#budotraining #studentinsights #wellbeing #thoughtleadership #opinion #teachingbudo

Is it better to be a warrior who can break bones with a single strike but falters when it comes to understanding the world around them, or a scholar who is philosophically and culturally adept, but powerless to defend themself? 

The answer is, of course, ‘Option C’.   

None of the above.   

In this note, I’m going to explain why embracing both sides of this particular coin is one of the keys to true ‘mastery’ and (if you are so inclined) realising a life of resilience, power, and wisdom through the vehicle of the martial arts.  Naturally, whether you want to call it mastery, self-actualisation, being ‘supernormal’ - as we like to say here at Budo etc - or simply think of it in terms of living life as a competent human being, is entirely up to you.     

Whatever the nuance of your personal path, at some point it will become necessary to consider how you set about achieving your appropriate equilibrium between the martial, the academic, and the cultural.  Prioritising one element over another eventually, inevitably, will leave you incomplete - strong but unenlightened, or wise but vulnerable.   

Understanding, and using, the concept of Bunbu Ryōdō (文武両道) can be extremely helpful in setting, and then regulating, this balance.   

Bunbu Ryōdō is an idea that has been associated with the traditional martial arts pretty much from their inception.  Unfortunately, as with many conceptual aspects of the Budo, it is largely forgotten today, being either consciously discarded, or simply falling out of mind for many modern practitioners.  I think that it is as relevant in the contemporary world as it was in the traditional; which is why I will try to unpack it here a little for you.  Once properly understood, Bunbu Ryōdō is an incredibly straightforward strategy to implement. 

What is it then? 

In essence, Bunbu Ryōdō is the congruous pursuit of both the Academic and Cultural, and the Martial Ways.   

Whilst it is sometimes used colloquially as shorthand for “the pen and the sword” (mostly in western writing) Bunbu Ryōdō encapsulates a very important principle that such a simple paraphrase does not do justice to.  Unfortunately, the principle is quite difficult to render accurately into English (or other European languages), at least without further explanation, so examining its etymology helps us initially.   

Bun 文 means, literally, writing. 

Bu 武 means military or, most commonly these days, “martial”. 

Ryo 両 means both (you may recognise this kanji as is the same as found in, for example, ‘ryote dori’ when referencing a double hand grab). 

Do 道 means way or path.  (Of course, there are many books and articles around that go into great depth about the philosophical nature of “do” but, for our purposes, its natural interpretation here is perfectly fine).   

Bunbu Ryōdō is not a new concept.     

It has existed for centuries.   

Usage of the combination of the characters for ‘Bun’ and ‘Bu’ (hitherto pronounced ‘Monmu’) can be traced as far back as the 7th Century, when it was said to have been used to describe the 42nd Emperor’s proficiency in academic knowledge and military affairs.  However, as often happens within the shifting tides of language, the day-to-day application of the phrase has morphed a little over time.  In contemporary Japanese society, you would encounter Bunbu Ryōdō  more commonly these days in the context of describing ‘life balance’, especially in relation to physical and mental equilibrium.  It would not be unusual, for example, to hear it used when encouraging a sportsperson not to lose focus on their academic studies (something not unique to Japan by any means).   

Perhaps the best way to think about Bunbu Ryōdō in the context of martial arts studies, is that it is as a concentration of the ideal of the quintessential Warrior Scholar, epitomising the well-rounded or wholly developed person.   

Modern Relevance  

How then, does the modern Budo practitioner take an understanding and appreciation of Bunbu Ryōdō and imbue it in their daily practices, especially if the desire is to pursue a form that is closer to the original intention than the present-day superficiality?   

To explain why the principle retains enduring relevance and modern resonance, it is necessary to understand the societal context and the conditions in which it developed.  To that end, a (very) abridged rehearsal of the relevant Japanese history should assist.   

You will most likely already know that after a period of continual civil war that extended for hundreds of years, Japan eventually found its way to a prolonged era of (relative) peace known as the Edo period [1603 – 1867].  Until this time the warrior class – the Samurai – had been wholly devoted to war.  Clearly, thereafter, they had a substantial adjustment period in which they had to find their ‘new normal’ in an era where different civil and social priorities were emerging.  The warrior’s purpose evolved such that they were increasingly encouraged to develop other pursuits, especially of a more cultural and literary nature, alongside the development and maintenance of their martial studies.  The martial arts themselves also found that they had to similarly evolve in broad parallel, as they sought to secure their place and relevance, if any, in the changing norms.   

In addition to this cultural interweaving of combined martial and academic studies driven by pre-modern historical changes, the accelerated development of modern Budo also, more latterly, produced strong associations with learning institutions.  Kano (the founder of Judo) and Funakoshi (the most prominent exporter of Karate to mainland Japan) both used schools and universities as means to gather firm (or firmer) footholds for their arts.  It was not just the nascent budo schools that took this route, either.  Some of the Classical arts, including Katori Shinto Ryu, also explored using educational institutions as vehicles for promotion (albeit in those cases the motivation seems to have been more aligned to a perceived need to raise exposure to bolster the preservation of the tradition than to attract mass participation). 

History, therefore, demonstrates an identifiable intertwining of the martial and academic ways over a sustained period, propelled by the changing expectations and conditions of emerging societal and cultural eras.  We have a variation on the same theme today (indeed, one can make the same case wherever a pin is placed in the historical timeline).  Things shift in accordance with their prevailing environment, which means that we find ourselves permanently in a state of ‘focus tension’ which, in turn, requires constant tweaking and fine tuning of the emphasis and activities of our daily studies, if we are to stay truly in balance. 

You can look at this at a macro level, for instance in the context of national or global security, or you can drill it all the way down to a micro level in, say, the context of personal security.  Whichever end of the telescope that you look through, though, the core hypothesis remains the same:  strike the right balance and do not over prioritise (or discard) one aspect over the other to avoid ruination.  This is the why the well-trailed aphorism that tells us that “hard times create strong men [and women], strong men create good times, good times create weak men, weak men create hard times” resonates so strongly with many people today. 

Too much “Bun” is not healthy.   

As fascinating as the academic study and and research of the martial ways is, fundamentally Budo is an experiential art.  You learn by doing.  You must put the effort in at the dojo.  You must sweat, endure and persevere to grow.  Books, digital media and easier access to communication channels have all been revelatory in how they have opened up the ‘information age’ of the Budo and provided practitioners with almost limitless access to resources that were barely available even a few decades ago.  They have served to open access to an instant global audience and remove much of the unjustified and unnecessary mystique surrounding the martial ways.  Unfortunately, the downside to this information super-revolution tends to manifest in the archetypal “keyboard warrior” and/or “self-taught expert” that now pervade the internet – none of whom generally invest sufficient time learning or practicing the physical skills of their craft that might otherwise justify their projected wisdom.  The Pen is not mightier than the sword in this regard.   

Similarly, too much “Bu” is equally detrimental.   

Solely focusing on fighting methods, in the absence of more rounded learning and wider study of the arts being practiced and, especially, without concurrent development of broader academic and cultural interests beyond martial pursuits, only produces, essentially, unrefined fighters.     

You can see this clearly in the modern emergence of pure “combat sports” or “Reality Based Self Defence” systems.  This is not a criticism of those endeavours at all – they serve a valuable purpose and, as you know, I am an advocate of many of them in the context of establishing practical, usable, real-life skills.  These modern adjacencies provide value in their own way, for the purposes of what they do, but what they fundamentally cannot do is contribute to the development of a new class of Warrior Scholars.  This is because, by their very purpose, they are inherently absent of the underlying philosophy of Bunbu Ryōdō. 

In mastering the principle of Bunbu Ryōdō, therefore, you are not just training to be a fighter.  Nor are you ‘just’ seeking scholarly development – you are forging yourself into a complete warrior, fit for purpose for the era and environment that you inhabit. 

It should be clear, then, that true mastery lies in the conscious, and harmonious, blend of physical prowess and intellectual depth and, by cultivating both the martial and the cultural, you will establish a path to becoming a truly well-rounded, resilient, person, capable of facing any challenge with strength and wisdom.  The principle of Bunbu Ryōdō is as relevant to the nascent martial artist, just beginning their journey, as it is to the most accomplished practitioner with decades of experience behind their tired and weathered old obi. 

Keep this in mind, and you’ll always be squared away.