Hello and welcome to the Wado-Hashi blog.  Thank you for being patient and waiting for my first blog.  My intention in this blog is to talk about why students want to learn the art of Karate.  There are several reasons why people take lessons in karate.  Some people do it for exercise & fitness, some for the sport, others to expand their martial arts knowledge, and some want to learn self-defense.

For me, initially it was for learning self-defense.  You see, I was often bullied in high school and needed to do something to make that stop.  That was long before bullying became a worldwide epidemic like it is now.  I thought that if I learned karate, I would know how to defend myself against those predators and would be able to kick their butts.  Surely that would stop them from harassing me and bullying me anymore, wrong!

What I mean by that is, I wanted to take karate for all the wrong reasons.  Yes, I did learn some techniques like how to block, punch and kick.  I also learned some great self-defense escapes.  By the time I earned my green belt in Wado-Ki karate, I was beginning to see just how dangerous and hurtful I could be if ever given the situation.  Realizing this was a HUGE wake-up call for me.  It opened my eyes to see that if this karate knowledge ever ended up in the wrong hands or misused, these karate techniques could become lethal.  Wado-Ki karate taught me to respect the discipline of karate and respect others in a whole new light.

With this new knowledge, I discovered confidence in myself that I never had before.   Confidence will show through in a person's attitude and body language, in their persona.  It was this newfound level of confidence that empowered me to walk more boldly down the school halls.  I noticed I wasn't looking down at the ground anymore when I walked.  I was now aware of my surroundings.  I was able to look bullies in the eye and glance over my shoulder as they walked past me. The bullying stopped.

It wasn’t the fact I was becoming more proficient with my karate skills because I didn't have to use or demonstrate my karate skills on the bullies.  The bullies just stopped their attacks on me.  I am very sure the reason they stopped harassing me was they sensed the confidence I was projecting.  I knew without a doubt that if I ever needed to use my karate skills to defend myself, I could.

The most important lessons I ever learned in karate is how NOT to fight.  More importantly, to know how and when to use karate, and that violence is the absolute last solution to solve any situation. How about you, why do you want to take karate?

Respectfully,

Master Tom