2. Kata ya kumite wo enji suru baai sono zengo ha kanarazu rei ni hajimari
rei ni owaru koto.
3. Renshu no sai ha kiryoku wo jujitsu shi zenryoku wo sosoge ki no nuketa
renshu ha kaette jotatsu no samatage to naru.
4. Shihan sempai ha mataha gaibu sho sempai no oshie ha yoku miyoku kiite
hagemineru koto ni ari wasurete ha naranai.
5. Miru kiku izuremo shinpo no ookina kagi de ari jotatsu ni shitagatte sono
aji ga waite kuru mono de aru.
6. Renshu ha tatoe sukoshi zutsu demo jizoku seyo chudan suro koto ha
shimpo chudan moshiku ha taiho no moto to naru.
7. Waza no honsuji wo manabe mizukara no kokoro no jotai wo mimammotte
sono shimpo no kojo wo kufu seyo. Waza to kokoro to ha omote to ura
to no gotoshi.
8. Boin boshoku wo tsutsushime boin boshoku ha renshu no koka wo gensai
suru mono to kokoroe yo.
9. Tsune ni kojo no nen wo ushinawazu iyashikumo manzuru nakare
manshin ha karate shugyo chu ni kakari yasuki taibyo de aru.
10. Kyokugen nai no ha karate no shugyo de aru. Tsutomete yamazumba
nandoki shika do ni hairan.
Shorinryu Matsumura Seito Karatedo Hombu
2. Without fail, bow to begin and bow to end when performing kata and kumite.
3. When practicing, rouse your energy and pour in all of your strength. Practice
devoid of energy is all the more an obstacle to progress.
4. Watch and listen well to the teachings of yours instructor, your seniors and your
seniors in the various other schools. Work hard and refine yourself, never forget
(their Teachings).
5. Looking and listening are both large keys to progress. As one improves, their
importance becomes more apparent.
6. Continue practice, even if a little at a time. Interruptions become an interruption
or a step backward in progress.
7. Learn the essence of your technique, watch over the state of your heart and plan
out their development. "Technique" and "heart" are as "omote" and "ura" (two
faces of the same entity).
8. Beware of overdrinking and overeating. It is a rule that overdrinking and
overeating lessen the effects of practice.
9. Never lose the thought of improvement, never slacken (your effort). Self-conceit
is a serious illness easily contracted during karate practice.
10. Limitless is karate training. Work ceaselessly, and you will be surely become a Master
Shorinryu Matsumura Seito Karatedo Hombu
a little murky), but I have obsessed with the passage enough for now to give a solid
rendering. Soken Sensei wrote as a traditionalist of his generation would, the exprssions are somtimes deep in innuendo and difficult to give a precise, direct English
reading. In the parts where I had to supplement with English phrases not translatable directly into English, I have used the equivalent I thought best conveyed the contextual nuance.
The verb "jujitsu" in the third guideline presented some difficulty in finding an English equivalent. Literally, the guideline exhorts students to "fill the ki power" before pouring in all of their strength. Because the literal expression, and indeed the concept of life force, is vulnerable to comically ethereal interpretation by English speakers, I borrowed from the well-know Tai Chi expression "rouse your Chi" to make an effective substitue. I believe the image of "rousing one's energy" appropriately (and more safely) conveys the notion of "filling the ki power."
You might find it interesting to compare my transltion of Soken's "Rulse for Karate Practice" with the one in the last paragraph of Black's May 1967 "White Swan" article. Because the author of that article buggered the meaning of the basic word "Hakutsuru," I was surprised at how well he did with the "Rules." Generally, he did a good job, though he misses, a number of nuances and, as a result, some key insights into what Soken wrote (e.g, the seventh guideline's explanation that the importance of watching and listening become more apparent as one advances).
Finally, the "White Swan" article's concluding quote about diligent students' "one day in the future (entering) the Temple (of Shaolin)" has taken on a life of its own among many American Matsumura Seito practitioners. While the quote gave a nicely mystical sense of finality to the article, I believe the allusion to the Shaolin Temple is inappropriate. The concluding phrases uses the expression "do ni hairu," which literally means "enter the temple." Colloquially, it means "becoming expert," "mastering," or "becoming at home" with something (c.f., kenkyusha's or any other large Japanese-English dictionary). While not a phrase heard daily, it is used by people who do not practice martial arts and who have never heard of Shaolin. It is possible, thought I doubt it, that Soken Sensei intended the double meaning. Without evidence to that effect, therefore, I decided to avoid that translator's embellishment and opted for "becoming a master." Admittedly, that phrase also has a special meaning in English, but I believe that even that special meaning is true to the tone of Soken's work. In invite other linquists to refine my translation and have included a Romanji reading of the "Rules" for that purpose.
Completed 1999, Thank You
