Karate : A life changing decision 


Before starting my journey with karate, I would love to share a basic idea about what is karate and its history. 

"Karate is not about winning over others. It is about winning over one’s self."                                           -Grandmaster Gichin Funakoshi 


What is karate?

Karate is a Japanese martial art that motivates students for their overall growth in skills and physical and mental stability.

There are four different styles of karate. They are Wado-Ryu, Goju-Ryu, Shitoryu and Shotokan. Shotokan is the Hardest and the Modern style of Martial Art, Karate. 

                                                    


                                                 History of Shotokan Karate 

Gichin Funakoshi is the founder of Shotokan Karate Style. He developed this style in 1928 in Okinawa, Japan. In Japanese, Shoto means "Pine Waves" the movement of pine needles when the wind blows through them and Kan means "House" or "Hall" . This name was established by Funakoshi's students who created a sign reading Shotokan and placed it above the entrance of the hall where Funakoshi taught.


                                                       Grandmaster Gichin Funakoshi 


                                                    History of Shotokan In Bangladesh 

Grandmaster Al-Hajj Abdus Sobhan, is the Father of Martial Art in Bangladesh. With the motto "Service to humanity means service to God", Grandmaster  established Sobhan Martial Art Training center back in 1978, Dhaka. Grandmaster Abdus Sobhan is a legend in the field of martial arts in Bangladesh. He was the master of Shotokan Karate style and Judo.  He was awarded his 8th Dan Black belt in Karate from West Indies and 4th Dan Black belt in Judo from Germany. 

There are 300 grandmasters till now in worldwide and he is the only Grandmaster in first 50 in this Martial Art field from Bangladesh. 

https://www.internationalgrandmasterscouncil.com/


                                                            Grandmaster Al-Hajj Abdus Sobhan

"Karate is a lifetime Study"                                                                                                                            - Grandmaster Kenwa Mubani 

Like any other general subject, karate has no end of learning. There are 9 stages a student have to pass before achieving Black Belt which is known as 1st Dan of Black belt. And the main learning starts after the Black Belt. There are 10 Dans that a black Belt student can achieve after the 1st Dan. 

Colors and meaning of The Belts:

White Belt: It indicates the birth of a new life. A student who is new in this field is indicated here a as new life. That new life has to keep in mind that he needs to face some challenges. 

Yellow Belt: It indicates the first ray of the sunlight. It means that the new life is not a little child anymore, he is already in a phase where he can accept more possible techniques and methods.

Orange Belt: It symbolizes that the ray is spreading on the earth. That means the new life has entered into another phase where he is expanding his knowledge about this field.

Green Belt: It depicts the penetration of stems and roots of a plant to get nourishment. In turns, this means the student is developing new skills and learning new techniques to master the art. 

Blue Belt: The plant is growing up towards the blue sky. That means the student is going deeper to understand each move in martial art and differentiating to gain more knowledge.

Purple Belt: It indicates the student is very serious about acquiring new belts that is coming next

Red Belt: It signifies the depth of the knowledge that a student possesses and the ability to give those a successful direction.

(According to the recent rules, This belt is now only for players so it is not commonly used)

Brown Belt: A crop is fully grown and ready for harvesting when it is brown. Similarly in Karate, it indicates that the student has gained adequate knowledge about the skills and now is ready to combat.

(A student have to pass 3 stages before going into black belt and they are Brown 1st kyu, Brown 2nd Kyu, Brown 3rd Kyu) 

Black Belt: Every glowing object has a dark shadow behind it and that is what this color is all about. This belt shows that the person wearing it has mastered all the skills and possesses a great ability within them to enlighten others with their knowledge. 

This is the overall and basic idea about Shotokan Karate style. Now, Let me share my journey with karate. 

Karate was never my dream or I have never thought that it would be a part of my life. I was a girl who used to learn dance and other things related to cultural background. It was never my plan to become a player or do any sports. Well, we can never tell what is written in our fate. This life changing sport Karate was introduced to me by my mother. Actually, I wanted to complete my higher education in Europe and being a brown parent it was really hard for them to let me go alone. Another thing is, learning self defense is really necessary for a person and specially for a girl. Being a girl, It is  important for me to know how to save myself from every situation. So my parents wanted me to learn self defense before moving out. And that's how my Karate life had started. Now, It is already been 3 years of learning karate. 



Karate is a life changing decision for me. I have not only learnt about self defense but also I have learnt a lot about real life. It keeps me physically and mentally fit. I was low at confidence, balance, concentration, managing stress and many other things. 

But now I can strongly say that I have changed. I am not the coward and weak Nourin anymore that I used to be. Because I believe "Fear has two meanings: to forget everything and run, or to face everything and rise. And this choice is yours", My Sensei (MD. Ibrahim Hassan) 

I can manage my work, my regular life and my studies at a time. Doing karate it makes me feel like I have got energy to live my life. Self defense is not only related to wining over others but also related to wining over our own mind. If you can break your own barrier then you are truly a fighter. And that is why Grandmaster Gichin Funakoshi said, 

"Karate is not only winning over others. It is about winning over one's self." 

Now, I am in Brown 1st kyu, The last level before achieving Black Belt. It has become a dream to be a player and work in this field and for this I am really greatful to my institution Sobhan Karate Academy and my sensei MD. Ibrahim Hassan. I do not know if I can finish the Dans but I really want to continue this till my last breath. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bone-forming Minerals

Bone formation is a complex process that requires various nutrients, including minerals. Bones play an essential role in the human body, providing structural support, protecting organs, and storing minerals. To maintain healthy bones, it is important to have an adequate intake of minerals that contribute to formation of bones. Calcium is one of the most important minerals for bone formation. Calcium is the primary mineral in bones, accounting for around 99% of the body's total calcium. Calcium is vital for the proper functioning of muscles, nerves, and enzymes. The body relies on calcium to build and maintain strong bones throughout life. The recommended daily intake of calcium for adults is 1,000-1,200 mg per day, depending on age and gender. Phosphorus is another critical mineral for bone formation. Phosphorus works closely with calcium to build and maintain healthy bones. About 85% of the body's phosphorus is found in bones, where it helps to form the mineral matrix that giv...
Read more

FEMINISM : What We Need To Know (Sanjida Islam-22346064)

Image
The concept of "Feminism" is not so old although it is known that a constant need for gender equality has always been present in the society. Most of the countries and the societies still live under patriarchal system that was probably created approximately around 12,000 years ago where the societal powers were shifted to the physically stronger males. The main reason behind it was agriculture and to maintain the family lineage.  This shift was merely done to form discipline but it was eventually converted into male dominant society. The male dominant society made the females subordinate to males and females were considered to procreate the heirs of the family while being deprived from the economical and political rights. As the society is becoming civilised and we use our mental strength more than anything also the family lineage could come from both mother and father so the male dominance must be demolished. The ideology and concept of feminism has always worked to take fem...
Read more

Aokigahara - A Mysterious Forest (22346042_Jannatul Ferdaus Tonima)

Image
  There are some mysterious places on earth that will make you feel like you’re living under curse because those places that seem so terrifying . Aokigahara is one of those places. It is a forest which lies under the shadow of Mount Fuji in Japan . This mysterious forest is known as ‘Suicide Forest’ . This place is world’s second most popular suicide location . It is a forest which is covered in death. Aokigahara , a 14 square mile area which is located on the northwestern flank of Mount Fuji on the island of Honshu in Japan . It’s locally known as ‘ Jukai ’ (Sea of trees) because the density of trees are very high here . Aokigahara's western edge serves as a popular tourist and school trip site since there are multiple caves there that freeze over in the winter . The most popular cave among the tourists are the Ice Cave and the Wind Cave . All this may seem very majestic; however, looks can be deceiving . This place is mainly known as the leading suicide site .     ...
Read more