Training Precepts

Gichin Funakoshi, Founder of Shotokan Karate, wrote Karate-Do Nyumon (literally, “passage through the gates of the Karate way”. In it, he laid out the key principles to follow when practicing karate: 

• Practice with the utmost seriousness from the very beginning.
• Do exactly as you are taught without complaining or quibbling.
• When you learn a new technique, practice it whole heartedly until you understand it.
• Don’t pretend to be a great master and don’t show off your strength.
• You must always have a deep regard for courtesy, and be respectful and obedient toward your seniors.
• Ignore the bad and adopt the good.
• Think of everyday life as karate training. Do not think of karate training as belonging only to the dojo, nor only as a fighting method.