Building up Godly individuals through an encouraging atmosphere of Biblical and karate-based instruction

 

We believe that as Christians, our highest priority is to glorify God in all things. We use the techniques of karate and self-defense as tools to instill godly values and bring forth the fruits of the Spirit in the participants, their parents, and the leadership of the class.  The general atmosphere of our class is very supportive and encouraging.  While we do maintain a level of discipline in the class, we do so in a Biblical manner, assuring each other of our identity in Christ. Glorifying God and becoming more like Christ are the motivations for our discipline. All self-defense is taught with a special emphasis on self-control, so that students know when it is appropriate to use and when it is not.  Therefore, we discourage anger and aggression as part of our technique, as they do not conform to our goal of being more like Christ.  We want to commit ourselves to glorifying Him in every action we choose to make. 

At the beginning of each class, all participants bow in and say the four tenants of the class. These are our main objectives for reaching our vision:

 

Courtesy – Looking to other people’s interests before your own

This forms the basis for our leadership in the class.  The higher ranks are in leadership positions as servant leaders, not as authorities to be revered above anyone else. The leadership keeps in mind that being in a position of authority is a great opportunity to show how Christ led the Church, and how to serve others. These role models for the younger students understand the responsibility of being in authority, and show how Christians should always look out for others’ interest above their own.  The leadership give of themselves in service to the class to show how Christ gave Himself in service for the Church.

 

Integrity – Being above reproach

The leadership also shows integrity in all of their actions and lifestyles. Their decisions are not made based on what others might think of them, but on what will please God.  This means doing what is right when no one is looking, and maintaining discipline both in and outside the class. As each participant grows in his or her relationship with Christ, integrity will follow as a testimony that a Christian can share the same priorities and passions that Christ had.

Perseverance – Having faith that we are who God says we are

We can be easily discouraged when we fail. But, if we are assured of our identity in Christ, and we know how much He loves us and cares for us, we will not give up. Keeping in mind that our value is based not on our performance, but on how much we are loved, we encourage all participants to learn new techniques and test for the next highest rank whenever possible, knowing that their identity is not in whether they pass or fail.  We hold high standards of performance in technique in order to build up the participants.  We do so because we believe that a participant who is encouraged and assured that they are capable of achieving high standards will persevere until they do. Therefore, we challenge each individual in order to build discipline and perseverance.

 

Self-Control – Having self-discipline and being led by the Spirit

Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. We believe this control to be based on the power of the Spirit over the power of the flesh in a person who has submitted their heart to Christ.  While self-control extends to all decisions and actions in our lives, the leaders of the class take special care to show self-control in our self-defense techniques.  We do this to show that anger and aggression are not appropriate self-defense techniques. We instruct each participant to gauge how much of a threat is posed to them, and how best to deal with that threat in order to live like Christ.  We never encourage anyone to use their techniques to exact revenge or to hit someone back out of pride and ego.  All participants will learn self-control as a basic tenant underlying the entire style of karate.

 

We believe that the Bible is God-inspired and is our only standard for faith and practice. There is only one God and He exists as three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Although mankind is born with a sinful nature, we teach that, even while we were hostile to God, Jesus took our punishment on himself and provided a pardon for all who believe and trust in Him. This pardon is a gift from God and cannot be earned or merited by any means. It is only by sincerely and whole-heartedly turning to Christ that we are accepted by God and forgiven for our sins.  Other than the authority of the Bible, we teach obedience to civil government at all times except in matters that directly oppose commonly understood scripture: in which case the higher authority of scripture would prevail.

 

1.    In training our bodies, we a forced to use self discipline or self control which are virtues that can be used in other areas of life.

2.    Karate is a form of recreation that can be a catalyst for Christian bonding and fellowship.

3.    It teaches the value of healthy competition and good sportsmanship (being honorable)

4.    It helps to develop self esteem while making it very clear to each of us that we have many limitations and that God did not make us to fight (the human body doesn’t take much abuse before being hurt)

5.    We teach that God made our hands to love and our feet to help spread the gospel not to hurt each other

6.    We also teach that we are all made in God’s image and that a human life is sacred.

7.    We teach that 95% of all fights can be avoided or peacefully settled

8.    The only time that karate or any form of self defense should be used is defending ourselves or others from criminal actions and only as the last resort.

9.    We believe that we should use our skill to glorify and serve the Lord, not draw attention to ourselves.

* Philippians 3:17 -  And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to the Father through Him.

*I Timothy 4:8 -  For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.