Rosewicket Wicca Coven

Merry Meet all,

So i was wonder,ok so i learn/teach kempo karate im almost a black belt,so yeh anyway getting off topic a lil,emm the rede is pretty much an ye harm none do what you will,but...we spar (fight) in karate and i was wondering do you guys think im going against the rede? i mean i learn karate for self defence not too actually go around harming people,and i also help young children to keep themselves safe from bullies,i.e to prevent them from coming to harm,the first lesson we teach the kids is to run first istead of fighting only do it if needed, in my personal opinion i dont think im going against the rede just wondering what you guys think

Blessings -Moon

Karate is karate, magic is magic, a butterknife is a butterknife.

They are all tools, none good or bad. It's all what you know about them and how you use them.

karate, magic, and butterknives are all wonderful things.

Unless you beat someone, curse them, and then stab them in the face with a butterknife.

Karate is, essentially, a form of art. It encourages balance and is very ethical (or at least in the US, you get kicked out of karate classes if you use it for anything other then self defense or teaching others). It's all about how you use it, and if you can be responsible.

Which you are. So no worries from me.

There is a lot of culture in martail arts that encourages balance and good ethics, I think, if anything, it prevents harm and promotes understanding. I think we need more of it.

lol chi i love the line "Unless you beat someone, curse them, and then stab them in the face with a butterknife." was laughing for quite a while lol

I agree with Chi. In addition, Karate teaches self disipline, which, in my mind makes me believe if you practice self disipline in Karate you can use it in all other aspects of your life, like....harm none. Thus confirming that you are not doing anything wrong. I personally believe that we all have the right to "protect" ourselves. When you use Karate in a class setting to teach others that same self disipline, then you are doing something positive for yourself and others. Even if the act is "fighting" as you called it. To me it is just the physical aspect of the whole picture of Karate. Karate is more than just the physical aspect. Keep learning and teaching as long as you keep doing so for positive reasons.

In addition, I believe you are also creating a "my body is my temple" thing in your life. Keeping fit and healthy is another good aspect of Karate - not taking your "vessel" for granted and taking care of it.

Think about it, Karate is a form of self defence and so 'lest in thy self defence it be' will allow it. Just don't use it for ataacking random people in the street and you will be fine.

MoonAlphena, I know this thread is old but I wanted to bring it back up again, as it was pushed to the front of my mind; maybe with you're newly aquired black belt, you would have more to add (congrats again).

I was thinking, admittedly because my family and I were watching the karate kid last night, about lots of the Japanese practices I knew, or knew of. Karate, Aikido, Sadou, Shodo or Sumi-e, Kendou, ect. These are all martial arts, tea cerimonies, caligraphy and painting, or sword fighting. These practices are always taught as an art form, a spiritual discipline. When one does Japanese caligraphy, you try to grasp only the meaning of the letter and the feeling of the strokes. In painting, grinding and mixing the ink is a form of meditation.

What I'm getting at is, all these arts, and many others that come from all over the world, promote balance and spiritual peace. You have to be a really ethical person to use Karate or other such things to their ful potential, and you have a duty to the art to use it right. It's not about who is stronger, it's about feeling a technique with your entire being.

I know that most Wiccans would say your Karate isn't against the Rede because it's "in defense of thyself", as the Rede says, but I think to leave it at that is ignorant of both the Rede and martial arts. I think that because karate teaches balance, self discipline, focus, compassion, and what have you, it makes you a better witch. You've promised to use Karate only for educational and self defense purposes - much like a Wiccan should only use magic to make the world a better place; or the way Shammans only use ritual and journeying to keep the spiritual community balanced.

That said, if I ruled the world, everyone, especially witches, would practice some sort of traditional art for a certain amount of time. Flower arranging, martial arts, caligraphy, traditional visual art forms, a classical instrument, ect., and they would be taught it as though it were a spiritual practice, and a tool for achieving balance.

i think it is ok. i'm my opimiom it might even bring yoiu closer to the Divine really. again i think that you are ok i mean you aren't hurting others and it seems like you really use it as more of a spiritual thing. i know i would.

As ive dabbled with kick boxing/Thai boxing and it brought my anger and temper to a point of control, i now feel i do not need to use violence unless it is going to save me from harm, i also found my body felt invigorated and at peace with every movement i made  (like liquid) so fluent unlike i feel now (stiff, moving out of sync and unhealthy) 

to get to my point i belive you are working in harmony with the Rede and definately using your body to its potential as a temple, teaching others to defend is very caring of you and makes me feel that you are giving others a chance to feel the fluent movement to be at one with themselves. forgive me for rabbiting on but  honestly i can not express how i truly feel about learning any form of martial arts, it is attuning your mind with your body with moves and thought. And rules to only defend yourself (never use it for personal gain) makes calmness everything, and once you are calm like I am permanently you can open your mind to everything and also possibly learn faster. CHI is right everyone should learn an art that art makes whoever learns it a better person for it, wether you learn it to pass it on to others or to enlighten your self.

bit of an essay sorry. 

well said though Natalie