Daido Juku

What is Kudo?
by Kudo / Daido Juku Founder & Grand Master Azuma Takashi
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"Kudo" was born and developed from Kakutou Kara-te(-do) founded by Azuma Takashi in 1980.

The changing of the guard
There were several reasons for deciding on using the new name of "Kudo" (pronounced Koo-doe) 空道. The main reason being that our martial art had evolved beyond traditional or full-contact Karate (our original name sake). Another was the upcoming 1st Daido Juku World Tournament in 2001, an international event, in which athletes from various martial arts would compete using non-orthodox techniques and fight under rules which not only allowed kicking and punching (like Karate), but also allowed throws, ground techniques, and joint locks. This tournament and its rules allowed for various athletes from various martial arts backgrounds to compete, such as those with experience in Judo, Jujitsu, Sambo, Wrestling, Thai Boxing, Boxing, Wushu, etc.

One of the purposes of martial arts especially Budo (Judo, Karate-do, Kendo, Aikido and "Kudo") is to train the mind and body to become strong, so that one can utilize that strength for the improvement of our community. With education and the morals of our youth culture on the verge of decay, there must be some way to teach discipline and pass down strength of character to our youth. The "Do" in "Kudo" means "a way of life" and is the same "Do" used in the word "Budo" or "Martial Way". What better way to instill strength and character than the traditional philosophy of Budo. We live in a society that is quickly becoming the "me" generation and society of people who tend to give up easily. The discipline that Budo teaches allows for our youth to go through the tough times and events in their lives with dignity and strength. It is also in this traditional philosophy of Budo that allows us to eliminate the negative image of "mere violence" which martial arts has portrayed over the years.

The "Ku" in "Kudo" has its origins in Karate, which was martial arts spread from China to Okinawa and was originally named "Kara te" or "唐手", the "Kara" or "唐" had a different Kanji and meant dynasty. The "te" or "手" in "Karate" meant not only "hand", but also had the meaning of "way" or "system." So, originally "Karate" or "唐手" meant "martial arts from China(the dynasty)".

When the Japanese wanted to import "Karate" or "唐手" into mainland Japan, to avoid antipathy among conservative Japanese people, the name "Karate" or "唐手" needed to be changed. So they took a word "Karate" or "空手", a homonym of the original word "Karate" or "唐手". The symbol for "Kara" or "空", the first part of the word of "Karate 空手", has another sound, called "Ku" or "空".

The word "Ku" or "空" has various philosophic meanings and perfectly adapts itself into our new, ideal Budo of "Kudo" or "空道"

1.) Mujou kann (無常観) - A view of life as something transient and empty. In other words, anything that has a shape can be crushed or change shape from its original form. Therefore it is not good for us to be attached or obsessed by anything.

2.) "Sougo izonn (相互依存) - Interdependency. All things exist only because they depend on each other. Therefore one should not be self-righteous or self-conceited.

3.) Huhenn Hutou (不偏不党) - open mind, impartiality and liberalism. We can gain all things if we try to do so earnestly, but in order to be free, we should never pursue our day to day affairs beyond necessity, separate ourselves from prejudice and bias and this will lead to an open minded learning.

This perspective may be expressed as "Open-mindedness," but do not mistake this for "self-centered" or "egoistical." An open minded generosity and a humble heart within a robust belief.

That is to say, if we meet any kind of difficulties in life, we must face them positively and never evade them without fight in order to gain the ultimate, highest truth.