What's The Soundtrack to Your Karate?

Photo courtesy of "Remembering Okinawa .com"

A recent post - Karatedo a Way of Life - featured two short videos I find quite inspirational in their own way. Both clips depict Uechi-ryu, a major school of karate in Okinawa, and both short films make good use of contemporary music to one degree or another too. It got me thinking.....is there a soundtrack to traditional karate? A quick look on YouTube at the trillions of karate videos and you'll notice that many of them make use of loud rock music, while others opt for a seemingly more traditional approach by using classical Japanese music. Interestingly enough, not many, by comparison, use traditional Okinawan music. Strange, when you consider that karate is an Okinawan martial art.

Ok...so actions speak louder than words, but they only say what's on your mind. So, when I hear Rap, or Rock music, being used as the soundtrack to a karate video, I get a good idea of what's going on inside the head of the person who posted the video. "This is exciting....you need to be part of it....sign here and give me your money!"  If being "cool"  forms any part of your thinking when it comes to karate, you might want to think of something else to do. Likewise, if you can't tell the difference between training and being entertained, once again, it might be best if you looked elsewhere for something to keep you occupied.  

I'm not sure who said, "The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of the state of your mind", but I think he/she hit the nail on the head with their observation. If your karate is bathed in loud noise, and smart-ass lyrics, perhaps that's saying something more about you than you imagine.