Self Defence and Nonviolence: A Personal Perspective
Self Defence and Nonviolence: A Personal Perspective
I’ve studied a number of things, over the years. As an undergrad, one of my minors was Peace Studies. One of my majors, Philosophy. As a result, I was exposed to some of the thinking of Nonviolent activists and thinkers relatively early on. I was also, from the start of my sophomore year until graduation, the president of the Japan Karate Association Karate Club of my undergrad school. I chose to do this because I had always had a fascination with Japan, from an early age. Perhaps it was growing up in the 80s and 90s, or having Japanese friends as a child, or loving comic books and cartoons that were meant for an adult before it became ‘a thing.’ Whatever the reason, the interest was there for a long time before I began undergrad,
Martial Arts generally always appealed to me. In High School, I was on the wrestling team. There was something about being part of a team, but also training, and then competing, entirely on your own, that made sense on a deeply intuitive level to me. By the time I got to undergrad, and joined the JKA Karate Club from its founding at the start of my second year, this seemed a natural extension.
Then I went and got a job in Japan for immediately after undergrad, teaching and doing ‘grassroots internationalization’ in a poor, rural, isolated region of Japan’s most traditional and conservative prefecture (the equivalent to a state in the USA). I did karate there for a good half a year to year, and was there for a total of two. I stopped doing karate during that time, however. I had reservations about meeting force with force that were borne of my understanding of nonviolence, and peace studies. I did not continue it for some time.
Recently, I began again. The ‘dojo philosophy’ is a series of five statements. Seek perfection of character. Be faithful. Endeavor. Respect others. Refrain from violent behavior. For the intervening 13 years between stopping and starting again, I did not know how I could defensibly pursue the art of Karate while identifying as a pacifist, and someone who wanted to encourage nonviolent actions. Recently, after joining Nonviolence International New York, I was introduced to the idea of ‘negative peace’ by Johan Galtung, or that in some situations, the use of force is necessary to prevent immediate greater harm, whether it be the police tackling someone who is harming others, or America’s intervention in WWII. This squared with work I had done on nonviolent thinking as an undergrad, studying King and Gandhi. King, at times, put his followers in greater danger because he knew it would better serve the growth of his movement. While he wasn’t directly responsible for the violence done to them, he used violence strategically. Gandhi, in his younger days, participated in WWI as an ambulance driver, if I remember correctly. Negative peace is not a long term solution. For this, we have ‘positive peace’, or ‘peace building’ as the UN describes it, to prevent future violence, and make a better world for all.
In Karate, force is used as an absolute last resort. First and foremost, you always seek nonviolent resolution of conflicts. Really, you try your best to avoid all of these scenarios that could precipitate violence. What Karate, and most other martial arts, are about, is developing skills that help not just in stressful situations, but for life. You develop discipline, short term and long term goals, mindfulness, dedication to something greater than yourself, meditation, focus, and a sense of community and involvement, as well as the obvious physical benefits.
Perhaps I am too old to ever truly master Karate, as an art form. And perhaps I am too nonviolently inclined to ever use it, should the scenario ever come up. All I know is, it felt good to give it a fresh start. And I am hopeful I can keep with it, moving forward. Defensibly, philosophically, and defensively, physically.
References:
[1] “Japan Karate Association.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 09, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Karate_Association
[2] “Japan Karate Association.” JKA. Japan Karate Association, October 09, 2019. http://www.jka.or.jp/en/.
[3] “Johan Galtung.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 09, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_Galtung.
[4] “Peace and Conflict Studies.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 09, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_and_conflict_studies.