My Karate journey began when I was between 10-12 years of age. Family life had taught me to be helpful and kind to others and without realizing it at the the time, karate helped to reinforce those ideals. It was hidden in class when Shihan Sensei Goral would say "There are no boy or girl karate gi's. They are just karate gi's" and "Everyone who trains is held to the same standards."
I didn't notice this lesson until I learned there are those in the world that seek division and believe roads to understanding one another should remain unpaved. It was then I looked at my fellow practitioners and began to really see who I was training with. It was like a vast spectrum of races, cultures, gender, religion and country all unified under the pursuit of perfection. While each student is at a different rank on their journey of achieving black belt we all have at least one belt in common, the white belt. It reminds us of our progress at the same time we empathize with new students that share the same challenges we faced. The colored belts can be viewed as a reflection of our worlds diversity. The white belt remains at our core, a reflection that we are all human.
At Kaze-Kai there is never any discrimination. All that is required from you is the desire to learn. We believe the ability to defend yourself and those you care about is a fundamental human right, and the desire for self improvement and preservation is a natural evolutionary trait we all share.
By coming together with these shared ideals we're able to learn from one another and bring meaning to the true golden rule; to treat others the way THEY want to be treated. In doing so we are encouraged to learn about our differences to better understand other perspectives aside from our own.
That is the unspoken lesson of Karate, equality.
