Budo or not budo, that is the question.

There are many questions in life that a person may spend many an hour pondering upon, such as: Why am I here? What sort of job would best suit me? How does inflation really work? And why am I so interested in soap operas when surely my own life is much more interesting? To some degree all these questions are worth consideration and more but what true relevance and bearing on your life do they have if any? Which brings us to the question: ‘Budo or not Budo?’
To the average person the word ‘Budo’ has little if not no meaning. In fact for most people the word ‘Budo’ is not even in their vocabulary. Yet it is a huge word in the world of martial arts. For anyone practising or considering practising a martial art then it should very much be a word at the forefront of their mind when partaking in the journey of self discovery that only a true martial art can provide.

Let me explain: in the Japanese context the word Budō is a compound of the root bu (武:ぶ), meaning war or martial; and dō (道:どう), meaning path or way. Specifically, dō is derived from the Buddhist Sanskrit mārga (meaning the "path" to enlightenment). The term refers to the idea of formulating propositions, subjecting them to philosophical critique and then following a 'path' to realize them.
Dō signifies a "way of life". Dō in the Japanese context, is an experiential term, experiential in the sense that practice (the way of life) is the norm to verify the validity of the discipline cultivated through a given art form. The modern budō has no external enemy, only the internal enemy, that of one’s own ego.

Similarly to budō, bujutsu is a compound of the roots bu (武), and jutsu (術:じゅつ), meaning science, craft, or art. Thus, budō is most often translated as "the way of war", or "martial way", while bujutsu is translated as "science of war" or "martial craft." Many hundreds and even thousands of years ago Eastern countries (one of the most famous being Japan) developed fighting or ‘killing arts’ aka a ‘Budo’. These Budo’s were used to defend life and forge the future of a people by preparing them for war. In years gone past these Budo art forms have crossed the oceans and made its way to our Western shores in the forms of what we now know to be martial arts. With all translations something was lost. But why does this happen?

Well to be honest that really depends upon the intention of the person or people using it and to what aims. Primarily martial arts were created to hone fighting skills and kill enemies (it was a matter of survival). In the modern western world most people take up martial arts as hobbies as oppose to a way of life which is where the budo element comes in. A lot of martial arts have been watered down by modern society to make them more appealable to the mass consumer and safer in the eyes of the law. Which when you think about it kind of defeats the original idea. Nowadays we have a lot of sport orientated martial arts that are competition based. Competitions do help strengthen individuals’ abilities and hone their skills but like all sports and competitions they’re bound by rules. When it comes to a real self defence situation there are no rules or limitations on how far a person can or is willing to go. When it comes to a matter of life or death it is only down to the courts of the land to decide whether that defensive action was just and right in the given circumstances.

Right now with any luck your head will be swarming with even more questions about what a Budo is and why you should take it into consideration when taking up a true martial art. Any bona fide Sensei or Sifu should be able to elaborate on what one is and why it is relevant to your development as a martial artist.

Good luck with your quest.