Karate Do Sanka- The Essence of Karate
| Myo gunjorno umi no iro
Saekeki shima no tokonga Saegigaumishi mute no ken Kokoro o Kitau, mi o kitau Aa, Okinawa no, Karate-do! |
O, beautiful islands of sunlight
And the color of the sea The proud fighting spirit of the islanders And the empty handed sword of justice Training spirit and training body This is Okinawan Karate-do! |
| Aa sare osou tekki araba
Shurei no kuni ni shingiari Tetsu no kobushi wa kanzento Niku o kirasete, hone o utsu Kokoro o Mamaru, mi o mamaru Aa, Okinawa no, Karate-do! |
O, but if an enemy should happen to attack us,
And the method of courtesy prove to no avail, If he should cut our flesh with his iron weapon, Even then we will punch through to is bone. Courtesy and defense together This is Okinawan Karate-do! |
| Aa tensonshi kodai yori
Hewa no kane wa naritsutau Semeru ni arazu fusegu waza Gotai ga buziko kono karate Kokoro o tadasu, mi o tadasu Aa Okinawa no, Karate-do! |
O, ever since the mythical ancestry of Japan
The bell of peace has been ringing in Okinawa. The way of courtesy and the five bodily Weapons of karate together To make a straight character and good etiquette This is Okinawan Karate-do! |
This song, Karate-do Sanka, attempts to epitomize some of the most important aspects of karate. The most important lines of the three verses are: Kokoro o kitau, mi o kitau”; “Kokoro o mamaru, mi o mamaru”; and “Kokoro o tadasu, mi o tadasu”. Kokoro means spirit, heart, mind, or feeling. Mi is the body. Since the word Kitau means training or practice, the first line may be translated as “Training spirit and body”, i.e.. making not only the body strong through the many repetitions of years of continuous practice, but also strengthening the spirit to be able to tackle the most difficult tasks, both physical, mental, and also spiritual.
The second line combines with the word for defense, mamaru. Hence the total meaning is defense with body or the blocking and attacking method of the Karate-jutsu, and more importantly the ability to avoid fighting even when it means walking away from the insult or some other difficult situation. In other words, defense with the spirit, or in rough approximation, courtesy.
The third line builds us up to the most important and difficult of the three concepts, Character and Etiquette. Tadasu means to make straight and so the literal translation of this is “Make a straight spirit and a straight body”. In other words, to correct and perfect the very way in which each individual thinks and acts on a moral basis, as determined by his society and religion.
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