The Concept of Budo-jin
Walking Your Own Path While Opening the Future of Budo Together
IBMA proposes the concept of “Budo-jin”
as one way of considering how people involved in Budo and combat sports should live and act.
A Budo-jin is not simply someone who is strong in karate,
someone who has trained for many years,
or someone who belongs to a particular style or competition system.
Nor is the term intended to replace titles such as
“Budoka,” “martial artist,” or “fighter.”
A Budo-jin is a person who deeply pursues his or her own path,
while recognizing people of different styles, sports, cultures, and ideas,
and who seeks to bring the value of Budo and combat sports into society
without losing human dignity or ethical responsibility.
Budo-jin Does Not Deny Budoka or Fighters
IBMA does not reject the traditional ideas of the Budoka,
martial artist, or fighter.
Every style, sport, and culture has its own history,
values, and technical system.
Deeply pursuing one’s own discipline is important.
However, when one’s own style or competition becomes
the only standard by which others are judged,
differences can easily turn into conflict.
The concept of Budo-jin seeks to create a broader framework
in which people can value their own path
while also recognizing paths that are different from their own.
We Do Not All Need to Move in the Same Direction
The idea of Budo-jin does not require everyone
to adopt the same philosophy or follow the same course.
People have different goals.
- Some seek competitive excellence.
- Some value health and lifelong practice.
- Some study self-defense.
- Some seek to develop others as instructors.
- Some research the history and philosophy of Budo.
The direction each person chooses is ultimately his or her own.
Budo-jin as a “North Star”
IBMA does not view Budo-jin as a standard
that forces everyone to move in the same direction.
Its role is more like that of the
North Star.
The North Star does not command us to travel north.
It helps us understand where we are
so that we do not lose the direction we have chosen for ourselves.
The shared values represented by Budo-jin serve a similar purpose.
Even when people differ in competition, style, culture,
nationality, or philosophy,
these values provide a point of reference
for asking whether one’s conduct has lost something essential to human dignity.
What Are the Shared Values?
The shared values that IBMA considers important
are not specific techniques or competition rules.
When using any means to reach a goal we have chosen,
we should not lose our humanity in the process.
Seeking strength, pursuing victory, and refining technique
are not themselves problems.
What matters is whether, in the process,
we harm the dignity of others
and ultimately lose our own dignity as well.
To control oneself, respect others,
and seek ways for both self and others to live and grow.
IBMA regards this attitude as one of the fundamental values of Budo-jin.
Solidarity Begins by Recognizing Differences
The world of Budo and combat sports contains
many styles, sports, organizations, and cultures.
Their techniques, rules, and ways of thinking are not the same.
A Budo-jin does not seek to erase those differences.
Instead, a Budo-jin recognizes the existence of people
who are different from oneself,
learns from those differences,
and seeks a deeper understanding of one’s own discipline.
Rather than denying differences,
we seek common values while allowing those differences to remain.
IBMA believes that this is where solidarity
across styles and competitive systems can begin.
Thinking Beyond Victory and Defeat
Competition produces winners and losers.
Striving for victory is one of the important values of competition.
However, when victory and defeat become the final measure of value,
the educational and social potential of Budo and combat sports
can become difficult to see.
A Budo-jin does not reject competition.
Instead, a Budo-jin values
what can be learned beyond victory and defeat.
When we win, we continue to control ourselves.
When we lose, we are still able to recognize and respect our opponent.
Through competition, we move toward deeper understanding and mutual respect.
This too is part of the way of the Budo-jin.
Bringing Budo into Society
IBMA does not believe that Budo should remain
only inside the dojo or competition arena.
What we learn through Budo can be applied to daily life,
education, human relationships, and society.
Strength should not be used to dominate others,
but to discipline oneself,
support others,
and contribute to society.
A Budo-jin is also someone who seeks to put this possibility into practice.
IBMA and the Concept of Budo-jin
IBMA is not an organization created only to promote
a particular style or competitive system.
Through Budo and combat sports,
we seek to create opportunities for people to meet,
understand one another,
and develop mutual respect.
For this reason, IBMA places importance on the values of
Communication, Understanding, and Respect.
The concept of Budo-jin expresses these values
in terms of how a person lives and acts.
Walking Your Own Path, While Opening the Future Together
A Budo-jin does not mean a perfectly completed human being.
We all hesitate, make mistakes,
and sometimes come into conflict with others.
What matters is that each time,
we recognize where we stand
and choose our direction again for ourselves.
Value your own path.
Recognize the paths of others.
Move forward without losing what is essential to our humanity.
When people with that attitude connect
across styles, sports, cultures, and national borders,
new possibilities for Budo can emerge.
This is the concept of “Budo-jin” proposed by IBMA.
