20 Precepts of Karate-Do

20 Precepts of Karate-Do by Master Gichin Funakoshi:

 1. Never forget: Karate begins with rei and ends with rei (rei = courtesy, respect)

 2. There is no first attack in Karate

 3. Karate supports righteousness

 4. Understand yourself, then understand others

 5. The art of developing the mind is more important than the art of applying technique

 6. The mind needs to be freed

 7. Trouble is born of negligence

 8. Do not think Karate belongs only in the doojoo (doojoo = place for practising karate)

 9. The training of Karate requires a lifetime

 10. Transform everything into Karate; therein lies its exquisiteness

 11. Genuine Karate is like hot water, it cools down if you do not keep on heating it

 12. Do not have an idea of winning, but the idea of not losing is necessary

 13. Transform yourself according to the opponent

 14. The outcome of the fight depends on the manoeuver

 15. Imagine one's arms and legs as swords

 16. Once you leave the shelter of home, there are a million enemies

 17. Postures are for the beginner later they are natural positions

 18. Do the kata correctly, the real fight is a different matter

 19. Do no forget the control of the dynamics [of power], the elasticity [of the body]

and the speed [of the technique]

 20. Always be good at the application of everything that you have learned