The Seven Guidelines for the Budo-Man
Bringing Budo into Everyday Life
IBMA KYOKUSHIN KAI does not regard Budo merely as a means of acquiring martial techniques.
Through martial arts training, we seek to refine the mind and body, and to apply the techniques, spirit, judgment, and wisdom gained through practice to our lives, our relationships with others, and society.
We call a person who seeks to live in this way a Budo-Man.
A Budo-Man is not simply someone who studies martial arts techniques.
A Budo-Man is a person who seeks to unite mind, technique, and body, to develop oneself, and at the same time to contribute to the growth and well-being of others.
As practical guideposts for putting the Philosophy of IBMA KYOKUSHIN KAI, the principles of Shuren and Shudo, and Takushin Budo Philosophy into action in everyday life, we set forth the following Seven Guidelines for the Budo-Man.
1. Be Prepared to Refine Your Mind
Explanation
Our actions and their results are often deeply connected with the state of our mind.
If we seek a better way of life, we must first be prepared to reflect upon ourselves, correct ourselves, and continue refining our inner state.
To “refine the mind” does not simply mean suppressing emotions or developing mental toughness.
It also means facing one’s own inner self and cultivating the capacity to recognize what is good, judge accordingly, and put that understanding into action.
Within IBMA KYOKUSHIN KAI, we refer to this capacity as conscience, or Ryōchi-Ryōnō（良知良能）—the innate human ability to know and practice what is good.
A Budo-Man is one who quietly examines the inner self and continues striving to strengthen the workings of conscience.
2. Respect and Make Use of All Connections
Explanation
This world exists through countless relationships between people, events, circumstances, and things.
None of us lives entirely through our own power.
Family, fellow practitioners, teachers, students, friends, work, community, nature, and the many events we experience all influence and shape us.
A Budo-Man seeks to understand deeply the value of these bonds and relationships and cultivates the wisdom to make use of them in a harmonious way.
Connections should not merely be used for personal advantage.
They should be cultivated so that both oneself and others may benefit and grow.
Respecting and nurturing relationships is itself an important aspect of Budo practice.
3. Strive to Understand Both Your Own Position and That of Others
Explanation
When we view matters only from a single perspective, our judgments easily become biased.
Something that appears correct from our own position may have a completely different meaning when seen from another person’s point of view.
In addition, a judgment that seems appropriate at one moment may appear different with the passage of time.
Truly sound judgment arises through a broad perspective that considers multiple viewpoints and the longer course of events.
A Budo-Man seeks to understand not only one’s own position, but also the position of others.
The effort to understand both self and others leads to better judgment and better action.
4. Devote Yourself Not Only to Yourself, but Also to Others
Explanation
Actions concerned only with personal benefit often narrow our field of vision.
Developing ourselves through Budo is important.
However, if our concern ends only with our own improvement, the meaning of Budo as a path of human development remains incomplete.
When we adopt the perspective:
“I improve, and others improve as well,”
our judgments and actions become broader and more meaningful.
We seek the growth and happiness of others and use our abilities and experience in ways that contribute to them.
To develop oneself while also helping others develop.
This is an essential aspect of the way of the Budo-Man.
5. Continually Examine Your Thinking and Choose the Best Course
Explanation
Life is shaped by countless choices.
We are strongly influenced by our environment and circumstances.
At the same time, what we think, how we judge, and what we choose within those circumstances are also important factors in shaping our lives.
The small choices we make each day eventually lead to larger results.
For this reason, a Budo-Man does not simply assume that one’s own thinking is correct.
We continually examine our thoughts.
Is there another way of seeing this?
Is there a better approach?
Does this choice benefit only me, or can it also be good for others?
Does it remain sound when viewed from a long-term perspective?
By continuing to ask such questions, we seek to choose the better and more appropriate course.
6. Continue to Hold a Goal
Explanation
Every person, whether consciously or unconsciously, carries within the mind an image of the person he or she wishes to become.
Growth as a Budo-Man is the continuing accumulation of awareness and action directed toward that ideal self.
To improve technique.
To become stronger.
To grow as a human being.
To help others.
To contribute to society.
The form of one’s goal may differ from person to person.
What matters is not losing sight of the direction in which one wishes to move.
As long as we maintain a meaningful goal and continue walking toward it, human growth can continue regardless of age.
A Budo-Man continues to hold a goal, reviewing it when necessary, but does not stop moving forward.
7. Have the Courage to Act on Your Own Initiative
Explanation
Life is a continuous series of choices.
Ultimately, we must take responsibility for the choices we make.
If we become accustomed to leaving every decision to others, we may eventually find ourselves living according to the judgments of others rather than our own.
Listening to others is important.
We should seek advice from experienced people, understand different opinions, and be willing to revise our own judgments.
But in the end, we ourselves must decide and act.
A Budo-Man respects the opinions of others while continuing to think independently, make judgments, and act courageously according to conscience.
Within this attitude lies a strong and quiet determination:
to open one’s own path in life through one’s own judgment and responsibility.
What the Seven Guidelines Represent
These seven guidelines are not separate virtues standing independently from one another.
Together, they form a single approach to life.
Refine the mind.
Make good use of relationships.
Understand both self and others.
Devote yourself not only to yourself, but also to others.
Examine your thinking and choose what is better.
Continue to hold a goal.
And act with courage.
Through the accumulation of these practices, what we learn through Budo extends beyond the dojo and becomes part of the way we live.
What Is a Budo-Man?
A Budo-Man does not mean a perfect or completed human being.
Rather, it means a person who recognizes one’s own imperfections and continues learning in order to become better.
To refine not only technique, but also the mind.
To develop not only oneself, but also help others flourish.
To seek not only strength, but also to consider the purpose for which that strength should be used.
And to apply what is learned through Budo to the many situations of everyday life.
The Budo-Man envisioned by IBMA KYOKUSHIN KAI is a person who continues walking this path.
Conclusion
These seven guidelines are intended to serve as guideposts for the daily judgment and conduct of those who walk the path of the Budo-Man.
Refine the mind, make good use of relationships, see clearly, serve others, choose what is good, hold to one’s aspirations, and act with courage.
Through this practice, we believe that the Way of Budo opens toward the integration of character and technique.
Budo is not something that exists only inside the dojo.
Apply Budo to Life.
The Seven Guidelines for the Budo-Man are practical principles for putting that idea into action.
Editor: Akira Masuda
【Philosophy and Purpose of IBMA Kyokushin Kai】
【Philosophy, Guiding Principles, and Budo Philosophy of IBMA Kyokushin Kai】
