空手は生涯の研究です- Karate wa shōgai no kenkyūdesu (Karate is a lifelong study) –
Mabuni Kenwa (1889-1952)
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Relatively speaking, there is still relatively few who choose to dedicate their lives to studying martial arts and self-defense. In terms of sports, many choose more mainstream past times such as football, basketball, baseball, or soccer (in the US), as apposed to the martial arts. So what makes some people choose to study the martial arts?
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Many people fall into the martial arts by accident, seeing an advertisement for a class regardless of style in a local hall, sports center or store-front school, deciding to either give it a try for themselves, or being made to go by their parents.
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I believe that the traits of martial artists such as patience, courage and humility are natural and made better through the right instructors.
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Martial arts are a lifelong pursuit and one that is never perfected, and for many this is a difficult thing to comprehend. To play sports certainly takes skill and athleticism, yet a lifelong pursuit they are not.
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Unfortunately many martial artists stop when they reach black belt, thinking that the goal has been reached, the illustrious black belt has been attained, yet for those committed to the martial arts, this is simply one step along a very long path, one that you are unlikely to reach the end of.
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The martial arts are unique in the fact that they are a lifelong pursuit that you can constantly improve upon.
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“Through my years of training, the only thing I’ve learned is that I don’t know everything.” – Doug Perry 10th dan Shorin Ryu
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Numerous high degree black belts I have spoken to over the years, still say how they are learning, and that every lesson they teach shows them something new. They admit they will never achieve perfection in the martial arts. For some this makes the martial arts difficult to study. To others however, we see this as a challenge and wish to learn as much as we can, from everyone we can, in order to be the best that WE can be, even though we know perfection will never be achieved.
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“I’m either doing karate. About to do karate. Or thinking about doing karate.” – Adam Carter 7th dan Ryukyu Karate Jutsu – Shuri Karate Dojo 
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 Photo Credit: Doug and Jason Perry – quote Hendersonville Times-News.
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