Articles by Dahrla Mailman, Shodan

Karate Talk (Issue 5)

Living the Five Rules….CHARACTER

CHARACTER:

• Moral excellence and firmness

• A person’s main or essential nature

• The complex of mental and ethical traits individualizing a person

“It’s not the crime; It’s not the thought; It’s not the deed; It’s if you get caught!”

….song lyrics - Tower of Power

Funky song, terrible sentiment! Go ahead and grab what you can in this life-just don’t let anybody see you doing it! What they don’t know won’t hurt them! After all, it’s every man (or woman) for themselves, right?

Wrong! This attitude is the antithesis of what having character is all about. To quote author J.C. Watts “Character is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught.”

A person with good character is someone who lives by a code of honor and ethics. They do the right thing simply because it is the right thing. Character is what you are in the dark, when nobody’s looking. All four previous rules: effort, etiquette, self-control, and sincerity, combine in the rule of character. Indeed, traditionally, the martial arts ultimate purpose was to develop character through discipline and a strict code of honor. In the Martial Arts world of today, there are far too many schools operating who are only concerned with developing muscles. They have ‘dumbed down’ their teachings to fit the trend toward the mindless, bloody beating of each other, or the ‘bounce around and pretend you’re learning self- defense’ crowd.

The trend away from learning the art and science of traditional martial arts is indicative of our ‘instant’ society. We expect instant gratification, instant advancement. We don't have the time or the character to commit to something that requires us to continuously grow and stretch ourselves. Sadly, some schools automatically provide belt advancement without any performance criteria! Many people calling themselves martial artists today have forgotten about the value of being awarded their rank honorably!

What a blessing it is to train with a Master who still teaches technique and who demands that we, his students, demonstrate ability before being awarded our next rank! When we advance at UMAA, we know we’ve earned it!

Most importantly, at United Martial Arts, we still care about developing character as well as muscles! We believe in the connection between mind and body and in the martial arts ability to elevate every area of our lives. So, let us remember that although our character may be seen most clearly in the great moments of our lives, it is made in the small ones by a vigilant application of the first four rules: effort, etiquette, self-control and sincerity. For in the end, we can only make the world a better place by constantly striving to make ourselves better people!