Creed of Isshinryu Karate

I come to you with only Karate, empty hands. I have no weapons, but should I be forced to defend myself, my honour or my principles, should it be a matter of life and death, of right or wrong, then here are my weapons, my empty hands.

The 8 Codes of Isshinryu karate

1. A person's heart is the same as Heaven and Earth.
2. The blood circulating is similar to the Moon and Sun.
3. The manner of drinking and spitting is either hard or soft.
4. A person's unbalance is the same as a weight.
5. The body should be able to change direction at any time.
6. The time to strike is when the opportunity presents itself.
7. The eye must see all sides.
8. The ear must listen in all directions.

The Codes Explained

1. A person's heart is the same as Heaven and Earth.

One can no more go against the prompting of one's true heart than the heaven and earth can disobey natural law. The power or energy of nature is much like man's power (the tremendous power of focused nature--like the waves in the karate crest-- is like the focused energy of a master karate-ka).

2. The blood circulating is similar to the Moon and Sun.

Human nature, given the right aspirations, is as reliable as the daily round of sun & moon. It (human nature) is something to be trusted. Sensei trusted his own nature, let go, dreamt, and found the soul of his art.

3. The manner of drinking and spitting is either hard or soft. (Or, both hard and soft are permitted under the law)

There is often more than a single way to accomplishing the same goal (or even the same move).

4. A person's unbalance is the same as a weight.

A divided self accomplishes little, because it is unbalanced, weighted down with unnecessary knowledge. A properly weighted self, a balanced, unified self, however directs single-minded energy to achieving a single-minded goal.

5. The body should be able to change direction at any time.

1) should be able to alter the position of one's body swiftly & naturally at any moment; this is essential for good fighting technique .

2) more broadly, one should adapt to circumstance, in life as well as kumite; only by being supremely flexible can one master Karate & life.

6. The time to strike is when the opportunity presents itself.

..in life, as in battle.

7. The eye must see all sides.

In a fight you have to be aware of your surroundings because an attack could come from somewhere you don't expect. In regular life this means that you should be able to evaluate all sides of a situation before taking action.

8. The ear must listen in all directions.

This one's similar to 7. In a fight, you don't need to only use your eyes. You might be able to hear an opponent approaching from behind. In regular life this might mean that you listen to all sides of a debate before making your decision.