – always look for an escape route.  Then again, if you cannot, you must assess how well you think reasoning might fare if you were to talk to the person; how many people are around you; how dangerous is the individual/group; whether the police need to get involved; whether or not somebody is being threatened.  Again, if you must defend yourself, you must not hesitate to do so, but it might be more appropriate to control the attacker to the ground instead of using strikes/kicks to subdue him/her.  Also, don’t forget about using words to try to control and calm the situation, not to escalate it or to goad anyone into continuing to fight.  Thinking about the consequences before speaking or acting will help you to make better decisions and reduce acting impulsively.

Overall, these five rules can be applied equally to conduct both inside and outside the dojo.  The fact that they are listed in no particular order means that they share the same importance, and should be considered equally and simultaneously.  Ultimately, karate is not merely training self-defence techniques; it is aiding in the development of the individual to be able to become the best version of him/herself.  We learn how to use techniques that can prove devastating when applied in reality, but we must also learn for ourselves how to stay calm, keep our wits together, and to use better judgement.  We must balance our ability to perform violently with the ability to think responsibly; what we learn in the dojo is carried with us outside of the dojo.