Listening as a custom

May blog karate 2025 Listening as a Japanese custom Listening is an art.

As Westerners, we are taught we should give our opinion regardless of what is being discussed. There might be a time to do this, but in traditional Eastern arts (Karate, and Yoga) the idea is to listen, process, and spend time with the concept. This blog will discuss the importance of listening in karate.

As many know, my journey in martial arts started over 20 years ago. From the start, I wanted to be better than the day before. When my Sensei was teaching or talking, I listened to what he had to say. I was not searching for a response. It was not until I became a brown belt that I would have full conversations about karate concepts. That was four years into my training. Four years of listening. This grounded me in the concepts of listening and respecting those who are teaching. These are fundamental qualities that are the cornerstones of Total 360 karate.

There may have been many things I knew more about than my Sensei in fitness, police tactics, or motivation, but never dared a word. I knew one day, it would be my opportunity to share my concepts with others. Listening depends on a key ingredient of focus. When you are not paying attention to what is being said or trying to, "what if the concept" you are not listening. There are a million ways to throw a punch, but listen to the concepts being discussed, apply them, and take them into practice. A great karate teacher will walk you to the door, help you open the door, and allow you to see what is beyond. This can only be done by trusting the experiences, wisdom, and patience of those who have come before us.

Go to any Japanese dojo for karate, and you will notice once the class starts, there is no talking, instead listening, exercising, and giving 100%. Students revere the Sensei and rarely walk up to talk to them. Students use Senior students to ask questions. There are no explanations for katas and what they are. There is only doing, and your job is to pay attention when the Sensei speaks so you can hope to figure out what all the moves are.

The ability to listen transcends karate. Listening when you learn it is a skill that can help you in any job, with your family, and with relationships. Change the modernized thoughts of giving my opinion as fast as I can, to let me think about that for a while.

A great example of thinking about something for a while was when I was learning to kick. I understood the concept of knee point at the opponent, but why should I keep my hands up when I can generate more power with proper add-on arm technique? I never asked my Sensei about this, but one day, when I was sparring with a senior black belt, I went to kick, and because my hands were down, I got hit. For the next five minutes, I kept getting hit every time I tried to kick and quickly realized a person paying attention, would punch or strike with a front hand before you kick gets there, it is physics.

Try listening by being attentive, involved, and motivated, all while not saying anything.